Veterinary Ramblings

Matt Rendle (RVN) is back on Veterinary Ramblings! We discuss his ongoing projects with Wildlife Vets International & WAPCA (West African Primate Conservation Action) in Ghana, working with Mangabeys with a view to putting them back in the wild whilst also helping with a challenge facing sea turtles. Matt tells us about preventing Malaria and the best way to make sure you stay rested when work...

Dr Mark Hedberg is known as The Expat Vet and has spent a lot of his working life travelling from country to country. In this episode,  we discuss Mark's time in Saudi Arabia,  where he worked with a host of unusual animals including a crocodile who never forgot him - but has inadvertently got him a free drink! As someone who is fluent in both English and Hungarian, we are treated to a rendition o...

This week, we're interviewing our very own Dr Julian Hoad! Julian began his life, as most Hoads do, in Kent. As a child, he was an army brat and lived in many different places (although mostly in and around London). Like most vets, he knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a vet. He eventually arrived at Plymouth Polytechnic where he studied Biological Sciences, Microbiology and Biochemis...

This week we have a very special episode exploring the life of our co-host Mike Brampton! (We've spent so much time interviewing others that we thought it was about time you got to know our hosts on the same level - tune in next week for Julian's episode!) Mike had planned to be a few different things before finally landing where he is today: A fighter pilot, a brewer, a rugby player, a competitiv...

This week we're chatting to Chris Wilson! Originally from Aberdeen, Chris graduated from Glasgow Uni in 2012. We discuss how he nearly didn't go to vet school and considered a career in competitive swimming instead!   Chris shares the difficulties he's faced with imposter syndrome, particularly when it came to his sexuality,  and some of the microaggressions he has faced at work. As a mentor for r...

This week we are joined by the fantastic Emily Holmes AKA EmPowering RVN Media! Emily shares her journey from wanting to be a teacher to becoming a vet nurse and her full-on university experience as she worked whilst studying, all whilst sharing words of wisdom for any potential students out there.  We discuss what a vet nurse is, how they are a crucial part of the veterinary team and their except...

This week Veterinary Ramblings is joined by the fantastic Janika Patel. Janika is a British-Indian Vet born and raised in South London. After graduating from Nottingham Vet School, she worked in independent practice and Vets4Pets. During her career, she has developed a keen interest in ECC, internal medicine and hospital practice after working at a clinic with its own Out Of Hours service. She is...

This week we sit down with Emily Woodbridge AKA Nexus Vet Physio,  a degree-qualified Veterinary Physiotherapist based in the UK.  We discuss Emily's experience providing palliative care for her horse, the two sides to horse racing and her educational journey to become a Veterinary Physiotherapist. We also explore different forms of physiotherapy including massage and the more subtle signs of pet...

This week Veterinary Ramblings is joined by fellow podcaster, Francisco Gomez, the man behind More Than Just A Vet Podcast! Francisco made the decision to move to the UK to learn English.  He loved it here so much that he decided to stay! We discuss his career progression and what led him to the decision to make Britain his new home. We also talk about brexit and its impact on European freedom of...

This week, we are joined by the inspirational Sarah Cotton! Sarah was working as a firefighter when her life changed forever. While responding to a routine traffic incident, she fell 50 feet from a motorway overpass and broke every bone below the waist. She describes her life-changing accident and her journey of recovery, redeveloping her strength, and eventually swimming the English Channel! Afte...

This week we are joined by Wendy Nevins RVN who has been a qualified VN for nearly 30 years! We discuss her journey from an aspiring drama teacher to a veterinary nurse and remember the funny side of spot tests during our exams. She also shares her claim to fame with a celebrity client!  Wendy, ever determined to qualify in veterinary nursing,  explains how her life took her from a small animal pr...

We are joined by Georgia Woods-Lee (@thefatvetnurse) who is an RVN specialising in pet nutrition and obesity. We discuss how her personal experience with weight management got her into veterinary nutrition and she share her tips for losing weight as a person and for our pets. Georgia also explains how the family food environment can impact pet obesity and the issues overweight pets can suffer from...

Join us for our Christmas ramblings as we spread some festive cheer for the end of the year. We share our differing opinions on Christmas and Julian recalls a rather embarrassing experience of working on-call on Christmas Day.  Our special episode wouldn't be complete without a lot of festive dad jokes and a double whammy of 60-second CPD,  discussing the potential origins of Rudolf's red nose and...

This week we are joined by Fabian Rivers AKA Dready Vet! Fabian is the lead exotics vet at an independent practice in Birmingham and has written, featured and given talks to a variety of veterinary and non-veterinary publications, universities and initiatives.  He is also one of the vets on the Pets Factor, a children’s TV show on the CBBC, and was more recently the presenter on BBC One for Britai...

Join us this week as we sit down with Anna Mercer AKA Anna The Ferret Nurse!  In this episode, we talk about everything from ferrets to fine art - including bats, mustelids, skunks, abstract expressionism, bass guitar, qualifying during COVID, and hummus... Anna shares her experience as a recently qualified vet nurse, and what it was like to qualify during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Anna originally tr...

Join us as we sit down with Nikki McLeod AKA @felinefabulousvetnursing! Nikki has had a fascinating career going from vet nurse to professional photographer and back again! We discuss how the veterinary industry has changed since she first qualified, particularly within the fear-free movement. She also shares her experience working for Pet Blood Bank UK, explaining how it works and the benefits to...

Join us this week as we sit down with the inspiring Hannah Olliff-Lee AKA Physio. RVN! Hannah's veterinary nursing journey began in 2012 with a nursing placement in Clapham. She completed her diploma in veterinary nursing in 2015. In 2019, she began sharing her training journey to become an animal physiotherapist through her social media pages (Physio. RVN/@physio.rvn) and in 2021 she qualified as...

Join us this week as we speak with Petrina Firth AKA The Pet Coach! Petrina is a Pet Behaviourist and Dog Trainer with 15 years in the business. She is a Board Member and fully-assessed Member of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers (no 01238) and a Registered Animal Training Instructor with The Animal Behaviour and Training Council – a regulatory body that represents animal trainers and animal beh...

This week we're chatting to Jessica Joosse AKA nutritionrvn!  Jessica graduated with her Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Biosciences from La Trobe University in 2016 and went on to complete her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2018. She became one of the first few AVNAT Registered Veterinary Nurses in 2019 and obtained Accreditation in 2020.  We discuss her career progression in veterinar...

This week Veterinary Ramblings is a double bill - with Bill Lambert & Bill King joining us from The Kennel Club UK / The Kennel Club Charitable Trust!  Bill Lambert is Head of Health and Welfare at The Kennel Club (UK) and Bill King is the Chairman of The Kennel Club Charitable Trust. We discuss the history of The Kennel Club (UK), how it has evolved over the years and the benefits for dog own...

This week we're chatting to Chloe Mackintosh AKA The Charity Vet Nurse! Chloe started as a student veterinary nurse in 2016, completing all her placements at the PDSA hospital in Edinburgh while working for Vets Now in the evenings! After moving around a bit, she realised she wanted to work in the charity sector of the veterinary profession, helping people and animals who otherwise wouldn’t have a...

In this episode, Tony Booker explains how his PhD research took him from turmeric farms in India and China to the aisles of his local Morrisons supermarket  We learn about the benefits and properties of Turmeric, Curare, Reserpine, Artemisia and  Ethnobotany.  We also discuss biopiracy, Ethnopharmacology and the steps taken to protect the intellectual property of indigenous tribes and the effects...

Join us for a bit of a giggle with our (very random) season finale with Mike & Julian! This episode is full of random ramblings about sunglasses, fungal infections and all kinds of accidents they've encountered. We also wonder what would happen if politicians were to do satnav voices! Finally, we finish off the season with a 60-Second CPD all about cheese and a, of course, a lot of cheesy dad...

This week we're talking to Jade Statt, the Co-Founder and Clinical Director of StreetVet! StreetVet is an award-winning UK charity that provides free accessible veterinary care to pets of people who are experiencing homelessness. Jade explains her inspiration to begin StreetVet, which started with her and a backpack and has grown into a nationwide organisation with over 300 volunteers providing ca...

This week we're chatting to Jon Fitzmaurice! Jon is a rum enthusiast and an RSPCA Veterinarian.  Jon and Julian went to vet college together in London, where Jon qualified in 1997.  His first job was in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, in a 5 vet surgery that had connections with the local RSPCA branch where he worked for 10 years. In 2008, He moved across town for his 2nd, and current, job to become...