Karen Church

Karen leads the neurology nursing team as head neurology nurse. She has been nursing since 2001, when she began training at UWE and finished at a foster practice in Hampshire, qualifying as a registered veterinary nurse in 2006. During her training, she began working at Cedar Referrals, gaining valuable skills and knowledge in both surgical and medical nursing. Finding a particular interest in neuro-diagnostics, neurosurgery, and rehabilitation, she moved to work within the neurology department at Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists in 2009. In March 2013, she passed her Vets Now City & Guilds certificate in emergency and critical care. 

In 2015, Karen became a Veterinary Technician Specialist, one of only a handful of UK members of the Academy of Internal Medicine for Veterinary Technicians (AIMVT). To achieve this, she had to complete a formal process of education, training, and experience, and finally sit an exam in the US to become recognized as a Veterinary Technician Specialist in neurology. She also happened to be the first RVN in the UK to gain VTS recognition within the subspeciality of neurology, something she is very proud of.

Particular nursing interests include neuroanaesthesia and seizure management. She has also embarked on presenting nursing lectures to peers on topics such as neurological patient care, Acute spinal cord conditions, and nursing management of seizures and status epilepticus.