Natalie - Academia, Empathy and Behaviour
In this episode you'll hear from Natalie, the Academic Director of the Australian College of Vet Nursing. Natalie has Certificate IV qualifications in veterinary nursing, canine behaviour, training and assessment, and Diplomas in vocational education and training, surgical nursing, and emergency and critical care. When I listened back to this interview it occurred to me that Natalie is an extremely empathetic person. So much of what she has to say comes from a place of sensitivity towards how another person, or animal, is feeling. This natural proclivity towards empathy is a perfect fit for Natalie's passion for canine and (more recently) feline behaviour. Behaviour is also one of my favourite areas so I loved geeking out with Natalie on this topic. Natalie's career moved from clinical nursing to academia following the loss of a very special dog and the cascade of events that followed. I'm really grateful to Natalie for talking about this and other topics with a level of honesty and vulnerability that I know was not easy. These experiences underpin Natalie's drive to empower other nurses to recognise and manage stress and compassion fatigue; which is of course an essential part of our story.