Royal Canin cancer and wellness nurse first in UK to receive oncology qualification 

A veterinary cancer and wellness nurse, sponsored by Royal Canin at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary studies has become the first in the UK to receive an internationally recognised specialist qualification in oncology.

Linda Roberts, who is based at the School’s ₤3 million veterinary cancer care centre, received the qualification from the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians following 6,000 hours of specialist oncology work over a three year period.

The Veterinary Technician Specialty in Oncology qualification is awarded by the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians and accredited by the American Veterinary Association.

It is highly competitive and a total of 75 cases needed to be submitted and passed before candidates are eligible to sit an exam. There is no comparative qualification in Britain available.

Miss Roberts travelled out to the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine congress in Montreal to sit the exam. Studies incorporated chemotherapy, medical and radiation oncology, anaesthesia and analgesia and advanced diagnostic and therapeutic techniques.

She said: “I am delighted to have achieved this. It was a lot of hard work but well worth it and will certainly help in my role as a cancer nurse at the School’s new Veterinary Cancer Care Centre, having covered a range of issues from looking at treatments to communicating with clients at what can often be a very emotional time.”

Miss Roberts joined the Hospital for Small Animals at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in 2004 before taking up a post of Cancer and Wellness nurse supported Royal Canin, the dog and cat food manufacturers.

A recently opened Veterinary Cancer Care Centre at the Hospital provides the latest in therapy for animals, with state of the art equipment. This includes a computerised tomography (CT) scanner, which can also take scans of horses, as well as a linear accelerator that can provide radiotherapy treatment.

Research at the centre also includes identifying cancer-causing genes, understanding tumour progression and analysing the role of stem cells in cancer. As well as hoping to improve treatments for animals through greater understanding of the disease, the research also aims to provide insight into human cancers, which are similar in the way that they spread and respond to treatment.

Pauline Devlin of Royal Canin said: "We are proud to have Linda as our nurse at the Wellness Clinic. She is truly dedicated and hardworking with a real passion for all of the animals in her care and we're delighted that all of her hard work has paid off. The qualification is well deserved."

Miss Roberts qualified as a veterinary nurse in 2002, whilst working in general practice in the New Forest. She spent some time at the Royal Veterinary College working as a medicine/intensive care nurse before joining the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in 2004, obtaining the Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Medical) in 2005.