users-cl BVNA INSIGHTS

Charlotte Pace will take over from Alex Taylor as BVNA president in October . She reveals what drew her to the profession , reflects on her career and sets out her presidential plans .

The road to RVN

With the help of my redundancy package , I was able to work in a veterinary practice and train on a day-release basis . I enjoyed learning the theory in college and then observing what I ' d learnt in the practice . It was hard work as I could be in the practice in the morning , attending college in the afternoon and working in the practice at night if the team were short staffed . It was also a very challenging time for me personally , as my husband was suffering with heart failure , but I found it helpful to work . I had a fantastic clinical coach who also happened to love cats and she kept my passion alive through the difficult times .

‘I could be in the practice in the morning , attending college in the afternoon and working in the practice at night ’

My first cat was a black and white kitten from my grandad , which was a gift to cheer me up when I had chickenpox as a child . I thought the kitten cured my chickenpox and my affinity with cats began .

I went to university to study English literature and history before embarking on a corporate career . A few years later , I met my husband . He had three cats so I immediately recognised him as a kindred spirit .

At 27 , I took voluntary redundancy from my job , which happened to coincide with one of our cats breaking its leg . I was transfixed by the X-rays , how the vet repaired the leg and the cat ' s recovery . This inspired me to become a veterinary nurse .

When I finished training , I applied to the Royal Veterinary College ( RVC ). An RVC veterinary nurse had lectured on critical care , blood transfusions and central venous pressure on my course , so I knew I wanted to be involved in that area of nursing . There was , however , a catch : I ' d failed the lab task on my OSCEs .

During the exam , I ' d become anxious in a twopart task that involved identifying a flea . I could do it without a microscope , but I had to pinpoint it using the vernier scale . The microscope lens had been set at 100-magnification and I couldn ' t focus properly , so I tried to guess the scale . Panic set in and it wasn ' t until close to the end of the allocated time that I remembered I could turn down the lens magnification . Unsurprisingly , I failed the task .

Thankfully , I was still offered the job at the RVC on the proviso that I resat and passed the necessary exam , which I did . Failing the first time was difficult and made worse because an SVN working alongside me at the practice passed their OSCEs .

Volume 37 ( 4 ) • September 2022

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