Today I’m joined by Medical Nursing Academy member Sarah Tomlinson. Sarah has had a particularly interesting journey through her career, finding veterinary nursing later in life.

After sadly losing her mum too soon, she decided that life was too short and it was time to follow her dreams to become an RVN, initially training as an animal nursing assistant, before working her way through her SVN training.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing and there were a few practice changes along the way, but Sarah is now thriving as a lead nurse for a large GP clinic, with a particular passion for medical patients.

Here, Sarah shares some really valuable insights from her journey, as well as her advice and top tips for medical cases - and despite your practice or role, I know you’ll find so much value in her journey.

Sarah’s journey

It started at 32…

Sarah decided a career change was in order at 32 - and like many new nurses, she struggled to secure a position initially. This is something we’re being faced with more and more now, but Sarah’s story proves that getting into nursing is possible, even when it seems like getting a training position will never happen.

How did she do it? Well, Sarah initially volunteered part time at a mixed practice clinic to complete her animal nursing assistant training, which led to a permanent ANA position. From here, she completed her first year of SVN training at that same clinic.

Sarah moved to a larger small animal hospital to complete the rest of her training - this was a corporate practice, so had more structured support for student nurses, including a nursing academy where she received additional training. This move proved to be a great one, because she ‘found her feet’ there and really started exploring her passion for not just nursing, but also leadership.

Lots of nurses think training is a huge tie-in and that if you happen to be in a clinic that’s not the right fit for you, you’re stuck there until you qualify - Sarah’s story shows us that’s not always the case, and that there are so many different routes through to becoming an RVN!

And where is Sarah now?

Fast forward to today, and Sarah is working as the lead nurse at Leadon Vale vets. It’s a large small animal hospital with lots of facilities, including laparoscopy and endoscopy, MRI, lab and rehabilitation - and as well as getting stuck in clinically, she also trains and supports her team - especially drawing on her own experiences to support SVNs as a clinical coach.

One of the things Sarah is proudest of is how much the nurses get to actually do at her hospital:

“I love the variety of cases we see, and we have a good strong clinical team, where the nurses are fully utilised to their capabilities.”

And then there was medicine…

Sarah’s passion lies within medical nursing. She sees so many medical cases at Leadon Vale, and - like many of us - she found the different diseases, diagnostic tests, and the varied nursing care these patients need fascinating.

“We see so many different medical cases, I just took to it.

I thrive nursing these patients! I think that there is just so much that we can do as nurses to ensure these patients are getting the very best care.

By understanding as much as we can about the patient’s particular medical condition, we can tailor our nursing care to them as an individual, focusing on the patient’s own needs, and acting as their advocate.”

So what is it about medicine?

Sarah’s favourite thing about nursing medical patients is getting that treatment plan set up, and focusing on getting her patients comfortable, settled into the hospital, and planning their nursing care.

She’s currently putting all of this into practice with one of her favourite patients - a cat with GI lymphoma, who she sees regularly for chemotherapy:

“I love it when I can get my patient settled and comfortable, and get a treatment plan on board.

I’m currently nursing a young cat with lymphoma - she’s recovered from her ex-lap surgery, and has just received her second dose of chemotherapy. I know that the prognosis is poor, but she’s gaining weight and doing so well!”

Her favourite conditions include diabetes and cushing’s disease, but any medical patient is a winner in Sarah’s books!

Sarah also sees some really interesting cases, and has a Basset Hound who she sees regularly for IMHA rechecks, weight checks and wound management - showing how much nurses can do in the long-term care of these complex medical patients.

“We have been seeing a basset for months now. He originally presented with infected hocks requiring lots of wound management - we did several fish skin skin grafts, which was a very long process, and he’s still healing now.

But alongside all of this he developed IMHA, with a PCV of 18% and 10kg weight loss - dropping from 36kg to 26kg!

Glad to say that today his PCV is 31% and he weighed in at 34kg, so he’s getting back to his normal self!”

Sarah’s top tips and lessons for medical nursing

Sarah’s journey through nursing so far has been such a different one to the traditional routes many of us have followed - and I really think she is such a great example of how you can overcome challenges to follow your dreams and have such a rewarding career.

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

“Don’t be afraid to share your experiences with others.  I love getting everyone together to share their ideas - sometimes you might feel that you can’t speak up and say what you think, but I find most people like to share ideas if they’re given the chance to.

And always be your patient's advocate - if you are concerned, trust yourself and don’t doubt that gut instinct!”

And what about medical nursing?

Sarah’s advice for anyone wanting to explore medicine more? It’s simple - to go for it!

“Do it! There’s so much out there, you’ll never stop learning and evolving. It’s just so rewarding to see how your care and hard work impacts your patient - not just their outcome, but their wellbeing day-to-day, too.”

What does this look like practically?

Because we love an actionable takeaway here, I asked Sarah to share some of her favourite hacks and nursing interventions that she uses to make the biggest difference to her own patients.

First up, Sarah shares a simple tip on how to get samples from your patient easily, in a much kinder way for them:

“Use the saphenous vein more! I find that the patient tolerates it well as they seem less reactive.  I tend to go higher up with the lateral saphenous as it’s straighter.

The medial is also great for getting blood samples especially from cats - you can get a good amount easily.”

And her favourite tip for day-to-day nursing care? To not forget the small stuff - things like TLC, grooming and face washing might seem like ‘optional extras’ especially in a busy ward with lots of treatments, but they do add up and make a big difference to our patients.

“I like to spend time with them, which can be easier said than done!

But to give them a groom, face wash, hand feed etc… It really makes all the difference. 

To take them into another area (if possible) for a change of environment - even if it’s just for 10 mins. It’s these little things that really add up to make a huge impact.”

It’s not all been smooth sailing…

Sarah’s career so far has shown us that noone’s nursing journey is linear - there are ups and downs along the way, and often they help shape you into the nurse you will become.

There hasn’t always been times where it’s been easy - there have been challenges along the way, dealing with bullying and the difficulties that come with leading a team - but not being afraid to speak up, and the support of her management team have allowed Sarah to continue thriving and build her team into a happy, caring, supportive team where the nurses are allowed to really make a difference to their patients.

And that caring community is what also led Sarah to the academy.

Sarah is one of our founding academy members. She’s been with us since the academy opened, and joined because she wanted to be part of a team of like-minded nurses.

She’s also furthering her medicine knowledge by studying her NCert in Medical Nursing, and uses the clinical CPD to help that medical nursing knowledge stick.

“I think that the academy goes hand in hand with my NCert studies. The resources are brilliant and it's nice to have it as your go-to - where you know you’re part of a community and can ask like-minded nurses what they think.” 

Most importantly, though, Sarah has found that the academy has given her the confidence in herself she needed. She now trusts in her knowledge and skills more, and can ask questions or speak up about a patient without self-doubt.

“I really feel that it has given me more confidence in my knowledge and skills. I can now ask for advice, opinions or questions without feeling stupid!” 

Sarah is a shining example of how a squiggly career path can lead to amazing job satisfaction and feeling like a valued, integral member of a team. I’m so proud to have her as part of the academy, and grateful that the other members inside get to learn from her, and her unique path through nursing so far!

Want to learn with Sarah and the rest of our team?

I’m so excited to let you know that, at the time of this post going live, the academy doors are OPEN!

Until September 1st, there are some limited spots inside the academy up for grabs - so if Sarah’s story has resonated with you, and you want to learn inside with (and from!) her and the rest of our members, you can find out more at www.medicalnursingacademy.com. 

If you’ve got any questions, or want to head inside the academy for a sneak preview, drop me a DM on Instagram and let’s have a chat!