RCVS VN council election manifesto: Matthew Rendle RVN

Matthew’s VN career kicked off in 1989 at The Park Veterinary Centre in Watford, a busy mixed and exotics 13-vet practice. It was here he completed his training and here in 1994 where he became senior theatre nurse.

Leaving in 2003, Matthew headed to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to pursue his interest in zoo and wildlife nursing, where he remains.

Matthew is a regular lecturer to veterinary nursing and veterinary surgeon undergraduates at the RVC, and lectures on herpetology throughout Europe and America.

Why is he standing?

Matthew says he has “dedicated his life” to being a VN for 25 years, and has observed “many changes” that have taken place during this time.

“Our role and the general understanding of it has improved significantly within my time in the profession and it continues to,” he said. “I am passionate about veterinary nursing and consider myself very lucky to work at ZSL. With my experience and background, I am in a fortunate position to help educate and support the next generation of VNs.”

Matthew said it would be a “great honour” to be elected to council, as will be having the opportunity to represent UK VNs and “contribute to the advancement of our profession”.

“I would relish the opportunity to promote the vital role of the RVN,” he said.

Hustings highlights

In Matthew’s video, he said he feels there needs to be a “greater understanding” of the roles of a modern VN and, while these roles are “misunderstood” by the public, VNs are “too keen to blame this on everybody else”.

“I think a lot of it is our own fault,” he said. “We need to raise our profile and demonstrate professionalism wherever possible, and during my time on council I would really like to push forward on that.”

As a male VN, he would also like to work on diversity within the profession. “I’ve been a VN for more than 25 years now,” he said. “I’ve always really enjoyed it, and haven’t felt at any point that being male has held me back in any way, but again I think this comes down to public perception of what VNs are.”