Meet Sophie Rankin: Vet Nurse and IMV Customer Care Advisor
When growing up I was the child that wanted to be a vet.
My whole childhood dream was this until I did not get the grades and that dream came crashing down. I never thought of veterinary nursing as an option, so I went to university to study Zoology as it was animal related.
After university I still didn’t know what to do so I travelled to South Africa to volunteer on a reserve where we got to help with buffalo and cheetah captures. It was here that I realized I wanted to do nursing. I came home and worked hard to get into college. I succeeded. And the next two and a half years were harder than my four years at university. It was an intense course with constant coursework and many hours spent in practice. I graduated and started my career in a small animal practice.
I learnt a lot over the next 3 years. However, the intense hours and lack of progression lead me to leaving the industry and that is when I discovered IMV Imaging. With my experience working in a vet practice and knowing the benefits of diagnostic imaging, working at this company has allowed me to expand my knowledge and passion for imaging.
The vet nursing industry is tough. Many nurses are leaving the profession due to burn out. Nurses work long hours, provide around-the-clock care and are highly skilled individuals. However, the Veterinary Nurse title is not protected. Anyone can technically call themselves a vet nurse. For the people who go through all the training, to work as hard as they do is very underwhelming knowing that their title is not protected. There have been many campaigns and petitions to make it protected but have been unsuccessful. I believe it is important for this to happen as vet nurses are crucial and demand for them is high.
The veterinary nurse’s role has evolved considerably over the years, and they have a higher level of professional responsibility. But despite this the role is still often not recognized or understood by the public.
I think it is integral for there to be a better understanding of their value to the profession and more recognition of the incredible work carried out by these heroes in order to keep them in the industry.
