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May marks the celebration of Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month (VNAM).

Every year during May, the veterinary profession recognises VNAM, proudly led by the  since 2004.

In the association’s 60th year, the campaign continues a theme of ‘Progression’ – reflecting the progress made by the Veterinary Nursing profession in the past 60 years and sharing ambitions for where it could continue to grow in the future.

The campaign aims to champion veterinary nurses, raising awareness of their important role within animal welfare amongst the public. To maximise the spread of awareness to the public, BVNA invites every member of the veterinary profession, along with pet owners and caregivers, to support the campaign.

At Harper Adams, we have dedicated team of Registered Veterinary Nurses leading the teaching of both undergraduate and postgraduate students.

To celebrate VNAM, we aim to share the diverse backgrounds and experiences that shape our roles within the veterinary profession in a series of short staff interviews – with Senior Lecturer Lucy Evans up next:

Who are you and what role do you play at ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ?

My name is Lucy Evans PGDip BSc (Hons) RVN PGCert Vet.Ed FHEA and I am a Senior Lecturer here at ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ.

When did you qualify? And what training did you do to achieve your qualifications?

I qualified in 2008 with a BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Nursing and Practice Administration.

What does being a Registered Veterinary Nurse mean to you?

Being an RVN mean that I am an advocate for my patients. It is such an important role in veterinary practice to ensure our individual patient needs are met.

What have you done recently to progress your knowledge or career path?

I am currently in the process of completing my MSc, having recently gained my postgraduate diploma. I’m on the last stretch to get my thesis written and submitted.

What do you consider the most rewarding part of teaching the next generation of Veterinary Nurses here at ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ?

Sharing my experiences is extremely rewarding, including getting students to discuss what they are seeing in practice, how things are changing, how the role is progressing and what they can achieve in practice.

It is lovely to see students after they’ve graduated and catch up on what they’ve been up to and how they are getting on, and great when we see them undertaking our postgraduate courses to continue their learning and career progression. It is always a pleasure to welcome a familiar face back here at Harper. 

As the BVNA celebrates its 60th year, what do you see for the future of Veterinary Nursing?

I hope that the Veterinary Nurse profession follows in the footsteps of human nursing by allowing specialisms on an official basis, therefore giving RVNs more responsibility in those areas that they are trained in. The aim being to improve job satisfaction within the profession and thus long-term retention.

What advice would you give someone thinking about a career as a Veterinary Nurse?

It’s a great career to be a part of – no two days are the same and you will gain so many additional skills in this role. If clinical work is not for you, there are so many other roles that this transferable skillset you have obtained will enable you to fulfil, both within and in the wider animal health and veterinary professions.

_{To find out more about the Veterinary Nursing profession please visit  and to find out more about our Undergraduate Degrees in Veterinary Nursing, click here.}