Just a Vet Nurse, Asking to Be Seen: Laura Bennington on ECC, Leadership & Changing the Game 🩺 Episode Summary: In this deeply honest and empowering episode of the Vet Nurse Hacker Podcast, we sit down with Laura Bennington, RVN, VTS (ECC)—Emergency & Critical Care specialist, educator, and founder of VEST (Veterinary Emergency Specialty Training).
From her early days in general practice in the UK to her move to Australia, Laura shares the winding, wonderful (and at times wobbly) path that led her to advanced certification, founding her own CE platform, and becoming a fierce advocate for vet nurse value.
We unpack the must-haves for your crash cart, triage mistakes to avoid, how to grow confidence in emergency settings, and why leadership doesn’t require a title. And then we go even deeper—into what it really means to say, “I’m just a vet nurse, standing in front of an industry, asking it to value me.”
Whether you're a seasoned ECC nurse, new to the game, or somewhere in between—this one will hit your heart and your clinical brain.
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What We Cover:- Laura’s journey from Scotland to Australia—and from self-doubt to VTS
- What inspired her to launch VEST, and why nurse-focused CE matters
- Must-have items for every crash cart (yes, including suction!)
- The art of rapid triage and managing five blocked cats at once
- The real difference between experience and empowerment
- How to build confidence, speak up, and advocate in high-pressure environments
- Why retention isn't solved by pizza—and what vet nurses actually need
- The problem with title protection (and how unqualified roles hurt all of us)
- Hope, burnout, identity, and why ECC is more human than we think
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Rapid Fire Fun:- If ECC was a cocktail? 🍸
- The weirdest (and most satisfying) foreign body story
- One thing Laura wishes every vet nurse knew
- Her guilty pleasure post-shift ritual
- Why “Pred Before Dead” is a thing (sort of)
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Connect with Laura Bennington:🐾
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