Small Animal Nursing/Wards
Nursing at the AHT
The Centre for Small Animal Studies prides itself on the exceptionally high standards of nursing care for all our patients. All of our nurses are committed to providing consistent specialist care on a 24-hour basis ensuring that each patient is afforded individual nursing care which optimises their recovery.
Our nursing team are all very experienced in their field and include diploma holders and nursing degree holders. We are also a registered training practice that takes on first and second year student nurses who we train to a very high standard. Our nurses are encouraged to continue training via regular in-house CPD and high quality external courses. We welcome and accept student and qualified nurses to see practice with us to enable them to get a better understanding of a wide range of nursing techniques commonly used in a busy referral centre.
Nursing/Wards Staff
Karen Felton Cert Ed RVN MBVNA
Nursing Manager
Karen qualified in 1997 with credit. She began her career in 1989 at The Green Veterinary Centre in Barrow Suffolk. Karen spent several years in mixed practice before moving to a small animal training practice in order to train & qualify. Karen then spent four years lecturing veterinary nursing and animal care at Cambridge. During the four years at Cambridge she achieved her Cert Ed, assessor and internal verifier qualifications. Karen also spent four years as assistant examiner for the VN Exams. Karen joined the AHT in 2001 as nursing manager and is responsible for overseeing the provision of high standards of nursing care and good quality student nurse training within the clinic.
Gemma Reid RVN
Deputy Nursing Manager - wards
Gemma started working at the AHT in July 1998, and has stayed at the Trust since then! Gemma is passionate about working in the hospital and maintaining the highest standards of care for the animals here, and helping them recover. Prior to working at the AHT, Gemma spent 5 years in a general mixed practice and did her training there. Since 2005, Gemma has also become interested in canine hydrotherapy (which is now offered as a service at the AHT) and has attended a training course in this area. She now enjoys doing the swims alongside her work in the wards.
Michelle Donovan RVN Dip AVN (Med)
Veterinary Nurse
Michelle passed her RCVS veterinary nursing qualification with credit in 1999, in a mixed practice and then joined the animal health trust (AHT) rotating on a 24hr shift pattern through kennels, clinics and theatre. In 2003 Michelle left the AHT for 4 months to experience equine nursing and then re-joined the AHT, and is now working as a day nurse rotating on a 1 week system rotating through wards and clinics. Michelle co-ordinates the procedures of the day when working in clinics. Michelle passed the Dip AVN (Med) in April 2009.
Kerry Hall VN BSC(Hons) DipAVN (Surg)
Veterinary Nurse
Kerry gained her RCVS veterinary nursing certificate in 1998 (passing with credit), and she then went on to gain her Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Surgical) in 2004. Having spent eight years in general practice Kerry moved to the AHT in January 2005. Kerry is a senior ward nurse/clinic co-coordinator. Kerry is studying towards VTS in Emergency and Critical Care. Outside of work Kerry enjoys travel and some of that travel has included ophthalmology nursing moon bears in China.
Amanda Harcus VN DipAVN (Medical)
Veterinary Nurse
Amanda started work at a small mixed practice in Norwich in 1995 as an animal nurse and receptionist. During this time she decided to seek employment at an approved training practice elsewhere so that she could train and qualify as a VN. Amanda moved to a position at the Old Golf House Veterinary Hospital in Thetford in 1998, where she trained and subsequently qualified as a VN in August 2000. Whilst working in general practice Amanda realised she wanted to learn more, and so applied to study for the Advanced Medical Nursing Diploma. To help further develop her nursing skills and to help prepare her for the Diploma, Amanda succeeded in applying for a position at the AHT, and she joined the team here in May 2005. Amanda passed her Diploma in April 2007 and is now a dedicated nurse to the medicine & oncology disciplines.
Jody Blyth Tancock Dip AVN (small animal) RVN A1
Oncology Nurse
Jody passed the National Diploma in Animal Care from the College of West Anglia in 2002 whilst working for a local quarantine kennels. Jody joined the AHT the same year as a trainee VN, and she gained her RCVS Veterinary Nursing Certificate in 2004. Jody continued to work at the AHT, firstly as a shift nurse (rotating through kennels, clinics and theatre) and then in 2006 she took on the role of Oncology Nurse as this is an area of particular interest to her. She holds her A1 assessor qualification, and has since completed the clinical coach training. In 2010 Jody passed the HE Diploma in Clinical Veterinary Nursing & the RVCS advanced diploma at University of Central Lancashire.
Sarah qualified in 1993. She worked in general practice for several years, during which time she won the Schering Plough Anaesthesia Nursing Award. In 2004 she also won the Veterinary Nurse of the Year award. She has a keen interest in animal behaviour and has gained the BVNA Certificate in Small Animal Behaviour. Although Sarah has been a dedicated Ophthalmology Nurse at the AHT since 2004, she still does a lot of work with puppy socialisation classes to help prevent behaviour problems developing in the dogs, as they get older. Sarah also does a lot of work for the RSPCA in her spare time, usually hand rearing animals or fostering cruelty cases for them. Sarah has also been a BVNA Councillor and is a past Honorary Secretary of the BVNA. Sarah is an RPS for the small animal clinic and spends most of her time in the imaging department but also does general nursing two days per week.
Lucinda Thuilliez RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Lucinda worked at a small animal and equine practice in Burgess Hill - Oakwood Veterinary Clinic - for four years and from where she qualified, and did her studying at Bristol Vet School in 1994. Lucinda then had a break from veterinary nursing, returning in 2000 to do some locum work, and then worked at a small animal practice in south Croydon. Lucinda moved to Newmarket in 2003, working first in a local clinic before joining the nursing team at the Animal Health Trust in 2007.
Catherine Wager RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Catherine qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2008. She started her training at an RCVS accredited Small Animal General Practice, before moving to the AHT to complete her final examinations. Having worked as a multi-discipline nurse in the wards and clinics of the Small Animal Centre for three years, she is due to move into a theatre nurse position in October 2011. Catherine is also a clinical coach and is currently studying towards the RVC Graduate Diploma in Professional and Clinical Veterinary Nursing. Her interests include education, professional issues, anaesthesia and critical care.
Michelle Higman RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Michelle joined the AHT in 2003 having previously worked at Addenbrookes Hospital in the infectious diseases unit where she cared for patients with many different diseases and where she also gained her NVQ level 3 in acute care. Michelle has now turned her skills to animal nursing and at the AHT she is able to look after the welfare of our patients to the standard that she would expect her own animals to be cared for.
Kerry Brundell RVN
Veterinary Nurse
After completing her A levels, Kerry started work at Eastgate Veterinary Group, Bury St Edmunds. After four years there, working as a veterinary nurse, she completed her Veterinary Nurse training. She has a particular interest in intensive care nursing and to further her skills in this area applied for a job at AHT in 2007.
Carl Rudkin RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Carl did his training in a first opinion mixed practice in Northampton. He qualified in 2005 and moved to an orthopaedic and medical referral centre. He spent two years there and developed an interest in oncology and internal medicine. Carl joined the AHT in 2007 as a shift nurse. Carl will be joining the oncology team to cover maternity leave for one year. Carl is currently studying for the DAVN at the RVC and in his spare time he enjoys playing rugby and socialising with friends.
Helen Reeve Dip AVN (surg) RVN
Theatre Manager
joined the trust in 2001 as a theatre nurse and gained her diploma in 2006. Hellie briefly left the trust between 2007 – 2009 to work in general practice but came back to the trust as she missed referral work and now is the Theatre Manager. Outside of work Hellie likes pottery and snowboarding.
Zowie Holland RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Zowie achieved a National Diploma in Animal Care from the College of West Anglia in 2002. She started working at the Animal Health Trust the same year and began training for the NVQ in veterinary nursing. Zowie obtained her VN in 2004, and passed with credit. Zowie continued working at the AHT until December 2005, then left to work in general practice in Ely for five months, before returning back to the AHT in 2006. Zowie has now taken on a role as a surgical nurse in the AHT theatres.
Sarah Ward RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Sarah qualified as a Veterinary Nurse in 2003, and has had 14 years experience of working in general practice. Sarah then moved to the AHT in 2004 to further her nursing skills, initially as a shift nurse, but from 2006 was appointed as one of our team of theatre nurses. Outside work, Sarah spends much of her time taking her dogs to obedience and agility classes and she also competes at agility competitions. Sarah now also holds the A1 Assessors qualification.
Claire Wiltshear BSc (Hons) RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Claire obtained a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science from Writtle Agricultural College in 2003. Claire then worked in a general practice for three years where she qualified as a Veterinary Nurse. Following a four month break to travel around South America, Claire joined the AHT in 2008 as a theatre nurse. Claire enjoys all aspects of nursing and in particular has a keen interest in surgical nursing.
Martin Hart RVN
Veterinary Nurse
Joined the trust in 2006 as an animal nursing assistant and started his RVN training in 2008. Martin is newly qualified and is about to join our QVN shift system. Martin enjoys all aspects of inpatient care. Outside of work Martin enjoys swimming, cycling and skiing.
Laura Smith RVN
Pharmacy/Hydrotherapy/Float Nurse
After leaving school I went to college and completed a BTEC in Equine Studies which lead me on to work as an apprentice Riding Instructor for a Riding School near Cambridge. I then in 1998 decided to go back to college to study small animals and completed various BTEC’s and NVQ’s in Small Animal Care. I then worked at Wood Green Animal Shelter at Godmanchester as a behaviour assessor to assess the suitability of dogs before re-homing them. After this I spent some time in South Africa where I worked in Wildlife Re-habilitation, handling/hand rearing/releasing many types of wild animals. This was an amazing experience! Then nearly 7 years ago I joined the AHT. I started life here as a Ward Assistant and went on to train as a Qualified Nurse and completed my training in 2006. Having worked as a shift nurse for 2 years – I am now enjoying my new role as Pharmacy/Hydrotherapy/Float Nurse.
Joined the Trust as a Ward Assistant in 2006, and later changed posts to animal nursing assistant. Prior to joining the Trust, Karen worked as a part time waitress but had also spent five years as a laboratory technician with a research and development company, which involved carrying out blood tests on prototype blood glucose monitors. Karen is currently a level III student nurse and hopes to take here exams later this year.
Toni Pettitt
Nursing Assistant
Before leaving school Toni studied Psychology, Sociology and general studies. Toni had always wanted to work with animals and so after a few local weekend positions, joined the AHT initially as a Weekend Ward Assistant. Toni has since moved to a full time animal nursing assistant position. She currently covers a range of shifts and has recently completed the Introduction to Small Animal Care certificate. Toni’s long-term aim is to train as a veterinary nurse, which she hopes to do here at the Trust.
Harriet joined the Animal Health Trust in December 2005 as a theatre technician. Harriet then started her RVN training in 2008 and is sitting her level III exams later this year. Harriet has had an interest in animals since she left school and has always wanted to work with and care for animals.
Shirley Gibbins
Student Nurse – 1yr under-graduate placement
I am on the FdSc Veterinary Nursing Science degree course at Hartpury College, Gloucester, with a view to ‘top-up’ in Equine Science for my fourth year. I also work at a riding stables when I’m not at the Trust and have been riding since the age of seven. I look forward to the rest of my placement at the Trust as I’ve already learnt so much and I get to see some really interesting cases on a daily basis as well as helping animals that may not otherwise get the care they need.
Joined the trust at the beginning of 2010 as a trainee veterinary nurse. Josie is going to start training on the new RVN qualification which starts this autumn. Josie has spent the last 2 years studying and achieving the NDAC.
Susan joined the AHT as a ward assistant in 2006 having previously worked as a kennel-maid for ten years. During this time she obtained an NVQ level two in animal care and a large amount of experience dealing with animals and people. Susan Joined the ANA team in 2010 and is hoping to start VN training in the near future. Susan is going to undertake the ANA course at the College of West Anglia in Sep 2011.
Joined the trust in Sep 2009 as a theatre technician. Kitt had just completed a national diploma in animal management at the college of West Anglia. Previously Kitt worked for the RSPCA and with the local dog warden. Kitt is hoping to start RVN training at some point in the future. Kitt enjoys several aspects of working in theatre especially preparing animals for theatre and observing operations. Outside of work Kitt enjoys socialising and doing activities with her dogs.
Jo Handley-Howard
Ward Manager
Jo joined the Animal Health Trust in 1986. She was first employed as a kennel maid (as it was known then!), but over the years has worked her way up to be Ward Manager. She has completed many training courses in different aspects of her work, including kennel management. Jo's role is to ensure the ward areas are run in a modern and effective way insuring that hygiene and cleanliness is second to none. She is also responsible for the recruitment and supervision of ward assistants of which we currently have six. Jo has played a major role in the development of the current small animal clinic at the AHT, from early planning to more recent developments, many of which involved the ward areas. In 2004 she received funding to build a hydrotherapy pool, and in early 2005 trained as a hydrotherapist to enable the AHT to offer this service to its patients.
Samantha Gould
Senior Ward Assistant
Sam had always wanted to work with animals and started off her career working in quarantine kennels for two years. She then worked alongside a Newfoundland breeder for six months, taking care of their needs including the breeding and event showing side after which she went on to work for Friskies Pet Food kennels for 11 years. This involved the day to day care of over 200 dogs and cats and Sam was in charge of her own kennel block and regularly assisted with minor procedures alongside the duty vet. Sam joined the AHT in 2001 as a full time Ward Assistant and has progressed on to being a senior Ward Assistant. Her role is to oversee the daily running of the kennels making sure that patients and wards are hygienically maintained and cared for. Sam also enjoys assisting in the pool house with hydrotherapy sessions and in September will be completing her ABC accredited Introduction to Hydrotherapy qualification.
Gemma Dorling
Ward Assistant and Hydrotherapist.
Gemma has worked at the Trust since 2005 as a Ward Assistant. During her time here she has gained her National Small Animal Care Certificate level 2 and Certificate in Canine Psychology. Along with her role within the wards she has assisted in Hydrotherapy and has then gone on to complete her ABC accredited Introduction to Hydrotherapy and Aquatic Treadmill Therapy qualifications. In her spare time Gemma enjoys photography, which has led on to her studying for a BA Hons Photography.
Debbie Dundas Bsc (hons) Geography
Ward Assistant
After graduating, having spent three years studying Geography Debbie has now decided to take a career change and would like to become a Veterinary Nurse. Debbie joined the AHT in December 2010 and is enjoying her role as a Ward Assistant. Outside of work her main hobby is horse-riding.
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