Vet Nurse Relishes Late Vocation

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Vet Nurse Relishes Late Vocation

Yvonne with Toddy, a former stray who has made the vet hospital his home.

Helping treat injured and sick animals is sometimes sad, occasionally dangerous but always exciting, Yvonne Haren says of working as a veterinary nurse.

Yvonne is passionate about her job at Taradale Vet Hospital, having discovered her true vocation at the age of 45.

Vet nursing was a job she never contemplated when she was growing up in the northwest of England and for most of her adult career she worked in mental health and banking. The trigger for a new direction came seven years ago when she and kiwi husband Tony decided to settle close to his family in Hawke’s Bay.

“Everything changed for me moving to New Zealand,” she says. “It was a life-changing event.”

Waiting on residency status, Yvonne worked as a volunteer for the Hastings and Districts SPCA. That led to her taking up a colleague’s suggestion to enrol in the then newly-launched veterinary nursing programme at EIT.

Yvonne, who has always loved animals, found full-time study enjoyable but challenging, particularly as chemistry wasn’t among her subjects at school.

“It was a lot of hard work, really hard work. I spent every day with my classmates probably learning more than what was required.”

However, her learning was well supported by helpful tutors, excellent facilities and the bonds she formed with other mature students who even talked about their studies during coffee and lunch breaks.

Qualifying as a vet nurse was a two-step process, she explains. She started on the inaugural Certificate in Animal Care programme, did well, and then progressed onto the Certificate in Veterinary Nursing.

Taradale Vet Hospital was one of Yvonne’s three work experience placements and she was offered a job there several months after finishing at EIT. The small animals’ vet clinic treats mainly cats and dogs, occasionally birds and rabbits, and even the odd rodent.

“I enjoy every moment of my job,” Yvonne says. “It’s nice to wake up on a Monday morning and look forward to going to work. Anyone considering a career in vet nursing needs to be enthusiastic and hardworking to do the job.”

A staff roster provides plenty of variety for seven vet nurses, who work different shifts and share duties in reception, surgery and the hospital ‘ward’.

While it took Yvonne several years to adjust after living “like a buzzy bee” in England, she appreciates the lifestyle she now has in Hawke’s Bay by – a life-work balance that retraining at EIT has helped her achieve.

ENDS

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