I started my veterinary nursing journey as a student in 2006, after three years of university and still no idea what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. At the time, mum was a nurse and dad was a zookeeper, so veterinary nursing seemed a logical melding of the two. I wasn’t one of the people who grew up carefully tending to every sick animal in the neighbourhood or watching David Attenborough on TV – my love for animals, the environment and our amazing biodiversity in Aotearoa has come to me later in life. As a student all those years ago, veterinary nursing however, just felt right.

My first veterinary nursing job was as a student, doing Saturdays in the local clinic. This led to my first full-time position with a near-by group of clinics just prior to completing my Diploma, and promotion to clinic manager after only three months. To say I was thrown in at the deep end is an understatement, but I learnt an awful lot, very quickly! After a year in this role, I took the following year to do locum work in the UK, fitting in some travel while there. Over the course of that year, I did four months as senior nurse in a branch clinic of a national corporate group, three months with the RSPCA, and some shorter jobs (2-4 weeks) with a range of GP and specialist clinics across the country. An experience I highly recommend if you get this chance. It felt great to be able to use the full extent of my veterinary nursing skills all day, every day.

I returned to NZ just over a year later, and my previous employer had a new clinic needing a clinic manager – that had my name all over it. I was happy there, with an amazing team, for the next three years. I wasn’t looking for another position, and would have remained in clinical practice, but when the opportunity to apply for a teaching job came along, I knew this was my next direction. These roles don’t come along too often so I would be silly not to take the opportunity, and so, the big career shift into academia came with a lecturer position at Unitec - the same place I completed my veterinary nursing study.

When I first stepped into teaching, I felt a bit like a fish out of water. With no formal teaching background and only my veterinary nursing diploma at the time, I was suddenly working alongside some of the very lecturers who had once taught me. It was intimidating, and imposter syndrome definitely crept in.

However, I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have had strong support throughout my time at Unitec. That encouragement helped me complete both my Bachelor of Science—after pausing it to pursue veterinary nursing—and later, my Master of Science.

Teaching was a whole new world, with new highs, and new challenges. II spent several years in a core teaching role before gradually moving into management and leadership. My journey began as Programme Manager for Veterinary Nursing and Animal Management, and more recently, I’ve taken on the role of Head of School for the Environmental and Animal Sciences team. Today, I’m proud to lead a team of 38 dedicated staff and support the learning of over 500 students.

The classroom is still my happy place (better than board rooms and budgets!) so still take the chance to get into in when I can. My teaching focus these days is around the sustainability of the workforce, with a focus on managing wellbeing in the workplace, and psychosocial safety.

Working at Unitec has brought some career highlights, not just achieving my MSc, but also my promotion to Associate Professor – I believe I am the first veterinary nurse Associate Professor in Aotearoa and helping to write and deliver Aotearoa’s first Bachelor of Veterinary Nursing, with graduates across the motu. A proud achievement indeed. I was also fortunate to be able to help establish the now long-standing tradition of the Unitec veterinary nursing students annual trip to Tonga to support a South Pacific Animal Welfare vaccination and desexing clinic, a trip I have participate in for over a decade. 

But my favourite moments in this job? Orientation and Graduation. Welcoming our new cohort of students into Te Noho Kotahitanga marae with pōwhiri at the start of their studies and then seeing them walk across the stage to receive their qualification at the end. These two moments really hit home for me what my job is all about.

Working in academia also brought with it the opportunity to start a research career. With my undergraduate study not including a research component, this was again something new for me to get my head around, but with the support of colleagues, I published my first paper in my second year at Unitec, presented in the UK in my fourth, and have slowly built up a research portfolio.

Alongside all of this is my NZVNA role. I joined the NZVNA in 2013, the same year I started at Unitec, and became President in 2024. The growth of the association over that time has been remarkable to witness and be part of, and it is down to some amazing women giving up their space time to help advance and promote the role of allied veterinary professionals in a wide range of roles. The support the NZVNA provides its members, and the behind-the-scenes advocacy has made some real change. I can’t wait to see what the next 10 years brings.

I'd like to think my not-very-typical career journey shows that anything is possible, to take those scary opportunities when they come, lean on your colleagues for support, reach out to your wider community when you need to, and don't be afraid to be yourself.

Outside of work? It’s just me, Min, my eight-year-old Staffy cross, four chickens and a goldfish, all in a small suburban section in the heart of West Auckland. I’ve learned to love gardening and the peace that brings away from the busyness of work. I have family close by, so regularly have coffee catchups with mum (aka dog-sitter extraordinaire – thanks mum!) and have quickly built up my DIY skills – home ownership means the maintenance never stops.

Written by: Laura Harvey

Head of Environmental and Animal Sciences at Unitec
President, New Zealand Veterinary Nursing Association