Today I’m joined by Medical Nursing Academy member Lidia Ognissanti. Lidia has had an interesting journey through nursing so far - deciding midway through her journalism degree that nursing was for her, finishing her degree, and then leaving the world of journalism behind to pursue her passion.

Fast forward 2 years, and Lidia is thriving in her clinic, having found her love for inpatient care, medical nursing, and all things feline medicine!

In today’s post, Lidia shares some of the most valuable lessons she’s learned along the way so far - including how to be a loud, proud advocate for what your patients need, and how to enjoy medical nursing without feeling overwhelmed or like you’ll never know enough.

Like many nurses, Lidia works in general practice - so don’t think for a second that doing more with your medical patients only happens in a referral hospital! Regardless of your clinic or your niche, I know that you’ll find so much value in the lessons Lidia is sharing today, and can’t wait to see what inspiration you take from her story!

Lidia’s career so far

From journalist to veterinary nurse

Lidia was midway through her journalism degree when she started volunteering at an animal shelter. Here, she fell in love with animal care and decided that veterinary nursing was for her.

After completing her degree, Lidia got a job as a receptionist in a veterinary clinic - eventually working her way to a VCA role, before starting a student role, and qualifying at 32 via the diploma route.

Would she change anything? No. 

Our careers are not linear - we often think there is a set path to follow, laid out in front of us. But Lidia’s story reminds us that there are lots of routes to a thriving career as an RVN:

“It took a long time to finally get where I wanted to be but I’m thankful for taking the scenic route now as I learnt so much along the way making me a more well-rounded RVN!”

So where is she now?

Lidia joined the team at Leeds Veterinary Centre when it opened last year. Here, she works with 2 certificate holders, so gets to experience a wide range of cases.

One of the things Lidia is proudest of is how much she’s been able to shape the way the clinic runs, and the standards of care the patients get:

“As part of the start-up team, I got to be heavily involved in shaping how we work and what our protocols would be. 

I also play a big role in training and ensuring we standardise the care we give, and am a clinical coach to two amazing students.

I’m a real crazy cat woman and helped us gain our ISFM accreditation this year too!”

Finding her niche…

Lidia’s particular passion is medical nursing (and feline nursing particularly!). And it’s the bond you can build with your patients that cemented that for her - as well as the skills we get to develop when caring for those patients:

“I’ve always been more interested in spending time with patients in wards than theatre. You can’t build a connection with a patient when they’re anaesthetised on the table!”

“With medicine, there’s a huge emphasis on patient care and tailoring your care plans to the patient. It’s not as ‘one size fits all’ as surgery can sometimes feel!”

“I also feel like medical nursing can sometimes be overlooked in first opinion with more nurses favouring theatre, which is a shame as it’s a real opportunity to demonstrate our skills as RVNs!”

So what is it about medicine?

Lidia’s favourite thing about medicine is the diversity and the problem-solving that comes with it. We’re often having to do a lot of detective work when investigating medical conditions - and whilst this can be frustrating, it provides the opportunity to really learn and develop new skills:

“I enjoy the troubleshooting that’s often involved with medical cases.

Our medical vet often jokes that we don’t get to wave a magic wand and get an instant result like surgeons, but I think that makes our wins all the more satisfying!”

Another vital aspect of Lidia’s role is speaking up for her patients and their needs - this is something really important to her, and something she gets to do a lot when managing patients in wards.

“I also find nurses have way more opportunities to advocate for patients with medical cases - we’re the ones monitoring their response to treatment after all!”

Her particular favourite patients include diabetics, as nurses play SUCH an important role in the ongoing management of this disease.

“I really enjoy working with diabetic patients as I feel it’s a condition where nurses can be really hands-on and help support owners.

As my current practice is new, it’s taken a little while to build up our medical cases but we’ve just started our first diabetic cat on treatment. 

She’s a slightly challenging case as she belongs to an elderly lady so her insulin is being administered by four of her neighbours on a rota system(!)

It’s great for them to have an RVN as point of contact while they get to grips with the new regimen, especially with so many people learning how to use needles! 

We’ve come up with a treatment diary so the neighbours can track the injections given with the owner writing down her observations so we can all work as a team to stabilise her diabetes.”

Challenging cases like this really highlight what a difference having a ‘go-to’ nurse looking out for their patients - and their families - can have.

Another passion of Lidia’s is nursing those sick, crispy, anorexic cats who need all the temptation and TLC to get them eating again!
“Nothing makes me happier than finding a way to tempt a sick moggy to eat! I feel like our feline patients are VERY particular and it’s so satisfying trying to work out what makes each one tick.

Cat ward is my number one place to be at work and it’s a running joke that you’ll find me in there if you’ve lost me!”

Lidia’s top tips and lessons for medical nursing

Lidia’s career is such a wonderful example of how, regardless of your practice, there are always opportunities to develop a niche and use new skills.

So I asked her to share the most valuable lessons she’s learned along the way so far - and they’re so important.

First - always trust your gut, and speak up when you notice that niggle. Our nursing intuition is rarely wrong - so trust yourself:

“Always advocate for your patients and never doubt your gut instincts.”

Lidia also shared an important reminder about our role as VNs. We’re not there to replace the vet, or work underneath them - but beside them, so that between us, all of the patient’s needs are met:

“Vets will often look at the big picture and it’s our job to focus on the smaller details, working as a team together. 

As a nurse, you’re the one watching the response to the patient’s treatment so if you have doubts, speak up!”

And what about medical nursing?

And if you’re interested in medical nursing, or the inpatient-care aspects of your role? Lidia has some real words of wisdom for you - yes, it can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. 

Just break it down into small steps, and the more you see, the more you’ll learn. And the more you learn, the better you can help advocate for your patients!

“Medical nursing can seem very overwhelming, especially when you’re a humble GP nurse like me!

But I love that I feel like I’m constantly learning and the more you know about each condition, the more you can advocate for your patient’s needs!

There are so many elements to patient care meaning there’s plenty to learn about if you’re a science nerd, whether that’s transfusion medicine through to simple physio techniques for recumbent patients.

Even if you’re in first opinion, there’s still so much you can do like running clinics, working on your lab techniques or working with vets to expand the treatment options you offer.

Now that I'm exploring this avenue of nursing, I can work with our medical vet to start offering interventions we usually referred before - such as blood transfusions.”

And how can we advocate for our patients?

I asked Lidia to share some of her favourite hacks and nursing interventions that she uses to make the biggest difference to her own patients.

Firstly - don’t forget the “little” things. Those “basics” can be easy to overlook, especially when you’re juggling a full ward, a busy shift, or difficult and intensive patients - but they really do make all the difference:

“I think it’s easy to get involved in all the complicated stuff and forget that our patients are away from home and feeling rubbish! An ICU nurse once told me not to forget that TLC is a form of treatment and she was so right!

Little things make all the difference like bathing patients, lots of cuddles, warming up their food. I’ve given feline patients my iPad to watch relaxing videos before so we’re now expanding that idea and placing a TV opposite our cat kennels to play Cat TV all day!

We also have an ‘emotional support’ box with teddies and pheromone sprays for each patient. 

And I like taking canine patients for a wander around the practice to stretch their legs and get cuddles with everyone so they don’t get too bored. 

You can also find dog podcasts on Spotify such as My Dog’s Favourite Podcast which has been developed to specifically relax dogs!“

Alongside TLC, minimising stress and monitoring pain are 2 of Lidia’s go-to fundamental nursing considerations. And they are SO important - it goes to show that, regardless of the clinic you work in, the cases you see, or the kit you have - the basic things are some of the most important:

“It can be easy to forget that the hospital environment is completely foreign to our patients. We’ll never make them as relaxed as home but there’s plenty we can implement to relieve their anxieties!

Making sure our patients have sufficient levels of analgesia by regularly pain scoring them is super important too. I think that can often be overlooked in first opinion in particular!”

It’s not all been plain sailing

If you’ve been following the blog and socials for a while, you know we’re not about the highlight reel here.

Comparison really can do a number on us as veterinary professionals - and no one’s journey through this profession is easy.

Like all of us, Lidia has hit some bumps in the road along the way. In fact, she nearly left the profession - but found the right practice, and has now settled into a role she can thrive in. It really goes to show that finding the right clinic makes all the difference:

“I felt completely burnt out towards the end of my student years as a result of feeling unsupported and undervalued.

I came very close to leaving the profession but decided to move to my current practice as a ‘last chance saloon’. I’m so glad I did as I’ve found somewhere where I’m allowed to explore my interests with a management team that supports my ambitions!”

And now, Lidia uses those roadblocks to help her team, making sure they feel empowered to speak up.

“My own experience has made me focus on the nurses who really kept me going as an SVN (my clinical coach in particular was my full-time therapist!).

I’ve tried to emulate them now I’m in a more senior role to create an environment where student nurses feel supported and aren’t afraid to speak up.

Our team have regular meetings and I love the fact that our students and VCAs are confident enough to advocate for changes and our vets are happy to hear them out!

It makes for a much healthier atmosphere where people feel valued, which in turn leads to better patient care! Gone are the days of ‘nurses being seen and not heard’, thank you very much!”

The fact that Lidia’s team now feel more able to speak up, suggest new ideas and advocate for their patients regardless of their role is just wonderful. The fact that she, and her team, are more involved in managing their patients is something every VN should strive for.

And that’s something she discovered when she joined the academy.

Lidia joined the medical nursing academy shortly after the doors opened - to learn more about her patients, feel more comfortable asking questions, and get more involved in the care of her patients.

And since joining, she’s been able to try out new skills and felt more confident discussing treatment plans with her vet team.

“The academy has made me get a lot more involved and has taught me there’s no such thing as a stupid question!

Everyone in the academy is so welcoming and happy to help out with any questions, no matter how basic - It’s lovely being part of a community of nurses who all care about the same things as you do!

That’s given me the confidence to ask vets more questions at work about why they’re using certain treatment methods or what outcomes to expect etc.

That’s the great thing about medics - everyone loves learning and sharing the knowledge they have! The academy really helps that info trickle down to everyone!”

Lidia’s journey is such an inspiring one and shows us all that, however you end up in this industry, every nurse and technician can thrive in the right environment, and with the right support.

Remember - you have a voice, so no matter the size of your clinic or the complexity of your cases, keep being that loud, proud voice for your patients!

Want to be part of a community of nurses and technicians just like Lidia? Get on the waiting list for the next academy intake here.