One of our dedicated and much loved Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVN) Leila Hallaj has taken off on an exciting 6-month trip to join the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Hospital (VES) on the idyllic South-East Asian island of Singapore.
An excited Leila explained the switch, saying: “My brother and his wife moved there last October and I went to visit them in March.
“When I came back I told everyone at work what a great place it is and someone mentioned there was a webinar about working in Singapore and Hong Kong with Mars Vet Health (MVH).
“I looked it up and got in touch with MVH to discuss how relocation works and the opportunities for referral nursing and was put in touch with the head nurse at VES Singapore.
“I was offered the role of surgery nurse and will also assist with Out of Hours and Emergency Critical Care cases and immediately decided it was too good an opportunity to miss.
“MVH were brilliant and covered everything, from sorting my visa, to booking my flight and even explaining how to ship pets out if the move is permanent!
“My visa has now been confirmed, so it’s all very real and I’m the most excited I’ve been about something for years!
“I’ve always wanted to live abroad and I’m hoping I enjoy nursing out there and that I can continue to provide gold standard care to every patient.”
Leila, who has worked with us for four years, believes the skills she has developed with us will stand her in good stead in Singapore.
She added: “Since starting at AMVS I have completed a certificate in Emergency and Critical Care nursing and have learnt how to run wards efficiently and became the Wards Lead.
“I developed my skills in surgical nursing, learnt a lot about high-risk anaesthesia, such as when I monitored a cat having a craniotomy to remove an abscess, as well as patients having thoracotomy surgery and septic peritonitis.
“I have also nursed patients with diseases I hadn’t nursed before, such as tetanus, CRGV, sepsis and toxicity.”
Leila admitted she will miss the team, saying they’re the best in the business.
She explained: “The AMVS guys are the best! I love working with them all.
“Everyone is so dedicated to their jobs and genuinely cares for every patient that comes in. I honestly think we provide the very best care, so I will miss working there.
“I’ve definitely got the most out of my time at AMVS and learned so much but now I feel it is time for a change.
“Singapore is such a great opportunity for me with so many benefits. My brother is out there, it is one of the safest places to live in the world, the weather is great and I’ll also be able to explore Asia.
“Initially it is for six months because I have no idea what my job will be like and if I don’t like it or it’s not what I expected, then I’m lucky enough to be able to come back to AMVS.
“However, if I love it, then I will most likely make the move permanent and build my career out there.”
Our Matt Gurney said: “We’re all going to miss Leila but we’re also delighted for her that she has this amazing opportunity at VES in Singapore.
“I’m sure she will be a huge success there and if she wants to return to AMVS, then we will welcome her with open arms.”