Suzy's journey from NUVS graduate to PDSA vet

Animal enthusiast, Suzy Shuttleworth, 25 from Surrey, joined PDSA’s Graduate Programme in 2019.

During her fourth year at The University of Nottingham, she attended a careers day and got talking to a PDSA vet.

Suzy said, “It was the vet’s compassion towards their life-saving work, and learning about PDSA as a charity which encouraged me to begin my career at PDSA”.

I was particularly impressed with how happy the vets were with their work/life balance, which is something the charity really cares about.”

Suzy’s favourite placement at University was at our Nottingham Pet Hospital on Dunkirk Road. Here she was able to see that everyone at PDSA really did care about their job and helping the charities vulnerable pets and owners. She said, “We were very practically involved from the get-go. Mostly with the university staff, but also with some of the hospital staff. It’s part of the reason I was attracted to the graduate scheme.”

The University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science (NUVS) offers three undergraduate courses accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. In 2020, the Vet School doubled its student’s numbers by becoming the first UK University to operate a ‘dual intake system’. The new Nottingham PDSA Pet Wellbeing Centre, The Marian and Christina Ionescu Hospital, will play an essential role in helping us to meet this increase in teaching capacity and continue enhancing their student learning experience.

NUVS deliver teaching through a range of partnerships, including with PDSA. This provides a highly stimulating and greatly valued hands-on learning environment for student vets. PDSA have long been voted as students’ preferred clinical placement destination.

Suzy continued, “The new Centre will hugely improve the day-to-day running of the hospital, which will help both pet owners and our workflow. It will also hugely improve the job happiness for the staff.”

“Having more space to improve pet owners involvement and education will help improve their pet’s health and welfare overall, as well as strengthen the vet-pet owner bond and understanding.”

The new facility will enable more students like Suzy to enhance their skills in a purpose built environment and help more pets get the care and treatment they need.

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