Veterinary nurses

Samantha attained a BSc (Hons) in veterinary nursing and practice administration from the University of Bristol in 2007. She then spent five years working in an orthopaedic referral before joining the team at Carrick in 2012. Samantha was promoted to head nurse in 2015 and has a keen interest in radiography, anaesthesia and surgical nursing. She is working towards standardising the nurse clinics so we can offer a consistent service alongside our current care to you and your pets. Samantha has three dogs: a Springer Spaniel, a crossbreed rescue from Romania and a Patterdale Terrier, who she regularly enjoys walking through the countryside near home with. Her spare time is often divided between martial arts, in which she holds at least a black belt in three sports.

Leah joined our Carrick team in January 2022. She qualified as a registered veterinary nurse in 2019 from Nottingham Trent University. She then topped up her degree to a BSc (Hons), graduating in 2021.

Leah’s favourite part of nursing is inpatient care as well as performing schedule 3 procedure, in which she hopes to pursue a certificate in. Leah also has a keen interest in exotic species nursing and is currently working to gain a certificate in advanced nursing of small mammals.

At home, Leah has two cats (Oscar & Tosh), a horse named Matrix, a paceman frog named have and an array of snakes and tarantulas. When not are work or studying, Leah spends most of her spare time riding her horse.

Deborah joined the Carrick family in May 2019 as a Student Veterinary Nurse. The Carrick team supported Deborah through her final training and exams, and is now excited to continue her journey as a Registered Veterinary Nurse since passing in Summer 2021.

Deborah has been working in the Veterinary industry for six years, beginning her career as an Animal Care Assistant. Deborah enjoyed learning all aspects of patient care in this role and quickly progressed to become Student Veterinary Nurse, during which time she further expanded her skills and gained a vast amount of knowledge. Deborah enjoys all aspects of nursing but has a keen interest in inpatient care and nurse consultations. Deborah finds caring for poorly pets and helping on their journey to recovery particularly rewarding.

At home, Deborah has three energetic dogs to keep her busy and enjoys taking them on walks on trails, parks or woodlands and exploring new places. Deborah also enjoys reading, spending time with Family and Friends, and enjoys watching a variety of films in her spare time.

Rachel is a qualified veterinary nurse who joined Carrick in October 2014 and works part time. She started nursing in 2002 and qualified in 2005. Rachel always wanted to work with animals from a young age, often taking strays home to her parents. Rachel’s favourite part of the job is assisting the Vet in theatre or being in cattery looking after our feline patients.

At home, Rachel has a wire haired Whippet called Zeke and two mischievous cats called Motty (who brings her at least 5 dead mice a day!) and Pippin who were both rescued as strays, as well as two feral children. Outside of work Rachel is kept busy looking after her two young children, going out for walks and day trips out. Rachel is a huge movie fan, likes to exercise from home and also likes to read if can find a spare minute in the busy life of a working mum.

Alice qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2018 from the Royal Veterinary College, University of London. She then topped up her degree to a BSc (Hons) the following year, gaining first class honours. She did most of her student training with Carrick, starting in 2015, and subsequently accepted her first RVN role with us in 2019. In between studying and working, Alice took her nursing skills abroad to work with wild safari animals in South Africa and volunteered with ‘Mission Rabies’ in India.

She loves all aspects of nursing and enjoys that every day is different and unpredictable. She has a keen interest in emergency and critical care cases. Outside of work, Alice spends a lot of time walking her Whippet, Lola and spending time with friends and family.

Stephanie joined the team in 2021, shortly after qualifying as a Registered Veterinary nurse in June 2021, completing her training which began in 2018. Stephanie trained at Nottingham Trent University completing her placement at another CVS practice. Steph’s favourite part of nursing is prepping patients for theatre and assisting the vet in surgery. Stephanie also has a keen interest in exotic nursing and is currently working to gain her exotic nursing certificate.

At home, Stephanie has two rats named Toki and Twitch, many other small furries, two cats and two dogs. In her spare time she likes to do yoga, walk her dogs and shop!

Rachel qualified in Spring 2021 from the College of Animal Welfare and joined the Carrick team in January 2022. Since joining she has also started her advanced nursing diploma to further improve her skills.

Her favourite part of nursing is nurse clinics, she believes that building a relationship with clients and their pets so that we can work as a team to deliver gold standard care in practice and at home is the ideal. She also has an interest in exotics especially of the scaly kind.

At home she has two huskies Star and Finnegan to keep her busy as well as a little leopard gecko called Peaches. When not studying or looking after her pets you can often find her singing along with her dogs as backing vocals.

Sandy joined Carrick at the end 2019 as a receptionist, having previously worked as a teaching assistant. She then joined the nursing team in 2021 as a student veterinary nurse, studying at the College of Animal Welfare. Sandy aims to qualify as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in summer 2023.

Sandy is owned by two rescued cats, Phoenix and Salem, who came from Cats Protection and took over her house three years ago. When not working or studying Sandy enjoys spending time outdoors, either horse riding or walking. However, she does like to curl up with a good book… if the cats allow her to read it without sitting on it.

Casey joined the Carrick Veterinary Group team in September 2019 as a veterinary receptionist. Since then, she has progressed to become a part of the nursing team as a Patient Care Assistant and started this role in July 2021. She was delighted with achieving this new role as part of this amazing team and could not wait to begin learning new skills. Casey is eager to expand her knowledge and training by hoping to begin training as a Student Veterinary Nurse in the future.

Casey loves every aspect of her job and always looks forward to coming to work. There is always something new and interesting each day and there is no better feeling than helping our patients get better with our care. In her time away from work, she enjoys to keep fit and active, whether it be from walking with her two dogs or participating in some form of sport or exercise.

Jodie joined our team at Carrick Veterinary Group in May 2021 as a receptionist, and in March 2022 moved onto the nursing team as a PCA (Patient Care Assistant) to develop her career in the veterinary industry. She enjoys all aspects of her job as each day brings something new and is always eager to learn more. Jodie has a passion for animal welfare, hoping to provide the best experience and give the best care for all our clients.

Outside of work Jodie has a very close family, whom she loves to spend time with, including her little dog Winston who is a Tripod and loves to go on walks with him finding new places and adventures.