New RVNs celebrated at December Veterinary Nurses Day

On Wednesday 3 December 2025, we held our December Veterinary Nurses Day at Central Hall, Westminster, to celebrate the achievements of those veterinary nurses who recently completed their qualification and joined the RCVS Register, and those who completed a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (CertAVN) qualification.

Held twice a year, the December ceremony welcomed 92 new RVNs and five RVNs receiving their CertAVN, along with their friends and families.

The ceremony was hosted by Jasmine Curtis RVN, VN Qualifications Assessor, who was joined by Chair of VN Council, Belinda Andrews-Jones RVN, RCVS President, Professor Tim Parkin FRCVS, VN Examinations Quality Lead, Victoria Hedges RVN, and keynote speaker, Joy Howell RVN.

Speaking at the occasion, Belinda Andrews-Jones said: “Today is a momentous day for you all. As veterinary nurses, you are an essential part of the veterinary team. You will work alongside your colleagues to ensure the health and welfare of your patients.

“You will make a positive difference on every shift you work. Do not ever forget that.”

After the new RVNs made their professional declaration, and all RVNs had been presented with their scrolls, keynote speaker Joy Howell took to the stage, to speak about her ‘Forty Fabulous Years’ in veterinary nursing.

Speaking of the day, Joy said: “I just think it’s amazing. When I first started out, there was no VN Day and to see them all come together, take their oath, celebrate and meet one another is just so inspiring.

“Some of them might have noticed that I was making my oath again because if I listened to them and didn’t speak, I’d probably cry!

“I would say to any new veterinary nurse don’t limit yourself. If you have a dream, go for it and never turn down an opportunity to do training, CPD or gain new experience. Doing extra courses and training can open up so many doors.”

Zainub Rawat RVN, a new RVN, was excited to have finished her exams and is now looking forward to her future career. She said: “It just feels like a huge weight off my shoulders – after all the studying and exams I can finally say I'm a registered vet nurse.

“The thing I’m looking forward to most now is starting work. I’ve applied to be veterinary nurse in the army which is obviously a bit different to working in a normal clinic. I'm really excited to get stuck in and see how the army animals work, how it’s different to small animal practice, and how it all works out in the field.”

As well as welcoming new RVNs to the profession, the day also celebrated those veterinary nurses who had achieved their CertAVN qualifications, five of whom were present at the ceremony.

For Hayley Ayers RVN, demonstrating the variety of career pathways open to nurses was an important part of undertaking the CertAVN. She said: “I feel very passionate about the nursing role as a whole. When people go into it they often think that all they can do is clinical nursing when actually the avenues you can take as a veterinary nurse are so vast. I’m really passionate about veterinary nurses progressing in research and in further education and there’s absolutely no reason that you can’t do that as a nurse.

“I think it’s really important that we demonstrate that – especially to all the fresh undergrads
– that there are multiple exciting pathways available to veterinary nurses.”

For Debbie Addison RVN, taking the CertAVN gave her a newfound sense of confidence to take on more responsibility and push herself further out of her comfort zone. She said: “While I was really passionate about the subjects of exotics and wildlife nursing, I didn’t have the confidence.

“The CertAVN course has given me the confidence to get on the clinical board for my corporation, change policies on a nationwide scale, produce clinical guidelines – all things I’d never have been able to do unless I’d undertaken something like the CertAVN."

“The CertAVN course has given me the confidence to get on the clinical board for my corporation, change policies on a nationwide scale, produce clinical guidelines – all things I’d never have been able to do unless I’d undertaken something like the CertAVN.

“It’s helped me learn to self-critique, self-evaluate and do critical evaluations of nursing as a whole. Being able to do that, to see where we’re going wrong, and how we can continuously improve can only be a good thing.”

The next Veterinary Nurses Day is due to take place in Edinburgh in May 2026.