The 2019 AZVEN Conference was my first AZEVN Conference and beforehand I was quite nervous and apprehensive, as working as a Locum RVN in predominantly First-Opinion Practice with just an interest in exotics, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up or the lectures would be too advanced.

When I arrived I was greeted by a friendly, down-to-earth team. There were no egos, everyone was there to learn and you could ask anyone about anything and they would help you. The talks were captivating and informative but also easy to follow. The sponsors were all very inviting and happy to chat about their products. I can’t wait for the 2020 AZEVN Conference!!

The 2019 AZEVN Conference was amazing as always! Packed full of interesting caseloads and opportunities to network in an informal setting. I don’t know of any other UK event that offers exclusive exotic, wildlife and zoo animal CPD. I left with pages of notes and increased enthusiasm to try new approaches to difficult cases at work. I can’t wait to attend next year!!

I am a new member of AZEVN, so this was the first AZEVN Conference that I’ve been to. I went there by myself, so I was a bit nervous, but I needn’t have been! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming.

The whole weekend was really well organised, lunch was good and the speakers were interesting. I really enjoyed that everything was so oriented around nurses, and most of the speakers were nurses too. The highlights for me were being shown and then practising how to do a proper blood smear, learning about wound management in a chimpanzee, the talk on Cetacean Rescue around the UK and being taught the use of medicinal honey in wound management.

I would highly recommend the AZEVN Conference to anyone interested in exotics and was really impressed with the variety in talks. I learnt so much and am looking forward to coming back next year!!

This was the first AZEVN Conference that I have attended and I would highly recommend it. The entire weekend was well organised and covered a wide range of exotic topics.

The AZEVN Team are very friendly and can’t do enough for you. I really enjoyed the conference. The weekend flew past. I learned loads and I found it an excellent opportunity to connect with like-minded Veterinary Nurses. I hope to be able to attend again next year!!

The 2019 AZEVN Conference was my first and I was extremely grateful to be chosen for a Golden Ticket. My sponsor was Safe4 which was perfect as it is the product I use to scrub my seal crates after the rescue on the Norfolk Coast. I am a British Divers Marine Mammal Medic so was very pleased to see the cetacean rescue presentation by Dan Jarvis. I also really enjoyed the 10-minute case studies – especially the mouse castrations!

It really is the relaxed friendly atmosphere I had read about. I like the fact that the conference is organised by nurses for nurses, and that I can earn CPD in such an enjoyable way. The lectures were so varied and I came away feeling that I learned a lot, I am presently studying for my Advanced Programme Veterinary Nursing Wildlife.

Great venue, delicious food and even when you turn up on your own you quickly make friends. I really enjoyed it and would definitely attend again!!

This is my third AZEVN Conference and l can honestly say that not one has been the same. There has been a wonderful selection of topics being talked about at each one.

The 2019 AZEVN Conference had me hooked just looking at the agenda ahead of the weekend. From talks about seal rescues to elephant conservation and many more.
The talks are easy to listen to because they aren’t too long. I think that is a really good thing because even with the most interesting of talks, you can lose focus a little if you go past an hour.
I enjoyed the power hour 10-minute talks because you can get a little snippet of someone else’s nursing journey and you can pick up tips and learn along the way.

Everyone is very friendly and approachable. I think it’s such a great thing that only nurses attend because you can really connect with other nurses and share ideas and knowledge. I think it also makes people feel comfortable knowing we’re all like-minded people.

The evening social was really fun. The classic quiz was a laugh and although being split up into random teams can be scary, it makes it really easy to get to talk to other people you may not have got the chance to talk to. For instance, the lovely visitors from the US were on my team and it was such a great experience to chat with them and share stories.

Overall the conference was a hit, as usual! It's definitely worth the money and you will leave feeling like you want to learn more and do more. The AZEVN are always looking for ways to fundraise and to get people involved which I think is a really great thing to do. Thanks for a great weekend AZEVN team, can't wait to come again next year!