Veterinary Voices – Episode 1030

EnergyVets, Taranaki  |  Vet Nurse Alana Howard

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 1030.
Today we're continuing our Real Story series with EnergyVets in Taranaki, on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island.

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

EnergyVets is currently recruiting for an experienced small animal veterinarian – someone ready to step up, co-lead, mentor, and coach within the small animal team. Full role details are at vetclinicjobs.com/energyvets.

In this episode, we're catching up with vet nurse Alana Howard.

Julie South[00:01:06]
Alana shares the nursing perspective – what teamwork really looks like between vets and nurses, how support shows up during the busy times, and what makes a clinic feel steady rather than chaotic. 

As you listen, notice the everyday details Alana talks about. Those details are often what tells you whether a clinic is your kind of place – long before you ever apply.

Let's catch up with Alana.

Alana Howard[00:01:42]
Hi, I'm Alana. I'm a vet nurse at EnergyVets in Taranaki.

Julie South[00:01:47]
I understand you worked at EnergyVets some years ago, then went to Australia, and now you're back. Is that right?

Alana Howard[00:01:59]
Yes. I started my vet nursing career here at EnergyVets about 20 years ago, then went off, had a family, and eventually came back.

Julie South[00:02:07]
Not many people actually return to a clinic. There's a mental hurdle around going back rather than forward. Why did you come back to EnergyVets?

Alana Howard[00:02:20]
I think it's because I know where it all started for me, and EnergyVets always felt like a special place.

When I came back to New Zealand I took a bit of a break from nursing. When I heard there was an opportunity here again, I thought – this feels like a safe place to test the waters. And it's been fantastic since I walked back through the door. I felt welcome straight away, and I'm really enjoying being back nursing again.

Julie South[00:02:48]
Did you work as a nurse while you were in Australia?

Alana Howard[00:02:50]
I did – for a long time over there.

Julie South[00:02:52]
So you have genuine comparison. EnergyVets isn't the only clinic you've worked at. What makes it stand out?

Alana Howard[00:03:04]
It's the people. Everyone is included – no one is left on the outer. At other clinics there's often bitchiness behind the scenes, but you just don't get that here.

Everyone is generous with their time and their knowledge. They genuinely make you feel part of the family.

Julie South[00:03:27]
How long have you been back?

Alana Howard[00:03:30]
About ten months now.

Julie South[00:03:34]
You mentioned you're a mum. Coming back wasn't just your decision – your daughters' schooling was affected too. How did you approach that?

Alana Howard[00:04:08]
It was hard at first – they didn't want to come. They wanted to stay in Australia. But I'd been brought up in a country school here and I loved it. I loved the balance between classroom learning and the hands-on stuff.

Those memories are what made me choose a rural school for them. And they've just thrived over the last few years.

Julie South[00:04:35]
For someone listening from London or Auckland – and dare I say, Aucklanders rarely travel south of the Bombay Hills – what does a rural school actually look like?

Alana Howard[00:04:50]
Pet day. That's the standout memory for me. Rearing a calf or a lamb, bringing a dog or a cat – any animal really. There's all sorts that show up on pet day.

Cross-country events with other rural schools, swimming sports – and the school even has its own pool the kids use every day over summer. One of my daughters was a slow starter with swimming, and doing it every day has made a huge difference. She's just thrived.

Julie South[00:05:27]
How big is the school roll?

Alana Howard[00:05:31]
About 150 students.

Julie South[00:05:34]
That's the size of four classrooms in some city schools.

Alana Howard[00:05:42]
Yes – it's actually a bigger country school with about seven classrooms, so we've been lucky. But the teachers are amazing. They get to know each student individually in a way that just doesn't happen in large schools.

Julie South[00:05:57]
And your commute? Which clinic are you based at?

Alana Howard[00:06:10]
I split my time between the two clinics – a couple of days at each. I live out towards Stratford, so it's about a 20 to 40 minute drive.

Coming from Sydney, a 20 to 40 minute drive got you nowhere. But here, if I'm working at the Whtiwood clinic, I'm at the beach. My lunch break is spent looking at the waves. It's a very different kind of commute.

Julie South[00:06:39]
And not a single traffic light the whole way.

Alana Howard[00:06:43]
Not one.

Julie South[00:06:43]
You mentioned earlier it's the people. How would you describe the team?

Alana Howard[00:06:49]
They're lovely – a real mix of backgrounds and ages. Junior nurses coming through alongside senior nurses who've been there for years. Same with the vets, from new grads right through to people who've been practicing for decades.

Everyone wants to share their knowledge and help each other. No one shies away from hard work. They just get stuck in, and it makes for a really strong team.

Julie South[00:07:18]
As a vet nurse, do the small animal vets empower you to use your full nursing skill set?

Alana Howard[00:07:31]
Absolutely. We take bloods, place catheters, place ET tubes – all the things that help the day run more smoothly. It's really good.

Julie South[00:07:43]
If you had to pick one memorable or particularly interesting case, what would it be?

Alana Howard[00:07:54]
There was a dog that came in recently with a very enlarged abdomen. We ultrasounded and found a large fluid-filled mass. Took a sample, sent it off – and no one could work out what it was.

Going into that exploratory laparotomy not knowing whether the dog would go home that afternoon – that stayed with me. It was something none of us had ever seen before.

Julie South[00:08:29]
So it was an ex-lap. What did it turn out to be?

Alana Howard[00:08:34]
Part of a kidney, we believe. It was completely unrecognisable – nothing like a kidney should look. Something none of us had ever encountered before.

Julie South[00:08:52]
And it had a happy ending?

Alana Howard[00:08:55]
The dog went home. Very happy.

Julie South[00:08:58]
Three words to describe your team?

Alana Howard[00:09:05]
Passionate, caring, and dedicated.

Julie South[00:09:09]
What kind of person fits best into EnergyVets?

Alana Howard[00:09:15]
Someone who wants the best for their patients, who's dedicated to their career, and who's prepared to work hard. Really, I think we're adaptable enough to welcome most people into the fold.

But above everything – being passionate about what you do. Loving it. That's what matters most.

Julie South[00:09:36]
Can you give me an example of seeing a team member support or mentor someone else?

Alana Howard[00:09:52]
We have a new graduate at the moment who's been building her confidence since she arrived. When she first started, it was lovely watching the other vets just stop whatever they were doing to help her.

They'd support her in surgery, boost her confidence, and explain that everyone approaches a routine procedure slightly differently – same outcome, different paths. They'd share their own little tricks so she could find what worked best for her.

Just seeing them take that time, and be genuinely patient – that was really lovely.

Julie South[00:10:34]
Most vets and nurses I know have a special clinical interest. What's yours?

Alana Howard[00:10:44]
I love client education – really love it when a client leaves understanding something they didn't before.

I'm also passionate about rehab work. I haven't gone down that path here yet, but I'd love to. The difference that massage, hydrotherapy, or targeted exercises can make to a patient's recovery is remarkable.

Julie South[00:11:11]
Between your first stint at EnergyVets and coming back, quite a bit of time passed. How much had the clinic changed?

Alana Howard[00:11:27]
Hugely. When I first worked here, it was one small animal vet and me. Now there are three to four vets on every day, and three to four nurses supporting them. 

There's a large admin team, multiple large animal vets – and something I haven't seen elsewhere: a dedicated hub behind reception where staff handle phone calls, taking the pressure off the front desk. I think that's a really smart setup.

Julie South[00:12:03]
How do handovers work between shifts and clinics?

Alana Howard[00:12:08]
Often the same nurse or vet is rostered across consecutive days, which helps. 

When that's not the case, we use WhatsApp or Facebook messages to flag anything important. There's also quite a bit of communication between the two clinics throughout the day, so everyone stays across the same cases.

Julie South[00:12:29]
Alana, is there anything I haven't asked that you think an outsider should know?

Alana Howard[00:12:36]
The Taranaki region is genuinely beautiful – like nowhere else I've lived. Twenty minutes from most places and you're at the beach or up the mountain on a bush walk.

There's so much on as well – the Bowl of Brooklands carols, the Pukekura Park lights festival, the AMP show. Plenty to do, especially with kids. It's a wonderful place to bring a family up.

Julie South[00:13:21]
You've just heard from vet nurse Alana Howard, and she's added another layer to the picture building across this series.

Alana isn't sharing a leadership voice or a shareholder voice. She's giving you the nurse's perspective – what it actually feels like to work alongside the vets, how communication holds up under pressure, and what makes the days flow rather than fracture.

Across Michelle, Sam, and now Alana, the pattern is consistent. These aren't polished testimonials. They're everyday experiences, told independently, by people in different roles – about what it's genuinely like inside EnergyVets. And that's what helps vets and nurses decide whether somewhere feels right before they ever hit apply.

If you're an experienced small animal veterinarian and what you've heard sounds like your kind of clinic, you can explore the role at vetclinicjobs.com/energyvets.

And if you're responsible for recruitment at your clinic and you're listening thinking, "yes, Julie, we have stories like those – we just don't know how to tell them" – get in touch: julie@vetclinicjobs.com.

Coming up in episode 1031, we'll be hearing from new graduate veterinarian Dr. Sieara Claytor, bringing the early career lens to EnergyVets and what support looks like when you're just starting out.

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

When vets and nurses can see that you're their kind of people in their kind of clinic, you stop hiring strangers and you start welcoming people who already feel like they belong.

Until next time.