In this Veterinary Nurse career interview, we talk all things Dog Grooming with RVN Lucy Sullivan.
Lucy has diversified her nursing career by opening her own highly successful dog grooming boutique, where she now manages her own team and has a continuous stream of happy clients.
Lucy talks about how her nursing background has helped her succeed and ensures she provides the best for her clients and their pets.
Lucy also gives advice on how and why more Vet Nurses should open their own businesses in areas they are passionate about.
Veterinary Nurse to Dog Groomer
Why did you decide you wanted to take the career route of dog grooming?
I decided to go down the dog grooming and part-time nursing route because of a number of reasons. Nursing sadly doesn’t allow you to have any work/life balance, it can be very demanding physically and mentally with little to no support from employers, and the pay isn’t enough to sustain a moderate lifestyle.
The perks of this are I can provide the time to my dog grooming clients that I wasn’t able to when doing nurse consultations in practice. It has definitely improved the relationships between my clients and the veterinary industry.
All it needs is a little more time and a little more explanation.
What further qualifications and training to did you have to undertake to get to where you are now?
Since qualifying via the diploma route back in 2019, I’ve since completed a Level 3 Dog Grooming Diploma, The BVNA Oral Nurse Certificate, and a Fear Free Certification.
What does an average day look like for you?
An average day starts at 7:30 am and I start setting up for the day in the grooming studio. My first dog or cat arrives between 8 am and 9 am. Throughout the day we have a dog approximately every hour.
Each dog is greeted by me or one of my team, my then employees bath and dry them, and I do the grooming, health check, dental check, and weighing elements. If there is anything abnormal found during their time with us, I will chat to the client when reuniting them with their owners.
What do you enjoy most about your current job?
I thoroughly love what I do and feel I have found the perfect blend between grooming and nursing.
Do you still work as an RVN, if yes, is this something you plan to keep up?
I still work once a week as an RVN in a fantastic practice in Wandsworth. Vicky has been such a brilliant boss, and definitely a role model in how I run my business and treat my staff.
It is very rare to find such a harmonious team whilst providing the top standard of care, I’m very lucky to be part of it.
What advice would you give to any RVNs looking to move their career in the direction of grooming or starting their own business?
If you’re wanting a change in career or changing to part-time nursing, start with making a list of life goals and visualising how you want to live your life – a vision board has helped me.
The service you can provide as a veterinary nurse can be invaluable to owners. The additional knowledge provides peace of mind to their owners in between their annual health checks at the vets.
Seeing their pet so regularly means you can pick up on the smallest of changes, get a diagnosis and treatment from their vets early, and in some circumstances dramatically improve their pet’s lives.
You’re so used to working 10-12+ hour shifts for someone else, make that hard graft work for you!
Finally, what are your current future career goals or aspirations?
Now my little team is growing, I’m aiming to improve the service for my current clients by having additional spa treatments to further enhance their pet’s experience, health, and welfare.
A pet boutique hotel is in the mix somewhere too!
You can follow Lucy’s journey on Instagram at The Grooming Nurse and on her website.
