TARINGA VET SURGERY - Key Persons
We have a guilty confession to make regarding the way Alice came to join our team. We poached her! We had heard of this fabulous nurse with an abundance of talent and a great attitude and we knew that we were the people to help her flourish.
We were not wrong! Alice has developed her nursing skills so quickly and now supervises the development and training of the more junior nurses. She is a major reason that we are able to move through our workload efficiently while maintaining our exacting standards of care.
Looking back, I believe that Alice, with her sunny nature, competent hands and great interpersonal skills, would have flourished anywhere. We're so grateful that she chose us.
We needed someone who could hit the ground running at the start of 2021 and Chiarra was the perfect person. Her previous work place recommended her so highly that we hired her in our minds before even speaking to her! Luckily she said yes!!!
Chiarra's chosen path was initially to become a nutritionist but over 2021 we slowly but surely brought her to see the light and to understand that she was born to work with animals!
So, this year she has switched paths and will continue to work as a Vet Nurse with us whilst studying animal nutrition and maybe even animal myofunctional therapy. She is a bright star who we hope will continue to shine her light on us for a very long time still.
Amanda's 17 year vetting journey has been a typically diverse, interesting, exhausting, stressful and at times overwhelming journey. There are not many of us who manage to maintain our passion and enthusiasm but against the odds Amanda has done just that.
She is the ideal general practitioner - capable and bold enough to undertake just about anything you throw at her, but wise enough to know when specialist help is needed.
Among our team of experienced veterinarians is Dr Kylie Wong.
Dr Kylie graduated at the top of her year from our own University of Queensland in 2019. Blessed with an exceptionally powerful and curious mind Dr Kylie also managed to become an internationally accredited veterinary chiropractor and acupuncturist at the same time as completing her veterinary degree.
Dr Kylie's extensive experience in both Western and Eastern Medicine as well as in the provision of allied health services has significantly broadened the perspective and scope of Taringa Vets for we can now all see how beneficial a holistic approach is to pet health.
Dr Kylie seems to have a never ending desire to further her knowledge and develop her skills particularly in her two areas of passion - rehabilitation and feline medicine. It is remarkable that she can balance all of this whilst still being a great Mum to both her furred and furless children and even occasionally finding a minute to ride her beautiful ponies.
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian and Practice Leader
If Magnus were a hairstyle, he would definitely be a Mullet- "party in the back and business in the front".
When you first meet him you will see his professionalism, his knowledge and his kindness. However, over time his witty humour will sneak out to surprise you.
Magnus is the most experienced and qualified of us all at Taringa Vets and so his main role is that of a Veterinarian. We all turn to him for reason and advice on our obscure cases and are grateful for his insightful contributions that invariably help us to come to the solution.
His other role is as a leader, though he fulfils this role quietly only exercising his own fierce determination when he can see that Liv is preparing to act without adequate thought.
Job Titles:
- Veterinarian and Practice Leader
Highly recommended by fellow colleagues (some of them Veterinary Specialists!), we literally shed tears of joy when Lib (as we call her - Olivia being too formal and Liv and Livvy being taken) said she'd join us!
Besides being an amazing vet, Lib is a very special person with a great sense of humour, calm aura and immense generosity.
Graduating with honours from the University of Queensland in 2015, she hit the ground running by gaining one of only a few internship placements at the University of Queensland's Small Animal Hospital. Here she worked intimately with a team of specialists, helping them and learning from them before heading off to adventure in the UK.
This vast array of experience, not to mention her natural affinity for veterinary medicine/surgery has given her a veritable fountain of knowledge which she is so generously sharing with our team.
Zoe graduated from the University of Sydney in 2015. After time in NSW, FNQ and the UK she is now Brisbane based.
Zoe joined us initially as a locum early in 2021. Just chatting to her on the phone made Liv determined to convince her to stay with us long term - she was so warm, enthusiastic and open. Thank goodness our values aligned and she is now a permanent fixture.
Zoe's drive to continually build upon her (already phenomenal) knowledge and skill set has led her to undertake a gruelling Cardiology course. It is so exciting to watch her helping so many of our patients in ways that have previously been the domain of specialists.
Zoe is an incredible and determined vet who's secret superpower is her exceptional ability to think and communicate clearly and concisely. She has so much to give to animals and the people who love and care for them, not to mention the team that surrounds her.
Job Titles:
- Hygiene Officer & Junior Veterinary Nurse
Jade has been part of our Taringa Vets team since 2022. Initially she was gaining work experience while undertaking her Certificate III in Animal Studies but she was too good to let go and so we have made her a permanent member of our team!
Jade's attention to detail is second to none which means she is the perfect person to maintain our clinics inventory and ensure that we can always lay our hands on the tools we need, immediately.
If you're lucky enough to have your call answered by Jenn you will know one reason why we were keen to have her on our team! Her beautiful, Irish lilt is so soothing - to people and animals alike!
We had to work hard to get Jenn to join us. While she always wanted to be a vet nurse, and spent time doing prac work with us, she was already working full time in child care and had a lot of loyalties to her previous role. From the moment we met Jenn she was so wonderful, we knew she was supposed to be a part of our family. So we kept trying, and waiting, and trying and waiting....and eventually we convinced her! We always knew that she couldn't fight destiny forever
Jenn is fun, kind, calm and sensible - just a joyful person to be around. The many overlaps between her previous professional life and her new one mean that she hit the ground running.
Livvy is the hilarious, joyful face you so often see at the front desk or the confident, knowledgeable voice on the other end of the phone. Livvy is like a chess master, she just knows how to tweak the scheduler to prevent a busy day from imploding.
We knew that Livvy needed to work with us for a long time, it was just a matter of patience. You see Liv and Livvy worked together for 3 years at a previous practice, forming a strong friendship. Livvy had been lured away from the profession and, in 2020 agreed to come on board to help us out for a short time...Luckily, we changed her mind and she is back!
She is a superb veterinary nurse who sings the most calming rendition of "Smelly Cat" anyone has ever heard!
It was Paula's warm smile and easy sense of humour that first welcomed us into Taringa Vets, that day back in 2016 when Magnus and Liv first walked through the doors of Taringa Vets. Instantly, we knew that it was the place for us.
It is also Paula that kept the wheels in motion during Magnus and Liv's early days. She filled the roles of Practice Manager, Head Nurse, Receptionist, Recruitment Officer and Mentor for at least 12 months while they found their feet.
These days, with a young family, Paula has to be more selective with where she spends her energies so her focus is on developing her natural talent for leadership - working very closely with Liv to ensure that the Taringa Vets team continues to develop in line with our dream and values so that we can continue to help animals and people to live better lives.