Laura Cooley

I’m Laura Cooley, a Registered Veterinary Nurse here in Botanic Veterinary Hospital. I have worked here over 10 years now. I am currently the Head Nurse. I studied in Dundalk Institute of Technology for 3 years to gain my Bachelor of Science in Veterinary Nursing. In 2017, I went back to college and studied Clinical and Professional Veterinary Nursing with the Royal Veterinary College in London. I gained a multitude of knowledge from this course. Alongside this course and from experience I found Anaesthesia to be my niche and I loved learning about it. In 2019, I went on to study a Certificate in Anaesthesia and Analgesia with the University of Edinburgh. It took a year to complete this course and it allowed to complete a 6-month role within UCD Veterinary Hospital as an Anaesthesia Nurse. The experience within a referral practice allowed me to see a huge variety of cases and surgery that we don’t see in first opinion practice. It has allowed me to utilise news skills learnt during work and teach other staff members new information. I absolutely loved working there but found I missed my current job and I much prefer working in a small animal practice. I’m currently back within my role here in Botanic Vets. The team are fantastic, and we work extremely well together. We have a lovely client base, and it is extremely rewarding to see our patients recover from any illness or surgery when they come back in for a visit.

When I’m not working, I enjoy walking my dog who is a Jack Russell called Ruby. She has a feline sister called Betty! At home I take care of these two, but they don’t get on 100% of the time. I enjoy weekly workouts in the gym and enjoy reading as my down time to re-energise when coming back into work.