Meet Amy Thompson: Vet Nurse, Account Manager and lovin' life!
Hi! I’m Amy, a Registered Veterinary Nurse from the East Coast of Fife in Scotland. My nursing pathway started with that classic tale, wanting to be a vet. Initially, I saw nursing as a gateway.
I describe my journey into nursing as a jammy one. I had applied for the university course at Edinburgh Napier and was setting myself up for student loans and frugal living when a local, kind farmer had offered for me to gain experience working with their cattle. The large animal Director of a local practice was on the farm to test their bull’s seamen one day and passed his Practice Manager’s details on. I still haven’t decided if it was my excitement over microscopy that got me that job, or standing my ground against the Aberdeen Angus bull that came charging at me on the way in from the field…
But so began my nursing career. I was employed by the practice and studied the Diploma at the College of Animal Welfare in Edinburgh. It didn’t take me long at all to fall in love with nursing. As a student, I soon recognised the wealth of knowledge and skills nurses hold, and how essential our role is to the running of a practice.
I’ve found nursing to be a very practical, hands-on job which aligns with both my learning and working styles. It also brings academic and emotional challenges which really does make every day a different day.
My first couple of practice jobs were first-opinion, general practices. This was a fantastic way to see a vast variety of cases, becoming rich in nursing experience and developing autonomy in areas of interest. I trained to be a Clinical Coach and found supporting and nurturing our future nurses in practice to be immensely fulfilling.
I learned and grew so much throughout my first 7 years of nursing and found it deeply rewarding to see the difference I could make to each patient, each client, and each colleague. Knowing I had more to give and wanting to make a bigger impact in the veterinary sphere, I stepped into a new role at a veterinary charity, leaning on my veterinary knowledge, organisation, and triage skills. Our focus was to support vets and nurses in practice to tangibly improve their antimicrobial stewardship. It was truly amazing to be involved with such an important project, with wildly passionate people who deeply care about improving the future of our patients.
Missing being around people, animals, and the practical aspects of the job, I joined IMV as their Account Manager for Scotland and the North for endoscopy. I’ve really enjoyed getting back into practices, being around real people (not just faces on screens!) and being that go-to person to help and support practices with their endoscopy needs. I’ve been that nurse in practice when the equipment breaks (naturally, when the bosses are on holiday) and not knowing who to contact to get an answer, direction, or solution. IMV believes in the value and importance of continuing to support our customers long after they have bought equipment, and I feel excited to be that support that I felt so often lacked when I was in practice.
I continue to love being a Veterinary Nurse and feel incredibly proud of our title. We have a lot of love to give, but we’re also highly skilled professionals. Nursing has taught me invaluable life lessons and I am so grateful for the inspirational people I have met along my journey.
