The veterinary nurse community is a pretty small world. It’s not uncommon to have friends and former co-workers at vet clinics across the city and even states. You’ll bump into your colleagues at the supermarket and coffee shops to trade quick war stories about the cat they couldn’t pill and the dachshund who refused to have his nails trimmed. These moments make us miss our friends and warms nostalgia in our hearts. Don’t limit your interaction with other vet nurses to chance meetings. Networking is a great way to stay connected with past co-workers and as well as to uncover new vet nurse job openings. Networking can also enhance your education making your more eligible for vet nurse jobs in Sydney as they open. In addition to all of the career oriented benefits of networking, they can also help you get through tough emotional times and fight vet nurse burnout.
Sydney is a great city with plenty of opportunities for networking. If you are not a member of the Veterinary Nurses Council of Australia, now is a great time to join. They offer plenty of continued education courses for vet nurses throughout the year. Not only do they provide great classes, but they work with legislative bodies to increase opportunities for vet nurses. Your membership fees are even tax deductable. You should also look into local groups through the school that you earned your certification from. You will get to see familiar faces and catch up on time lost from graduation to the present.
Other networking opportunities for vet nurses in Sydney can be found through social media. Did you know that Hill’s has a Vet Nurse networking site on Facebook? They offer great tips and because the group is on a social site you can post comments, ask questions and get to know your fellow vet nurses.
If either of those options don’t get you excited, then we challenge you to start your own. Using tools like Meetup.com you can create a group and invite vet nurses all over Sydney. The advantage of starting your own networking group are really two fold. First, you can set-up meeting times, activities, and rules based on your schedule. This control allows you to make sure you can make all of the meetings. Don’t stress about time, meet with your core group and assign tasks so that everyone is involved and eager to attend future meetings. Create a calendar where everyone presents a different topic to help educate and pick the brains of your colleagues. The second advantage for starting the group is that it is a great item to add to your resume. Not only does it prove you are a self-starter (a highly desired skill), but you are also passionate about keeping your skills on point.
If starting a networking group for vet nurses in Sydney is intimidating, no worries. Invite your co-workers out once a month for happy hour or dinner. Use this time to rehash some of the tough cases you saw and celebrate the big successes. Just being able to communicate with other who know your pain and joy can go a long way towards keeping your sanity.
Connecting with other vet nurses in Sydney will open many doors for you. Whether you choose to join an organization, start engaging with vet nurses socially, or decided to take the plunge and start your own networking group you won’t be sorry. You will get to talk about your work with like-minded vet nurses and you will be learning about new job opportunities and make yourself more reachable. Go out there and get connected.
