As this was my first time attending a AZEVN conference I was very nervous as I am relatively new to the exotic veterinary nursing field. Upon my arrival I felt immediately at ease due to the warm and friendly welcoming. The wide variety of CPD that was available was incredible, I was expecting the CPD to be around a specific field, such as small animal practice. The variety of CPD was outstanding, it ranged from small animal practice all the way up to zoological nursing so I felt it applied to me in more than one way due to my field of work. I truly feel that I have made some great friends at this conference as well as growing my knowledge in multiple different areas. The location that the conference was hosted was again amazing and in our free time it was lovely to be able to go around the zoo. Not only was I able to benefit from the vast amount of knowledge in one room, I found that people came up to me asking questions about my role in a zoological setting which was surreal as I felt I was able to help support nurses that want to progress into zoological nursing. This conference enabled me to make friends, grow my knowledge and support other nurses. This made me feel so proud and empowered as a registered veterinary nurse and I found myself eager to book next years conference immediately!

I was incredibly lucky to have received a golden ticket for my entry to this years conference which made me feel so proud and grateful to be given this incredible gift. I cannot thank the sponsors and the AZEVN team for making this possible and words cannot describe the elated feeling I had when I found out I had won a ticket, as well as being able to meet and thank the sponsors in person.

During the conference, the AZEVN team asked for negative feedback. I have thought long and hard about this and I have really tried to offer a area of improvement. I truly cannot think of one thing that could be improved, the food was outstanding which as a fussy eater I never thought I would say however there was so much variety I had multiple options which does not normally happen. The location was inspiring and beautiful and the CPD was so varied I believe everyone in that room benefited in multiple ways.

It is lovely to see such dedicated and inspiring nurses at the helm of the AZEVN. Thank you so much for everyone’s hard work, dedication and support. It truly does make a difference to nurses, especially nurses who are nervous to attend their first exotics conference solo. I look forward to next years conference!

The conference was unsurprisingly fantastic. There was a wonderful sense of community, which allowed for informal networking and left you feeling supported. The knowledge I gained from the speakers, sponsors, and attendees was invaluable—it's the most beneficial CPD I have attended. Topics ranged from frogs, rabbits, and cheetahs to mental health. It's really diverse, and even if the subject matter may not seem relevant to your role, there is always something to take from each and every lecture. The catering for the event was incredible, with dietary requirements well taken care of. As long as you are not unnerved by the occasional dinosaur roaring faintly in the background, it's one not to miss!

What an amazing opportunity and a great venue! Thank you so much for enabling opportunities like this to be able to attend such an inspiring conference with people so passionate about the welfare of our exotic species! It was my first time ever going, and I got an immense feeling of love and care for this profession and an interest in our colleagues mental wellbeing as well as our patients, as we all know how emotionally taxing nursing can be! I learnt so much about all sorts, including: contextualised care, tigers, badgers, seals, avian analgesia and so much more! Really loved the tiger welfare discussion and really put things into perspective and makes you challenge your opinions - it's what makes us critically think what is best for our patients and safety. I look forward to coming back for many years to come and being able to network with likeminded people.

I thoroughly enjoyed the AZEVN conference weekend. I was quite apprehensive about attending alone but, true to form, exotic vet nurses are the most approachable and inclusive people around and it wasn't long before I was included in the conversations on my table. The presentations were diverse and interesting, and I learnt a lot. My dietary requirements were met without issue and I took full advantage of the tea and coffee station!