{"id":1109,"date":"2016-04-27T16:03:59","date_gmt":"2016-04-27T20:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phosdev.com\/todaysveterinarynurse\/?post_type=articles&p=1109"},"modified":"2022-01-12T20:24:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T20:24:00","slug":"from-holland-looking-back-on-a-great-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarynurse.com\/personal-professional-development\/from-holland-looking-back-on-a-great-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"From Holland: Looking Back on a GREAT Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

For its 2016 Conference, the NAVC asked veterinary professionals to share their stories: What drives you? What inspires you? What moves you? Throughout the year, <\/em>Today\u2019s Veterinary Nurse will be publishing veterinary technicians\u2019 answers to these questions.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

What moves you? Do you have a story you\u2019d like to share? Send it to us at <\/em>TVTech_submissions@NAVC.com<\/a><\/strong>. Submissions should be approximately 500 words or less and may be posted on our website or edited for publication in the journal.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Tell us your story!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

When I graduated 22 years ago as a veterinary technician from the only school for technicians in the Netherlands, I would never have thought that this girl would travel at least 10 times to the United States\u2014and definitely not 10 times to one of the biggest veterinary conferences in the world!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always felt like the girl next door! Just doing my job. But my life has become so much more. For me, the motto of the NAVC Conference this year, \u201cWhat Moves You?\u201d, was something that put a big smile on my face. This conference has resulted in big changes in my life.<\/p>\n

SUPERWOMAN AT WORK<\/h2>\n

I have worked for 21 years in the same veterinary hospital, a mixed practice in the Netherlands. At this practice, it\u2019s still normal for a vet tech to do \u201call the jobs\u201d that have to get done. You probably know what I mean: I have to be a front desk superstar, then work in the operating room, and then put time in at our lab, or take radiographs of seals at the Seal Centre Pieterburen. Or I might work with wild Konik horses or Scottish Highland cattle. Then, every Wednesday afternoon, I have my own \u201cvet tech appointments,\u201d where I see puppies and kittens, perform dental checks, and assist animals with weight problems or arthritis.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, in the middle of a day, when I\u2019m running from one thing to another, I feel like SUPERWOMAN! You may recognize this adrenaline kick. The only thing we vet techs are missing is a tight black bodysuit! In one of these Superwoman moments a few years back, I even signed myself up for a Hill\u2019s Pet Nutrition weight loss competition for dogs and cats. When I helped 23 animals lose more than 10% to 42% of their body weight (keeping it off for more than 1 year), I won!<\/p>\n

The prize? A trip to the NAVC Conference in Orlando, Florida.<\/p>\n

I became lost in, in love with, and addicted to the NAVC Conference. I won the trip 3 more times, and after that, I decided to save money so I could go every 2 years (with a little bit of help from my boss). So I did, which made 2016 a celebration because it was my 10th visit. For me, it\u2019s always been a big adventure.<\/p>\n

NAVC CONFERENCE? POINT THE WAY!<\/h2>\n

My NAVC adventure starts many weeks before the conference, as I look at the program and try to decide which lectures I will attend. Sometimes I fall asleep in the evening with the program in my hand and the lectures of my choice circled in red. But when I wake up, with the program still on my pillow, I change my choices again. There is so much I want to do, and so much to look forward to. The fun of the NAVC has already started!<\/p>\n

Next, my colleague Annelies van Zutphen (a veterinarian) and I travel across the world, and the excitement builds. She and I do not want to lose lecture time, so we always go to the Gaylord to get our badges the day before the conference starts. And\u2014promise you won\u2019t laugh at me\u2014when I take the big elevator upstairs and walk through the long hall, and I see all the signs, it feels like coming home! My heart beats faster because I know what\u2019s coming: days with the best teachers and colleagues from all over the world, with whom I can share ideas. I love learning about new products and just walking around and seeing all the attendees who share my beautiful profession. The fact that I have the chance to be a part of that makes me very happy.<\/p>\n

Then the days are flying by, and before I know it, I\u2019m on the plane back to the Netherlands, full of ideas and plans. I learn so much each time I attend the NAVC Conference, and I take home many ideas to share with my practice. But implementing them when I get home is not so simple! On the airplane, I promise myself not to overfill the rooms of the practice with all my stories and ideas, because that would drive the whole team NUTS. Instead, I tell it week by week, little parts at a time. And that works! I have the best colleagues a person could wish for. They are always enthusiastic and always helping make my ideas into real plans. Some of my ideas we\u2019ve implemented are:<\/p>\n