Simmy the locum

19/11/2023

Have you signed up? 😃

Dear Vet Nurse buddies, this looks exciting, and Helen is wonderful so it's bound to great. register guys, it launches in January. x

16/10/2023

Super interesting case this morning, but sadly she is my own cat 😭

So my beautiful girl has been diagnosed with iris melanoma, this morning. As beautiful as her eye looks it's really bad news.

Endika Garcia the opthalmologist at ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists took straight to it this morning with no messing; opthalmic examination, ocular ultrasound, full abdominal ultrasound including peripheral lymph nodes. Once happy with the diagnosis, and confident there was no systemic spread, the anaesthesia and surgery team had her under general anaesthesia, a retrobulbar nerve block administerd, and her eye was enucleated in no time 😌

Frankie is home now, and although a bit traumatic settling into her kennel for the next week, I am glad she is back.

Frankie will have to have regular opthalmology checks with Endika, to keep the healthy eye assessed, but hey today feels like the wonderful team of people I work with have just saved her life 🙏

10/10/2023

Overwhelming excitement when your new books arrive 😃

08/10/2023

BVNA congress 2023
Friends were met (and remembered) and a little bit of laughter occurred 😉

Had a fantastic time in the exhibition, way too much chocolate andcyet again too many pens 🤣

06/10/2023

You've gotta be in it to win guys!

06/10/2023

Here we go!!

25/09/2023

Well, my posts have been few, and I apologise as there may be no future ones for a while.

The nurse manager role has gone live today 💃, and this is my double screen station!
Bill Gates, will be knocking on the door in no time 🤣

So, if I get a really awesome case I will post, otherwise you all take care. Look after yourselves and each other, and I'll see you soon.
Love Simmy the locum

14/09/2023

So life has been a bit hectic while learning the ropes for the nurse manager stand in position, trying to aid in implementing the dreaded change to a bonded team, and trying to keep up with the clinical work 😴 So I apologise for not many posts.

The big thing this week though for me - I have become a student again👩‍🎓and I have started a six week course, on an introduction to counselling; week one was great! 🤓

I found it really interesting, and for those of you who know me well enough won't be shocked to hear that it wasn't in enough depth for me at all, but I guess that's why it's just an introduction! 😛

Fingers crossed the rest of the course is as stimulating 🥳

Student life - ☕️🍫 vending machine ✅️

08/09/2023

26/08/2023

We had to remove this foreign body yesterday in a small and very naughty Jack Russel.

A big chunck of rubber off a dog toy. The owner had thrown this toy away and forgotten about it, so I guess this had been sat in the stomach some time.

So exciting 😃

21/08/2023

A small busy shift this morning, back in first opinion 🏃‍♀️

Starting off with dinosaur vaccines 😉, and the beautiful oldies for their limpy leg injections, it was straight through to the preparation room to help with the surgical list 😷

My teacher trainer hat went on to do a little bit of anaesthesia training with the SVN 👩‍🎓

Then my infusion pump wouldn't work so some old school mathematics to calculate the intravenous fluid rate in drops/sec ️🤓, I kept a close eye on my multiparameter for that one! 🧐

Then what turns up? A bouncy bouncy oops I'm in your belly ball. We tried to get the poor little one to vomit it out, but sadly it wasn't successful. So surgery was opted for by the owner.

I'm sure he will bounce back in no time. 🙃

21/08/2023

🦖🦕😮
Maybe I'll Google 🤭

21/08/2023

Happy Monday everyone. Make your week happy and positive. X

19/08/2023

Bought a book today - let's see if the bottom of this ladder makes me want to continue to climb.

19/08/2023

What an izzy wizzy let's get busy week I have had this week.

My first opinion work has been lot's of fun, with the handsome Darren, puppies and oldies. We've had a couple of diabetics to stabilise, lot's of teeth, mystery lameness investigations, lumps in abundance and much much more - the variety of case load in first opinion is awesome, I love it 💕

My referral work - the hospital co-ordinator has had me run ragid! 🏃‍♀️

Cardiology mostly, and we have had some critical cases - heart failure decomposition in a cat, he was scary, but responded so well to treatment that happily he went home - I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed that it's a long way off before he becomes refractory 🤞

Respiratory case - a poor 10mth kitten with respiratory problems. This poor little one, saw us in the cardiology, imaging and bronchoscopy departments before settling down with the girls in intensive care. With thanks to having all these disciplines on site a diagnosis was made within a few hours of admission, direct treatment given and a speedy recovery! 🐈‍⬛️🫶

Medicine department - well they were all gastric this week. Endoscopes, enemas, and emetics everywhere 🤭.

Last but not least - helping the orthopeadic surgeon in surgery! As always a complete and total joy to assist this man 🦴💞🦴 (then I had to wash the pots!!).

14/08/2023

💕

11/08/2023

Today was vaccination day and I had these two beautiful puppies 😍

Our little border collie pup was an absolute whirl wind of delight, and fitter than a flea. Me and his mum had a good old laugh trying to get these photos 📸🐕💞

The beautiful cockerpoo was sadly feeling a little under the weather today - so home with some medications, and a weekend of rest.
She'll be back in on Monday, with a much better tummy hopefully and a little more spring in her step 🙏

11/08/2023

Well, I have had a fabulous week!! 🥰

Vets4Pets Latchford on Monday, and I am back there today. I met the beautiful Serena on Monday, her first day in practice after qualifying as a veterinary surgeon from Nottingham University, I am back there today and I can't wait to see how she has got on this week.
🤞 she is in practice today 💕

Midweek, I have been back home at ChesterGates Veterinary Specialists in cardiology 😃
We had two cases this week with heart failure, a cat and a dog - happily they have both gone home, and due a recheck next week for assessment.

What a fantastic job the clinicians and the wards nurses have done in pulling those patients through, it has taken a huge amount of consitant observational nursing from the girls in wards, to notice the subtle changes in these patients which indicated progress or regression - the team should be very proud of themselves 🥳🫶🐕🐈‍⬛️

So, just enough time for a little more mindfulness with another brew in the garden before heading off today. 😌☕️🌳

08/08/2023

Happy international cats day to all our feline friends 😻

I have certainly been tested in work today, and I feel it should be called international grumpy cat day! 🙀

So here are my three, drop your beauties in the comments 🥰

07/08/2023

So what a lovely surprise I came home to today:
A letter from the RCVS congratulating me on 30 years of registration 😃

I first started my nursing career on Monday 7th December 1987, I was 16 years of age, and when I say I had no idea of what being a veterinary nurse involved or even what a veterinary nurse was then please believe me. 😦

My ambition was to be an inspector for the RSPCA and following the footsteps of a TV inspector called Sid Jenkins. I had watched him on the telly, and read the book! What could stop me?! 🤭

So I stumbled into veterinary nursing, with a huge help from my parents, and at the end of day one I was not going to change this opportunity for anything. The first surgery I saw was a splenectomy on a German Shepherd, I was on duty that evening under the care of my head nurse, without her I would not be the nurse I am today ❤️

With huge gratitude to each and every member of the proffesion I have worked alongside, laughed with, cried with, sighed with, those I sat through their lectures, called in a crisis, been shouted at from, been told off from - it's always a lesson learnt - I still love veterinary as much today as I did back then. 💕

Yes, the profession has changed, BUT, what we do is still the same - we make animals better - for me this is the most rewarding role and I am honoured to have veterinary nursing as my career 🩺🐈🐦🐕🦔🦆🦢🐁🐀🐢🐍🦎

26/07/2023

Today is national dog photography day!!

Drop some pictures of your beauties for fun 💕 here are my two 💕

21/07/2023

💕i've done it - cardio course complete💕
For anyone wanting to improve your cardio knowledge, then I deffinatly recommend this course - Charlotte Pace holds our hand all the way through and the delivery is exceptional ❤️