Studious Yorkshire Veterinary Nurse Joins World Elite

A registered veterinary nurse here at our award-winning animal hospital is toasting exam success which sees her join a very select group of peers around the world.

Maddie Enderby has become one of only 591 nurses in the world to hold veterinary technician specialist in emergency and critical care (VTS ECC) status.

Maddie, who has always enjoyed studying and applying what she learns to patient care, said: “This is an American society which recognises nurses who work in emergency and critical care.

“I am now a VTS ECC after more than two years of hard, and enjoyable, study. There are less than 600 nurses with the academy in the whole world, so I’m deeply honoured to be amongst such a select group.”

Coursework included preparing 50 case logs and four much more detailed case reports. Maddie also had to pass a skills list to confirm she is competent in her role.

It’s only then that nurses are invited to sit a final exam, which involves a tough paper.

Unlike many other qualifications which are for life, those wishing to keep their VTS status have to recertify every five years, either involving exams or accruing points which are gained by attending qualifying CPD, lecturing or writing.

Maddie, who qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2014 and has worked at Paragon since it opened in 2018, added: “The studying was very self-led, which kept me motivated. Now I’ve got even more skills, I’m looking forward to passing on my knowledge to other nurses in our intensive care unit.”

Sophie Adamantos, clinical director at Paragon, said: “We’re very proud of Maddie. It’s a fantastic achievement and Maddie is a great example of the high standards required of everyone at Paragon to enable the specialist level of care we offer at the animal hospital.”

Paragon provides expert care in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics and soft tissue surgery.