Living and Working at Energy Vets Taranaki with Vet Nurse Alana Howard - 1030

Energy Vets, Taranaki | Why Alana Came BackIn this REAL+STORY episode, Julie South speaks with vet nurse Alana Howard about why she returned to Energy Vets after starting her nursing career there 20 years ago and then spending years working in Australia.Alana talks about what made coming back feel like the right decision — not just professionally, but personally. She compares different clinic environments and explains what stands out at Energy Vets: how nurses are trusted to use their skills, how new graduates are supported in surgery, and how the team steps in when things get busy.This isn’t about job titles or polished culture statements. It’s about what day-to-day teamwork actually feels like — no behind-the-scenes friction, people sharing knowledge freely, and a team that works across two rural clinics without things falling apart.Alana also reflects on raising a family in Taranaki, commuting without traffic lights, and why rural schooling and coastal living have been part of the decision to stay.Across this conversation, you hear what steady support sounds like from a nurse’s perspective — not from leadership, but from someone working on the floor every day.In This Episode00:00 – Introduction to the REAL+STORY series with Energy Vets02:20 – Why Alana chose to return03:04 – What feels different about this clinic07:31 – Nurses using their full clinical skillset09:52 – Supporting a new graduate in surgery11:27 – How the clinic has grown over time12:36 – Living and raising a family in TaranakiHiring LinkIf you’re an experienced small animal vet exploring your next step, you can find out more about current opportunities at Energy Vets Taranaki  About Julie SouthJulie South is the founder of VetClinicJobs and host of Veterinary Voices.She works with veterinary clinics that want to show what working there is really like — not just list job requirements. Through VetClinicJobs, she helps clinics make their culture clear and recognisable, so vets and nurses can tell whether a clinic is Their Kind of Clinic long before a vacancy appears.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