Joining the Pennard Vets team is much more than just a career choice – it’s a move to become one of our employee owners. Everyone from our vets to our admin team is #ProudlyPennards, and we all work hard to help new starters to feel like part of the family. Here we’re asking our newest starters to share their experience of becoming an employee owner at Pennard Vets. This week we hear from Meg Rockell- Bennett, who is a registered veterinary nurse and practice principle.
Can you walk me through your professional journey from when you started at Pennards to your current position now?
“In 2012 I started with Pennards at the Tonbridge branch as an animal care assistant, I then went on to become a SVN whilst attending college one day per week and working in practice. I qualified as an RVN in 2016 and continued working at the Tonbridge branch until 2020. Through covid the opportunity to work on developing the new PMS, Ezyvet came up. This taught me lots of new skills including the detail of how the programme works for us, also developing relationships with external people and companies, I enjoyed working within a small team on a project very much.
After this project, the opportunity as a nursing team leader became available at the Sevenoaks branch and from here, I have progressed onto my current role as RVN Practice Principal for the Sevenoaks Group.”
What are your main roles and responsibilities?
“As Practice Principal, I oversee the team and workings of the Sevenoaks, Borough Green and out of hours departments. I look at some big picture topics such as the recruitment and future projects. I work closely with the team leaders to ensure smooth day to day running for the teams.”
Can you tell me something you’re really passionate about in veterinary nursing?
Within nursing, my main passion has always been feline medicine, I think it is so important to ensure anxious cats are dealt with as calmly as possible. Looking after cat inpatients is the best shift for me! I also enjoy positioning for radiographs and nurse clinics.
What do you love the most about working at Pennards?
“The thing I enjoy most about working at Pennards is the family feel it brings. The teams are so close and support each other through good and bad, this makes all the hard work worth it when you can share the wins with each other!”
Have you used your unlimited CPD budget for any extra qualifications?
“The main things I have been able to do with my CPD budget are attend several congresses and conferences. I have enjoyed the leadership focussed events such as SPVS and VMG in recent years, I’ve found it beneficial to be out of the practice and be able to focus on those topics for a day or two. I have got a lot of out them, that I have brought back to practice.”
What would you say to a fellow RVN that wants a change in their current practice?
“If someone was looking to change practices, I would recommend thinking about what you want out of a day / week / year to understand what you want in a role. Also spend time with any prospective practices to get a feel for how the team works together and what the vibe is!”
If you are a registered veterinary nurse wanting a change of scenery or a supportive team dynamic, come and request a day to spend with us and see if we are the right fit for you!
Joining our supported and empowered nursing team, visit careers.pennardvets.com.
