Episode 1032 — Nicky Smith, Head Vet Nurse, Energy Vets

Julie South [00:00:05] Welcome to Veterinary Voices, culture storytelling conversations that help veterinary clinics hire great people.

I'm Julie South, and this is episode 1032.

Today we're continuing our Real Stories series with Energy Vets in Taranaki on the West Coast of New Zealand's North Island.

Veterinary Voices is brought to you by VetClinicJobs, helping vet clinics tell their culture stories, not just post job ads.

At the time I'm recording this, Energy Vets is recruiting for an experienced small animal vet — someone ready to step up, co-lead, mentor, and coach within the small animal team. You can find the full role details and a whole bunch more information at vetclinicjobs.com/energyvets.

In this episode, I catch up with Nicky Smith, who leads the vet nursing team at Energy Vets. Nicky's worked in other clinics, she's lived in Auckland — which is New Zealand's biggest city — she's lived overseas, and yet when the time came, she made the deliberate decision to return to Taranaki.

Julie South [00:01:24] We hear about what real support looks like when emergencies walk through the door, how the nursing team develops and mentors younger nurses, how ideas are welcomed rather than shut down, and why community matters just as much as clinical skills.

Nicky also talks about schooling in Taranaki, why she chose to raise and educate her kids there, and what she believes smaller schools and strong community ties offer that big cities don't.

As you listen, notice how she describes looking out for each other — not as a slogan, but as everyday behaviour.

If you've been following this series, you'll recognise that theme: support. It's not just a slogan laminated on Energy Vets' walls — it's how things really happen there.

Let's join that chat with Nicky.

Nicky Smith [00:02:32] I'm Nicky Smith. I'm the head nurse, or nurse supervisor, at Energy Vets, and I've worked here for three years.

Julie South [00:02:40] Nicky, I'm presuming that as nurse supervisor and head nurse, you've worked in other clinics. What do you especially enjoy about Energy Vets?

Nicky Smith [00:02:54] Having worked in a different clinic here in Taranaki, what I enjoy about Energy Vets is the caring of each other — of each team.

Definitely within the nursing team and the vets as well. We all look out for each other. There's no one-upmanship.

If anyone's in strife, there's always someone that's only a second behind them to pick them back up.

Julie South [00:03:21] It's easy for a job ad to say "we have a supportive environment." What does that look like in real life?

Nicky Smith [00:03:31] In real life, as anyone in this industry would know, no two days are ever the same. You can have things booked in and try to be as organised as possible, but there's always going to be an emergency or something that comes in.

I think what makes Energy Vets special is that when we have emergencies — when we don't know what's coming in — everyone pitches in. There's not one person that stands back or is too afraid to help out.

We all just keep our stress levels at bay, see what each other is doing, see what needs to be done, and do it — all in a calm, professional, and friendly manner.

Julie South [00:04:21] Would you say the small animal vets utilise the skills that your nursing team has?

Nicky Smith [00:04:35] I think the small animal vets do try to utilise the nursing team as well as they can. I think there's always room for improvement.

As nurse supervisor, I try to look out for the younger nurses — the nurses that are in training — see what their capabilities are, then gently coax them into learning new skills.

I keep the vets informed, give them a heads up about where nurses are at, and communicate with them: "Hey, can you let this nurse try this skill or technique? Can you give this nurse some support or some extra tips?"

I can also do that with the other senior nurses as well. So yeah, I think there's always room for improvement, but I think we do pretty well at that.

Julie South [00:05:28] Off air, we were talking about the fact that you are Taranaki born and raised, but you left and you have returned. You went to a big city — Auckland — and you've lived overseas. What brought you back to Taranaki?

Nicky Smith [00:05:45] For some people, Taranaki is a place where they know it's home and they're always going to come back. For others, it's not quite that. But for me it was definitely home, and it always will be.

It's where I grew up, and it's just so different. I think it's a shame — and I feel sad — that there aren't more people who come and visit and take advantage of what we have here.

It's not just the sights. I think it's the nature of our people, our community, and our slower pace of living, and the caring about one another.

In Taranaki, we are very privileged to have a mindset of putting ourselves out there for other people and looking out for one another. I certainly didn't get that in the big cities or living overseas.

Julie South [00:06:44] We also talked off air — you're a parent, you're a mum. You've raised and educated your kids in Taranaki.

How has that been as a parent? Was it a major decision to perhaps stay in Auckland or overseas while your kids went through schooling, and then come back — or did you come back because of the schooling?

Nicky Smith [00:07:09] I definitely came back because of the schooling. Both my husband — or ex-husband — and I were born and bred in Taranaki and were schooled here.

Schools are smaller, the teachers have more time to spend with students. As I mentioned, the community is caring, and I didn't want my kids growing up where they're just a number.

I don't feel that's the case when you get your children schooled in Taranaki.

Julie South [00:07:36] How old are your children?

Nicky Smith [00:07:38] You're going to make me feel old now. Two boys and a girl — 26, 22, and 19.

Julie South [00:07:46] So they're not at school now?

Nicky Smith [00:07:49] No.

Julie South [00:07:49] What do you think — hypothetically — if they had a choice of being schooled overseas, in Auckland, or in Taranaki, what do you think they would say?

Nicky Smith [00:08:05] I definitely think — particularly for my eldest — he started school in Australia. He went to kindy there and part of his first year of primary school.

When he was five, unfortunately in Australia they don't start reading until they're six. We moved back the year he turned six — to Auckland first. He really struggled. The teacher had a big class, and it affected him mentally and his self-confidence.

Then we shifted to Taranaki not long after that, and the teacher just took him under his wing and got him back up to speed.

So I can pretty much vouch that he would say he'd definitely prefer to have been schooled straight off in Taranaki.

Nicky Smith [00:09:06] My second born is a little bit of a different story — he was actually born in Australia and he's currently living there with his partner. He's a teacher aide, so he might be a little bit on the fence.

Having said that, both my boys went to Francis Douglas College and absolutely loved it. They got into sport, went through to Year 13. My Aussie-born son has dyslexia, and the school were just amazing with him.

Yeah, he'd probably give credit to both.

Julie South [00:09:40] Listeners, Francis Douglas is a private all-boys school in New Plymouth, which is the largest city in Taranaki.

Julie South [00:09:55] I'm going to go slightly off track here. You've talked about community a couple of times. You run a community event that — if I understand correctly — is a charity event but has nothing to do with veterinary. Is that right?

Nicky Smith [00:10:14] That's correct.

Julie South [00:10:15] Talk to me about the community side of living in Taranaki.

Nicky Smith [00:10:24] I am the founder and organiser of the Cape Egmont Half Marathon. I've organised this event for the past eight years.

It came about from losing my dad to cancer, and also a very close friend who was a running buddy of mine.

I love to give back. It's helped me with my grieving process as well. And I just love being able to see the happiness on people's faces as they cross the line, and to see the difference it makes to people's lives.

The Taranaki people really get in behind the event. I've been so lucky. Participation numbers go up every year, and sponsorship is never a problem.

That's just another plus side to living in Taranaki — if you're involved in anything like that, the community will get behind you. And we also support people who are in need as well.

Julie South [00:11:24] Listening to your founder story — I lost my dad to cancer 21 years ago. I've also been a has-been runner, cyclist, and triathlete.

While you were talking, I recalled a couple of events where — because my dad was a has-been runner too — marathon clinics were our thing as a family when I was growing up. And I can remember crossing finish lines thinking: "Did this one for you, Dad."

Nicky Smith [00:12:05] Yeah, absolutely.

The event happens in July. A lot of people have said to me, "Why do you do it in July? It's winter, it's going to be raining."

There are so many people who've crossed the line cold and wet and turned to me and said, "Oh, it's okay — these are tears from heaven." And I think it so is.

I can't think of anything better to spend my spare time doing.

Julie South [00:12:33] Is it only a half marathon, or do you have shorter distances?

Nicky Smith [00:12:37] We have the half marathon, and then we also offer a two-person team event where people can run or walk half each as a team.

Julie South [00:12:45] I haven't got 21Ks in my hips anymore, but I might have 10.

Nicky Smith [00:12:51] That'd be cool.

Julie South [00:12:52] As we're recording this, listeners, it's January — so July is still six months away. No promises.

Random question: what's your favourite piece of kit?

Nicky Smith [00:13:07] I had to think about this one for a bit — and the answer should have come to me a lot more quickly.

I would have to say our Bear Hugger. A Bear Hugger is what keeps animals warm before, during, and after surgery. I just can't put a price on that.

It gives us nurses peace of mind and a tool to warm our patients up if they're too cold. That would definitely be my favourite piece of kit.

Julie South [00:13:43] Another random question: if I asked you to describe your team in three words, what words would you use?

Nicky Smith [00:13:51] Friendly, caring, and supportive.

Julie South [00:13:54] What do you think is Energy Vets' best-kept secret?

Nicky Smith [00:14:00] The best-kept secret would be the nature of our teams — how we care for one another, how we look out for each other. There's no one-upmanship.

You can come to work and there's no toxicity, no bullying. It's an amazing place to work — I haven't ever had that before. And I hope it continues, and I'm sure it will.

It just makes you happy to come to work. We all love to look after our animals, but we also have to be happy working with the humans we've got too.

I think that's our best-kept secret.

Julie South [00:14:36] I understand that the vets move between Inglewood and Waitara. Do the nurses do that as well?

Nicky Smith [00:14:44] Yes, we do.

Julie South [00:14:45] How do you find that as a nurse?

Nicky Smith [00:14:48] I think when you start off at Energy Vets, it can be a little bit challenging. But I would say to someone thinking of applying: take it on as a challenge.

Once you get that under your belt, you'll be away flying. It's two different clinics — things aren't in the same places at each. You need to become familiar with that.

But I think it just makes you a better nurse, more adaptable. And I like it.

Julie South [00:15:25] So it's just the physical layout that's different — the practice management system is the same across both?

Nicky Smith [00:15:34] Yes, practice management is the same across both. It's literally just the working environment.

When you first start off it can be a bit tricky — you're new anyway and trying to find things in different places. And sometimes you won't have a consistent couple of days at the same clinic.

As a nurse, you need to be adaptable and able to cope with that. I think it's a good thing.

Julie South [00:16:05] Let's talk after hours. There's a one-hour after-hours window between the clinic closing and after-hours opening, and then there's the Saturday pickup. How does that work?

Nicky Smith [00:16:22] It sort of depends on the case — what's coming in, what the vet's assessment is. But it never seems to be an issue with the nursing team.

One of us will say, "Hey, I'll stay on later — that's not a problem."

Saturdays we work one in four here at Inglewood, and there are a couple of people who work in Waitara according to their roster.

Julie South [00:16:51] Nicky, looking back through the years you've been at Energy Vets — if I asked you to identify one case that was the most interesting, memorable, or satisfying, which one would you choose?

Nicky Smith [00:17:14] That's easy.

At the last clinic I worked at, I introduced something called Pet of the Year. I started it here at Energy Vets last year. Basically, I got the nurses and the small animal vets to nominate a couple of patients during the year, and then we voted until we had an overall winner.

My most memorable patient would be a farm dog called Jazz Fairweather. She came in unable to stand — very wobbly. The farmer had no idea what had happened to her. She was lying recumbent on her side.

We found out she'd got into some milk powder that contained rumensin, which is toxic to dogs. Quite a few of us nursed her for at least ten days.

Nicky Smith [00:18:11] Her owner could quite easily have made the other decision, but he gave her a chance.

I would go in and massage her legs and move them for her. We'd rotate her so she didn't get sore. And she came right.

Unfortunately, a year later she did the same thing — and she pulled through that as well.

It was just a pleasure to see such a sick animal nursed back to health, and to have the owner have faith that she was going to be okay.

Julie South [00:18:48] Was she a working dog or a pet?

Nicky Smith [00:18:50] A working dog, yeah. And each time I think she was chomping at the bit to get back to work, but she had to be on rest. I don't think she liked that much.

Julie South [00:19:00] You mentioned you introduced Pet of the Year. How receptive is management to new ideas and systems?

Nicky Smith [00:19:16] I ran it past my immediate boss, Kylie, and said, "Look, this isn't going to be a public thing — it's just an in-house thing. I don't want any of our clients to feel funny about it." She was all go.

I did land Greg in it a bit though. He didn't quite know what I'd been doing, and at our Christmas function he wasn't planning to get up and say anything. He thought he'd have a year off.

But I asked him to announce the winner. Afterwards, I got feedback from him that he thought it was a pretty cool idea.

Julie South [00:19:50] So you introduced this internal clinic thing — what was the outcome? What did Pet of the Year actually look like?

Nicky Smith [00:20:07] The winner of last year's Pet of the Year was actually a staff animal — the previous head nurse's dog, who used to come in with her every day.

Tui was just like another member of staff, really. Unfortunately, she was put to sleep last year.

She was our winner, and I think it was lovely that she won — she had been part of the Energy Vets team for quite a few years.

Julie South [00:20:39] Let's talk about handovers — patient handovers. How does that work at Energy Vets?

Nicky Smith [00:20:47] I think the nursing team does very well at communicating with one another. We say, "Hey, this is the animal I've been looking after" — we go through their obs with the person taking over, inform them of where we're up to, if there's anything else that needs doing, anyone to contact, whether to chase up a vet.

I think we do a really good job of that.

With the vets, I think they communicate relatively well too. At times it's hard because they get busy — you're just chasing your tail. But for the most part, yeah, I think they do a good job as well.

Julie South [00:21:29] Do you have rounds?

Nicky Smith [00:21:31] We don't have rounds as such, but if you're the surgery nurse of the day, you've always got an eye on your patients.

And if you're still busy in surgery, everyone feels comfortable asking someone else: "Hey, can you check on such and such? Can you do a temperature check for me?" That's never a problem.

Julie South [00:21:56] What sort of person do you think would fit best into Energy Vets, regardless of position?

Nicky Smith [00:22:04] Someone who has a good sense of humour.

I think that's probably another hidden gem of ours — and something I like to incorporate daily with my team and with the small animal vets as well.

You can't put money on having a laugh. Our job is very serious at times, very sad, very stressful — and it's really good to feel like you can have a laugh to take the edge off, while still being supportive and conscientious.

Julie South [00:22:42] You've mentioned that you introduced Pet of the Year. Have you seen other team members introduce ideas that have been adopted — or perhaps ideas that have been knocked back?

Nicky Smith [00:23:02] Definitely. In the last two years we've had great stability within our nursing team. We've had a lot of new nurses come in, and they're really conscientious.

As nurse supervisor, I really welcome new ideas and I support people in carrying them out. We've definitely had a lot of new things implemented.

Julie South [00:23:36] And is management receptive to new ideas?

Nicky Smith [00:23:40] Yes. When it comes to our team, it's usually the little things that make us more efficient. So it's not necessarily something we have to run past management — they have faith in us making small tweaks.

I don't feel like there's ever been any micromanaging.

If it was something bigger — something involving a client-facing form, for example — we'd always run it past management. And I can say they're very receptive to whatever we want to put forward.

Julie South [00:24:20] Nicky, is there anything I haven't asked you that you think would be really important for an outsider to know if they're considering working at Energy Vets?

Nicky Smith [00:24:37] Just that it's a great place to work.

Everyone has a great sense of humour. If anyone's having a bad day, there's always someone trying to pick them up.

We just look out for each other, and I think that's hard to find these days.

Julie South [00:24:56] Can you give me a real-life example of what looking out for each other actually looks like?

Nicky Smith [00:25:02] One of the nursing team sadly had to put her animal to sleep, and another nurse went and bought her flowers — went to her house.

We've got team members whose family members are sick at the moment, and we always check in to see how she's doing. I try to support her as much as I can.

Those are examples of that side of things.

Julie South [00:25:33] Anything else you'd like to say in closing?

Nicky Smith [00:25:38] If you're from outside of Taranaki — give us a go. We're great people with big hearts who are really supportive.

The Awakena Gorge is not that bad. And there is life beyond Bombay Hill.

Julie South [00:25:52] I love the Awakena Gorge.

Nicky Smith [00:25:55] Yeah. I've converted an Aucklander — he's got work down here now and he never wants to leave. His family are in Auckland of course, but he would never live up there again. Go Nicky.

Julie South [00:26:12] That was Nicky Smith, head vet nurse at Energy Vets, and her perspective on what it's like working and living in Taranaki. Not theory, not marketing language — the operational reality.

You heard her talk about what happens when emergencies walk through the door, how younger nurses are coached into new skills, how management responds to new ideas, what after hours really looks like when you're the one doing it, and how looking out for each other is just what happens at this clinic.

Nicky also spoke about something bigger than the clinic walls. She talked about community — about choosing to return to Taranaki, choosing the schooling there, and founding the Cape Egmont Half Marathon after losing her dad to cancer.

If you'd like to learn more about that or support the cause — maybe lace up your shoes and be on the start line — you can find the details at capeegmonthalf.com. I'll put that link in the show notes.

Julie South [00:27:24] Across this Real Stories series, we've now heard from leadership, from senior vets, a returning nurse, a new graduate, and now the head nurse at Energy Vets. Different roles, still telling the same pattern, the same story.

If you're responsible for recruitment at your clinic and you're listening to this thinking, "Hey Julie, yes — we have stories like this too, but we just don't tell them" — I'd love to have a chat. You can get hold of me at julie@vetclinicjobs.com.

And if you're an experienced small animal vet thinking this sounds like your kind of clinic, you can find out more at vetclinicjobs.com/energyvets.

Coming up in episode 1033 next week, we catch up with Kylie Lindsay, Energy Vets' Clinic Services Manager. She'll be bringing the operational and leadership lens to how Energy Vets runs behind the scenes. I look forward to you joining me for that one.

Julie South [00:28:26] Thank you for staying to the end.

This is Julie South signing off and inviting you to go out there and be your most fantabulous self.

And remember — when vets and nurses can see that you're their kind of people, you stop hiring strangers and you start welcoming people who already feel that they belong at your place.

Until next time.