Blue Cross VN of the Year
BVNA President Donna Lewis with Wendy Adams, Blue Cross veterinary clinical advisor and Nicola Ackerman. Photo courtesy of the BVNA.
The award was presented during BVNA Congress in Kettering, Northamptonshire by Jill Robinson, founder of the Animals Asia Foundation, and Wendy Adams, Blue Cross veterinary clinical advisor.
Wendy Adams said: "The Veterinary Nurse of the Year award is a chance for The Blue Cross to applaud the hard work and dedication of vet nurses in the UK. Particularly those who extend their reach to voluntary and community work to promote responsible pet ownership and animal care. We congratulate Nicola for winning this year’s award!”
Nicola was nominated for the award by veterinary nurses at The Veterinary Hospital Group surgery in Plymouth, and her husband Chris.
Hanno Payne, practice manager at The Veterinary Hospital said: "We are delighted that Nicola's commitment to animal welfare has been recognised by winning this award. Nicola spends a tremendous amount of time and effort organising events locally to promote preventative health care for pets and educate the public at large. She was instrumental in getting the educational ‘Pets in the Park’ initiative up and running and Nicola is always the first to volunteer for career talks and showing groups of youngsters around the hospital. Nicola is also keen to foster closer working relationships with other veterinary practices and their veterinary nurses in the wider Plymouth area and has created 'clinical clubs' for that to be possible.”
Commenting on her award, Nicola said: “I was absolutely gobsmacked when I found out I had won this award and has taken quite a while to sink in. I’d like to say a huge thank-you to my colleagues, and of course my husband, who nominated me. I wouldn’t be able to do the work I do without the strong support of my colleagues and family. I love my job and I’m lucky enough to work in such a forward thinking practice that allows vet nurses to undertake the work they are trained for.”
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
