Meet the Leaver

Tell us about how you came to work at Greenbay Vets

I moved from London down to Devon in 2022 as my husband was placed at Torbay hospital. Previous to this I worked at the PDSA in London which I adored, and also had a very brief stint in a corporate practice which wasn’t for me. I was attracted to Greenbay as a place to work due to their clear commitment to helping all team members progress in whatever area most interests them. What also stood out to me was an ethos of giving staff the time they need to do the job well, rather than forcing people to race through cases to the detriment of animal care and client service. Key for me also was finding a team in which I could have a strong sense of belonging, made up of people who are open to having fun in a workplace which can often otherwise be quite stressful. In all these ways Greenbay has not disappointed.

How have you been supported to develop professionally during your time here?

When I started work at Greenbay I had been qualified for around 18 months and still felt very eager to improve my abilities as a vet. I have a love of surgery and am extremely grateful for all the wisdom and experience I’ve gained from John during my time here – I am a much more confident and able surgeon as a result. I very much appreciate the opportunity to learn to use the lap kit, this is now one of my favourite parts of the job and it still blows my mind that I now do this on a regular basis. I have also been very lucky to have received a great deal of very patient mentoring from Laura in the field of ultrasound, again I would now rank this among the parts of being a vet that I enjoy the most, and my confidence in this area has grown enormously thanks to Laura (and thanks in part to her beautiful ultrasound machine). I have always loved lengthy and convoluted case discussions, and have felt very glad during my time here that the other vets Jemma, Richard and Michelle have always been so giving of their time to chat about a patient, I have learnt a great deal from them all. The nursing team at Greenbay is exceptional, and on a daily basis I pick up a bit of practical gold dust from them all, as well as being incredibly well supported by the nurses to allow me to do my side of the job as best I can. Having nurses who I can refer cases to for nutritional, behavioural or rehab support has expanded how I think about cases. We can only learn when people put their trust in us to care for their pets, and in this way I have been privileged at Greenbay as we have a wonderful client base who are very committed to doing the best for their pets, meaning we get to work up the majority of cases to a very high standard, and with each one I have learnt that bit more.

Tell us about a case or client that will stay with you forever

During summer last year we had a septic peritonitis case which was memorable in very many ways. For a few days I really feared this lovely cocker spaniel wasn’t going to recover, so I was totally overjoyed when he did eventually get to go home to his family. I was humbled by the commitment his owners showed to him and the trust they put in us. I wish clients could see the love and time that goes into these tricky cases – I spent a lot of hours over that weekend with the amazing Nicky giving him so many medications, trying to get him eating and keeping him as comfortable as possible. It was so worth it, and it made me very grateful to be working alongside such a dedicated and caring team.

What are going to miss most about Greenbay Vets?

All of the team, so much. They have felt like a family, especially to someone new to an area and far from other friends and relatives. Working in the vet world is a rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows and above all else the team at Greenbay care deeply about every animal they see, so there’s always been people around to share in the successes and help me through the sadder parts. I will also miss the extensive kit, probably far more than I know – it will probably be decades before a surgical laser reaches NZ. I’ll also miss my commute, which has been gloriously brief and adequately bucolic.

What would you say to someone considering joining the team here?

If you value being able to do your job to best of your ability, with both endless support and massive clinical freedom; if you are committed to wanting to improve your skills new and old and are keen to get to grips with lots of fun gadgets; if you want to laugh alongside an incredibly fun and talented team, then you will struggle to find a better workplace than Greenbay.