About Me

The Happy Vet Club is an initiative built on hope and a dedication to make a difference.

Hi!

I’m Vanessa, a mental health and wellbeing coach for Veterinary Professionals.

A bit about me:

From a very young age, I’ve always had a passion and desire to care for animals and in recent years, those who care for them. Growing up on the sunny Sunshine Coast, I spent the first portion of my life fascinated by human motivation, emotion and psychology. This was evident in years spent studying acting and later, how to utilise drama as a form of therapy through my Bachelors Degree in Applied and Contemporary Theatre (Griffith University, QLD).

Fast forward a number of years and a move to Melbourne, and I now find myself looking back on 8 years of working as a Vet Nurse, after securing my Associate Degree in Veterinary Nursing at La Trobe. I have varied experiences in management, working in one of Australia’s largest not-for-profit Animal Hospitals, dabbled in the corporate world of the industry working to support clinical teams to find new staff members, and have landed in an Emergency and Critical Care Specialty Clinic.

What started The Happy Vet Club?

In the first part of my vet nursing career, I found myself motivated to make changes in clinic, in light of team members struggling.

This led me to step in to my first Head Nurse position.

Despite the challenges, I ignored all the warning signs, and I put my own health in the back seat and drove myself in to burn out. I was diagnosed with PTSD due to repetitive exposure to traumatic events in clinic, and in the darkest times, planted the seed of The Happy Vet Club.

Wanting to make a greater impact, I later made the decision to return to studying and found myself enthralled by the content of Leading Mental Health and Wellbeing, with a focus on Workplace and Community. Through this, I have focused my learnings on the Veterinary Industry to create workshops that focus on the individual, the team and those in leadership positions, to empower and promote positive change to the mental health and wellbeing of Veterinary Professionals.

It is my goal to make this project flourish, raise awareness and share knowledge that will aid in preventing burnout and shed light in dark places. After all, flowers too have to push through the soil to meet the sun, and so can we!

Other Qualifications:

Graduate Certificate in Leading Mental Health and Wellbeing (Workplace and Community)- Flinders University (2025)

Certificate of Leadership Intelligence- Crampton Consulting Group (2023)

Compassion Fatigue: The Cost of Caring- The University of Melbourne (2021)