Walk on the wild side

Otago Polytechnic’s Veterinary Nursing learners are taking a walk on the wild side.

This year we have introduced an on-campus New Zealand Diploma of Veterinary Nursing option (previously, the second year of the Diploma was only available as a distance programme).

Our learners, including those enrolled in the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Technology – Veterinary Nurse Assistant, now have the chance to learn from the experts at the Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, which operates from the same building.

Learners are involved in placements that give them insight into wildlife procedures relevant to the skills and competencies within the Veterinary Nursing programme: from surgical nursing and anaesthetic monitoring to nutrition and assisted feeding. 

NZ Diploma of Veterinary Nursing learner Casey Daniell has already had her eyes opened to the world of wildlife care by leading veterinary surgeon Dr Lisa Argilla, who heads the Wildlife Hospital team, and wildlife veterinary nurse Angelina Martelli.

“Working with wildlife is a very different experience to working with the small animals in a vet clinic,” the second-year learner explains.

“The animals we handle in a vet clinic are domesticated. They are used to being handled.

“In contrast, the Wildlife Hospital deals with penguins, kea, takahe and other bird species that have had minimal handling during their life, so we need to minimise stress to them by only handling them when required for feeding and medical procedures.”

Read more about our Veterinary Nursing programmes