A head vet at one of the UK’s leading primary care practices has spoken about the teenage inspiration behind her decision to join the profession.

Dr Rosie Hunter leads the team at Village Vet’s Milton hospital, which is one of the group’s 30 practices located across London, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.

While she now has a senior role within Linnaeus-owned Village Vet, Dr Hunter first came into contact with the practice many years ago – an encounter which left her determined to forge a career in the veterinary world.

She said: “I grew up in Cambridge and first saw practice at Village Vet when it was still Maple Cottage. I was 14 years old and Karen, the nurse there, was dipping X-ray films! I then returned when I was a veterinary student at Bristol for many weeks of extra-mural studies.

“After graduation, I went to work at an independent practice in Sudbury for two-and-a-half years before returning to Village Vet as a float vet. I was a float vet for around a year before taking a full-time role at Milton.”

Since joining Village Vet, Dr Hunter has completed not one but two Certificates in Advanced Veterinary Practice; one in Small Animal Medicine and one in Emergency and Critical Care.

She added: “As well as completing the written part of both of my certificates in advanced veterinary practice, I was also insane enough to attempt both synoptic exams in May and June this year. Somewhat against the odds, I passed both!

“To increase my letters further, I then applied for Advanced Practitioner Status in Emergency and Critical Care, for which Dr Philip Myles – who had just started as a vet back when I first arrived at Milton and helped me a lot – had to write me a reference, many years after it all began! This has just been approved and coincides with my appointment as head vet, which I am incredibly proud about.”

In her new role, Dr Hunter is responsible for ensuring gold standard patient care, the smooth running of the hospital and providing a link between management and the team on the ground.

She explained: “The position allows me to draw on my inner nerd by applying my knowledge and evidence base to practice, to ensure we are working at the forefront of veterinary medicine.”

Dr Hunter added that team wellbeing and morale was at the forefront of her mind as the industry continues to battle through what has been an incredibly tough 18 months since the start of the pandemic.

She said: “I am also really keen to boost team morale at a particularly stressful, busy and difficult time. I want to ensure every member of the team feels appreciated, so they work to the best of their ability and know what they do is respected and valued.

“I also want to continue the legacy of my predecessor here, Kristina. I was very fortunate to work under her and hope to try to emulate her values and leadership skills, or at least as many as I can.”

Village Vet’s regional director Hadi Borhani said: “Dr Hunter is an outstanding member of the team and is dedicated to providing the best care to our patients and their owners, as well as supporting and empowering our talented team.”

Outside of her work with Village Vet, Dr Hunter is a lead volunteer for Street Vet Cambridge and has also raised money for them by running six half-marathons and a full marathon.

For more information on Village Vet, visit https://villagevet.co.uk or search for Village Vet on social media.

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