What jobs and careers can a veterinary nursing degree lead to?
As a vet nursing student based in Malta, I am currently studying and working towards becoming an RVN. Through my course, I have conducted research into the job and career pathways that this can lead to. Here's what I found that may help you too.
Through the RCVS case studies page, you can see that becoming a registered veterinary nurse does not lead to only one specific role. It can lead to many other career opportunities. Through this article, I'll be going through a few of the case studies and writing my thoughts on them.
Lyndsay Hughes RVN
Lyndsay Hughes is a registered veterinary nurse and the only nurse on a board of veterinary directors. Lyndsay Hughes began working in practice in 2002 and qualified as a vet nurse in 2013, starting out, like most veterinary nurses do, on the clinic floor. From there, she worked her way through head nurse and management roles before becoming one of the small animal directors of a vet hospital in Swindon, making her the only nurse on the board of veterinary directors.
What Lyndsay’s career shows us is that the vet nursing degree is not linked to a single role. With the right experience, ambition, and willingness to grow beyond the clinic, this can lead to business leadership and even board-level decision-making roles that are traditionally held by vet surgeons.
Hamish Morrin MSc RVN FHEA
Hamish Morrin is a teaching fellow at the Royal Veterinary College. Today, he teaches vet nursing, but he started as a zookeeper, then trained as a vet nurse. He says he's worked in a range of zoos and wildlife hospitals, as well as charity and referral hospitals. He realised that he enjoyed teaching and supporting students, so he started lecturing. Hamish is teaching both the Foundation and Bachelor’s programmes at RVC, but before getting to this point, he started as a lecturer in animal science for a couple of years.
What Hamish's journey tells us is that a vet nursing degree opens doors far beyond general practice into things such as academia, wildlife, and international animal welfare. He himself says the key is to try different things because you never know where you'll find your most fulfilling career.
Carl Rudkin RVN
Carl Rudkin takes veterinary nursing in a completely different direction, into the world of oncology. As an Oncology Nurse, Carl's day-to-day work involves caring for patients undergoing chemotherapy and palliative care, placing oncology catheters, administering chemotherapy agents, and advising ward nurses on the specialist care these patients need. His path there was gradual, starting in mixed practice, moving to a larger general practice with orthopaedic referral, then spending seven years at a referral hospital before landing his oncology role at Davies. It is worth noting that Carl also holds a Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Nursing from the Royal Veterinary College, showing that further study after qualifying can open doors to specialised roles. His advice to anyone wanting to follow a similar path is to seek out oncology and palliative care CPD and look for practices that already have an oncology programme.
Carl's story shows us that a veterinary nursing degree can lead to specialised clinical roles that most people outside the profession don't even know exist, where nurses are not just supporting vets, but leading specialist care in their own right.
I chose these three nurses specifically because each represents a completely different pathway that a veterinary nursing degree can lead to. Lyndsay shows that with the right ambition, this degree can take you all the way into business leadership and board-level decision-making. Hamish shows us that it can lead to academia and teaching, shaping the next generation of veterinary nurses. And Carl shows us that it can lead to deep clinical specialisation, where nurses are leading their own area of care rather than simply supporting vets. Three nurses, three completely different careers, all built on the same foundation - a veterinary nursing degree. This is what I found most exciting about my research. The question is not what jobs a vet nursing degree leads to. The question is where you are willing to take it.
