About the Australian College of Veterinary Nursing

Warning: Our passion for veterinary nursing is highly infectious.

It’s quickly transferred to our students and the clinics they work in.

That’s what makes our graduates so sought after.  They receive the industry’s best possible education, and their hard work and enthusiasm is rewarded with extremely high employment rates post-training.

Our history.

We started out in 2010 as Veterinary Nurse Solutions.  Our mission – to provide an easily accessible and affordable veterinary nursing education designed specifically for the Australian vet industry, and delivered purely from a nursing perspective.

We began delivering qualification programs in April 2011. Due to their success and popularity, we decided to form an institution solely dedicated to providing outstanding veterinary nursing training.

And so The Australian College of Veterinary Nursing was born.

Our name may have changed, but we’re proud that the quality of training and outstanding student support remains as remarkable as ever.

Our Training Staff

Harrie Phillips RVN, DipVN (Surgical, ECC), TAA

Managing Director

Harrie Phillips is an Australian Veterinary Nurse as well as a UK registered veterinary nurse. She completed her Diploma of Veterinary Nursing (Surgical) in 2009 and her Diploma of Veterinary Nursing (Emergency & Critical Care) in 2012 and has worked in a variety of clinics from general practice, emergency and critical care, specialist centres and in universities.

Harrie completed qualifications in management, human resources, and training & assessment while working as the Nursing Manager at a specialist centre. She also completed courses on human hospital level sterilisation and infection control, applying this knowledge to improving procedures in veterinary clinics.

She regularly publishes articles in veterinary nursing publications and you’ll probably see her at various conferences lecturing on foundation and surgical nursing skills.  In 2009 she was awarded the VNCA’s Professional Development Scholarship, which allowed her to travel to the UK to further study rehabilitation and physiotherapy for neurological patients.  She employs these skills in the rehab department of a Melbourne specialist centre on a casual basis.

Harrie now runs Veterinary Nurse Solutions and enjoys developing courses for veterinary nurses the world over. She has also volunteered as a veterinary nurse for Vets Beyond Borders in India.

Lauri Steel DipVN (ECC), AVN, TAA

Training Manager

Cert IV & Diploma of Veterinary Nursing Co-ordinator

Lauri is a qualified and Accredited Veterinary Nurse, obtaining her Diploma of Veterinary Nursing (Emergency & Critical Care) in 2012. She has a passion for staff training and education, and achieved her vocational training qualifications in 2010.

Lauri currently works for Veterinary Nurse Solutions full time as the Training Manager, but has worked in many busy general practices and has previously worked in other training roles within the veterinary industry.

Lauri brings a wealth of general practice knowledge to our training. She’s a generous trainer, readily imparting her extensive theoretical and practical knowledge to our students. 

Outside of work Lauri’s second love is krav maga, a close combat self-defense system. She regularly contributes articles in local veterinary nursing publications, but generally dedicates her spare time to writing learning resources for the further education of veterinary nursing students.

Amy Hope VN

Nurse Educator

Cert II/III in Animal Studies Co-Ordinator

Anita Parkin AVN, DipVN (Surgical), VTS (Anaesthesia), TAA

Nurse Educator

Anita has been a Veterinary Nurse for over 20 years and brings a wealth of knowledge to our training team.  For the past three years she has lectured in Veterinary Nursing, coordinating Veterinary Nurse and Technician workshops and in-clinic training programs both locally and internationally.

Anita completed her Surgical Diploma in 2007.  In 2009 she became an Accredited Veterinary Nurse and completed her Veterinary Technician Specialty of Anaesthesia in the USA. In 2011, she was the first Australian Veterinary professional to pass the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) exam.

She is a member of the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anaesthetists, International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management, International Veterinary Critical Care Society and Veterinary Nurses Council of Australia.

Anita’s special interests include critical care, challenging anaesthetics, pain management and surgical nursing.

Jess Male BSc, RN, VN

Nurse Tutor & Content Expert