Living and Working at Energy Vets Taranaki with Nicky Smith - Vet Nurse Supervisor - 1032

Head Vet Nurse Nicky Smith on Team Support, Community, and Life in TaranakiIn this REAL+STORY episode of Veterinary Voices, Julie South speaks with Nicky Smith, Head Vet Nurse at Energy Vets in Taranaki.Nicky has worked in veterinary clinics in New Zealand and overseas, including time living in Auckland and abroad. But when the time came to settle and raise her family, she made the deliberate decision to return to Taranaki — the place she calls home.In this chat, Nicky shares with Julie what support inside a veterinary clinic actually looks like when things get busy. Emergencies walk through the door, schedules change instantly, and the whole team moves together to make sure patients receive the care they need.She talks about how the nursing team mentors younger nurses, how new ideas are welcomed, and why humour, trust, and looking out for each other are essential in a profession that can be stressful and emotionally demanding.The conversation also explores life outside the clinic — why Nicky chose to raise and educate her children in Taranaki, the strength of smaller communities, and how the region’s people rally around causes that matter.Nicky is also the founder of the Cape Egmont Half Marathon, a community event she started after losing her father to cancer.If you’re curious about what working inside a supportive veterinary team looks like day to day — or how community shapes life in regional practice — this episode offers a candid perspective from someone leading the nursing team on the ground.In This Episode00:05 – Introduction to the REAL+STORY series with Energy Vets 01:24 – Nicky’s background and why she returned to Taranaki 03:31 – What “supportive team culture” looks like in real clinic life 04:35 – How the nursing team develops and mentors younger nurses 05:45 – Returning to Taranaki after living in bigger cities 06:44 – Why Nicky chose to raise and educate her children in Taranaki 09:55 – Community life and founding the Cape Egmont Half Marathon 13:07 – Favourite piece of veterinary equipment: the Bear Hugger13:51 – Three words Nicky uses to describe the team 14:00 – Energy Vets’ “best kept secret” as a workplace 14:44 – Working across two clinic locations16:05 – How after-hours works in practice 17:14 – A memorable patient case: nursing a farm dog back to health 19:16 – How new ideas are introduced and adopted inside the clinic 20:47 – Patient handovers and communication inside the team 22:04 – The type of person who fits best at Energy Vets 24:20 – What it really means when the team “looks out for each other”Hiring LinkIf you’re an experienced small animal veterinarian exploring your next step, you can learn more about current opportunities at Energy Vets Taranaki here:vetclinicjobs.com/energyvetsLinks MentionedCape Egmont Half Marathon About Julie SouthJulie South is the founder of VetClinicJobs and host of Veterinary Voices.Through VetClinicJobs, she helps forward-thinking veterinary clinics show what working there is really like — so vets and nurses can recognise Their Kind of Clinic long before they apply.Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics