Nursing staff
RVT, VTS anaesthesia & analgesia
Alexander has a passion for teaching and anaesthesia. He is a Veterinary Technician Specialist in Anaesthesia and Analgesia and is in the Masters Program at Edinburgh University achieving his Masters in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. He takes pride in educating students and staff in all disciplines as well as curating online workshops focusing on anaesthesia and patient management. Alexander has an interest in studies and writing journal articles, having presented at the World Congress. Outside of work he enjoys socialising, relaxing, reading and binge watching shows and movies.
Veterinary Nursing Certificate
Kelly completed her Veterinary Nursing Certificate in 1993 and spent 15 years in a busy private practice as the head nurse and manager of the Burwood Animals Rescue Kennels. The no-kill shelter re-homed abandoned and neglected animals within the Burwood Council district.
As a result of her interest in animal behaviour she has completed her Certificate IV in Companion Animal Service and is an Accredited Instructor with Delta Society Australia.
Her dog training business ‘Love on a Leash’ was established and Kelly runs Puppy Preschool classes and private consultations to manage basic obedience and behavioural issues in dogs.
Kelly spent 9 months in a veterinary specialist centre before joining the UVTHS team in 2005 and can often be heard singing her favourite Prince songs through the corridors.
Having previously completed a Zoology degree at the University of Glasgow, in 2019 Chris qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse, registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in the UK.
He soon packed his bags and headed to Australia where he worked as a locum in the Eastern suburbs for a short period, before joining UVTHS as an ECC and then joined the Referral Medicine nursing team in February 2020.
From here he moved to Queensland for a year and worked as an Internal Medicine nurse at a busy specialist hospital in Brisbane before moving back down south and rejoining the UVTHS team as a Referral Medicine nurse at the end of 2021.
Outside of work Chris enjoys swimming and exploring the aussie outdoors in the plentiful sunshine he missed having grown up in Scotland.
Certificate IV Veterinary Nursing
Lydia gained her New Zealand Certificate in veterinary nursing in 2002. For Lydia’s first six years of nursing she worked at the busy Auckland SPCA. Since this time Lydia has enjoyed a variety of different nursing roles in New Zealand, England and Melbourne including but not limited to a Specialist Surgical Nurse and Practice Manager.
Having moved to Sydney in September 2015 to join our SAVES team at the UVTH; she is looking forward to learning new skills from her experienced colleagues and all the challenges this role will bring.
Lydia is looking forward to making Sydney her new home and exploring the sights with her energetic Boston Terrier named Pepper.
Certificate IV Veterinary Nursing
Voki had worked in a busy general Practical Hospital for two years before joining the UVTHS team as a dermatology nurse in 2015. She then transitioned to the referral medical team and continued her passion for feline welfare which drives her keen interest in feline medicine and her current pursuit of a Feline Medicine Nursing Diploma.
Outside of work, Voki loves knitting and crocheting animal toys, and she delights in gardening alongside her chicken friends. She treasures moments spent with her cherished"C" Team – her chickens and cat.
Voki has a Devon Rex “Finnegan”, a rescued cat “Juno”, and a flock of five adorable chickens.
Certificate IV Veterinary Nursing
Tamara began her career in the year 2007 at a busy 24/7 private hospital. She was initially employed as an animal attendant but quickly found her passion in caring for the sick and injured animals.
Tamara began working as a trainee nurse in the Internal medicine team and gained necessary experience while completing her certificate. Once graduated Tamara rotated through many services including; Diagnostic Imaging, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Avian & Exotics and Emergency & Critical Care.
Joining UVTHS in 2020 on our Primary care team for a short while before finding her home on the Emergency & Critical Care service.
Not only does Tamara love the patients, but she loves interacting with clients, so you will see her smiling face if your pet needs to be triaged at the hospital.
Outside of work Tamara loves spending her time with her family and many animals.
She shares her home with 10 cats, 3 dogs, a small human and a husband.
Betty graduated with a Bachelors in Animal and Veterinary Bioscience from the University of Sydney in 2021 with a First Class Honours for her research into the health issues faced by the Australian dog population. She has since joined UVTHS and has worked in the surgery department for the past three years. Driven by her passion for animal health, Betty's work as a Surgical Assistant largely revolves around ensuring your pets are looked after while in the operating room and ensuring the surgeons are kept happy while operating. She is responsible for preparing all the equipment needed for every surgery, keeping a high level of sterility and cleanliness to minimise patient infections and maintaining our machinery in the operating room.
To further her knowledge, she is pursuing a Certificate in Veterinary Nursing and teaching workshops as she regularly provides surgery education for our Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students to satisfy her love for teaching.
Betty is also a dedicated pet parent of a 3 year old Border Collie, Mili, who experiences refractory epileptic seizures.
Carolina has a passion for anaesthesia and emergency and critical care. She has been a veterinary nurse since 2019 and completed a Bachelor of Science (Zoology) in 2022.
She is interested in all aspects of veterinary medicine and would love to become a veterinarian one day.
Outside of work, she loves spending time with her dogs Bernie and Jack, socialising, and going to the beach.
MSc, BSc (hons) RVN
Becky completed her BSc (hons) in veterinary nursing in 2010 at the Royal Veterinary College, London. After graduating, she worked at the University’s referral hospital in the internal medicine department for 5 years.
During this time, Becky also completed a MSc in veterinary nursing, becoming the first nurse to hold this qualification. Becky then broadened her skill set working at Bristol University’s hospital for one year in the theatre, anaesthesia and medicine teams.
Becky then packed her bags for a year of travelling around Australia’s stunning red centre and scenic coastlines. She worked at multiple practices and volunteered at a desex clinic in the Gili Islands, Indonesia.
Ending her travel year in Sydney, Becky settled into her current role as an ECC nurse and Nurse Unit Coordinator at UVTHS, making Sydney her permanent home along with her beloved Havanese pup, Billie.
Certificate III Captive animal management, Certificate IV Veterinary Nursing
Rebecca joined UVTHS in early 2010 as an ICU nurse. Before this she worked for a number of years at Kirrawee Vet Hospital, Ku-ring-gai Veterinary Hospital and as the senior nurse at Roseville vet clinic. Rebecca completed her certificate of veterinary nursing in 1996.
In 2004 Bec spent a year teaching Dressage in London’s Hyde Park Stables and travelling the UK and Europe. Bec also spent some time volunteering in Borneo with the endanged Sun bears and Orang-utans.
When not working Rebecca surfs, dives, trains in Taikido and spoils her cats Henry and William.
Nicole has been working as a nurse in a mix of GP and shelter hospitals in Sydney for the last 4 years and has developed a strong interest in complex medicine cases. She intends to provide the highest level of patient care and to deliver a good dose of TLC to our patients (especially feline!).
Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience (Honours I), Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing
Melissa first completed a Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience (Honours I) in 2014 through The University of Sydney. From there, Melissa began her first job as a veterinary nurse with her local GP veterinary hospital, and quickly fell in love with everything that general practice had to offer. Melissa joined the Primary Care team in 2018.
Her favourite role is teaching DVM students everything about veterinary dentistry, from dental radiography to prophylactic treatment. In 2020, Melissa became a Puppy Preschool Instructor for UVTHS. She loves nothing more than supporting new puppy owners through the ups-and-downs of owning a new puppy, and seeing once timid puppies play with confidence!
Melissa adores all animals, but especially loves wildlife, exotic and unusual pets! Melissa is a proud fur-mum to three guinea pigs, two cockatiels, two Eastern Snake-necked Turtles, and a Shih Tzu X named Chicken.
Ashleigh completed her Certificate IV in Veterinary nursing in 2019 and joined our team at UVTHS in July 2021. She has mainly worked in GP hospitals during her nursing experience, although has had some previous experience within a specialist hospital and mobile vet.
She enjoys being part of our Primary Care team assisting the vets and students and being involved particularly in dentistry and wildlife.
Ashleigh has 2 cats called Ginger and Toffee who she adopted since stray kittens. In her downtime she enjoys gardening, her collection of indoor plants and playing board games.
In the future she intends to further develop her nursing skills whilst pursing her interest in dentistry, wildlife & exotic animals and anaesthesia.
Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing Diploma Emergency and critical care
Alecia is a certified veterinary nurse who started her career in a referral hospital in 2006. She has extensive knowledge and experience in medicine, oncology and emergency and critical care nursing and has completed a diploma of Emergency and Critical Care at TAFE in 2013. Alecia has a special interest in the compassionate care of pets with cancer.
Alecia is our Oncology Nurse and also helps coordinate the canine blood donor bank at UVTHS.
Veterinary Nursing Certificate, Domestic Animal Care
One of the most longstanding members of the UVTHS Nursing team, Rhonda joined the UVTHS as a veterinary nurse in 1986 & continues to work as one of our Primary Care nurses; her special interest is veterinary dermatology.
During her time here she has completed TAFE training in both domestic animal care and veterinary nursing. Rhonda not only looks after the patients at UVTHS, she also looks after the people employed here, as she is our WHS Officer.
Rhonda has a Chihuahua cross foxy ‘Chelsea’ and has recently adopted one of the UVTHS retired feline blood donors ‘Bruno’.
Certificate IV Veterinary Nursing
Amanda has worked in the animal industry for 8 years. She started her Veterinary Nursing career in a small practice North West of Sydney.
She joined the Imaging department at UVTHS in August 2014 after gaining her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing. She is responsible for DX images, Fluoroscopy and has a special interest in training future veterinarians.
Amanda’s spare time is spent being outdoors, shooting target archery or spending time with her 3 dogs.
Associate Diploma in Animal Technology
Jo obtained her Associate Diploma in Animal Technology from Ultimo TAFE in 2001, and joined the UVTHS as an ICU veterinary nurse in April, 2003.
Jo then moved on to work with the medicine specialist team where she continues to work as one of our medicine nurses.
Like most nurses, she has a menagerie, which keeps her busy (a dog, a cat, a rabbit and assorted fish). She also enjoys being outdoors, reading and spending time with her two sons.