MELISSA FRANCIS
NORTH KELLYVILLE,AUSTRALIA
Summary
Veterinary nurse with over 20 years of experience in general practice and emergency care. Proficient in managing high-pressure situations, including handling urgent phone inquiries and maintaining order in busy environments. Skilled in assisting with veterinary procedures and patient care, while prioritizing animal comfort and reducing stress. Experienced in mentoring junior staff and adaptable to various work schedules, including weekends and short-notice shifts.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
VETERINARY NURSE & RECEPTIONIST
Parkes Street Vet Hospital
Thornleigh, NSW
02.2025 - 08.2025
- Waiting room management
- Reception Duties (Inc opening and closing procedures, phone enquires, appointments, processing insurance claims, admitting and discharging patients & payments)
- Explaining procedures and providing quotes to clients
- All general veterinary nursing duties including radiology, surgery, routine procedures, patient care, client liason.
EMERGENCY VETERINARY NURSE
ARH Baulkham Hills
Baulkham Hills
05.2023 - 05.2024
- Emergency only nursing
- Phone triage & face to face triage
- Blood chemistry & haematology
- On the spot decision making
- Owner rapport & patients updates
- Grief counselling to owners
- High volume injured wildlife intake clinic
- Wildlife nursing, X-rays, feeding of adults & infants, creating suitable enclosures, MOB & in clinic record keeping, administering medication & facilitating wildlife carers
- Thorough record keeping using RxWorks & Ezyvet
- Streamlined triage processes for emergency cases, enhancing patient assessment speed and improving care delivery for injured wildlife.
- Utilized RxWorks and Ezyvet for precise record-keeping, ensuring accurate tracking of treatments and fostering effective communication with wildlife carers.
- Fostered strong relationships with pet owners through regular updates and grief counseling, enhancing trust and support during critical moments.
- Maintained meticulous medical records and conducted on-the-spot decision-making, ensuring compliance and quality care in a high-volume clinic environment.
SENIOR VETERINARY NURSE
West Pennant Hills Veterinary Hospital
West Pennant Hills
09.2006 - 11.2022
- Companion animal general practice nursing
- Reception & waiting room management
- Triage
- Surgical Nursing
- Trauma counselling
- Client rapport
- Palliative care educator
- General hospital duties
- Acute care of injured wildlife (high volume injured wildlife clinic)
- Staff orientation & junior nursing trainer & mentor
PRACTICE MANAGER
Glenhaven & Winston Hills Veterinary Hospitals
Glenhaven & Winston Hills
01.2002 - 03.2006
- General practice management
- Staff rosters
- Payroll
- Patient Reminders
- Wholesale ordering
- Marketing
- Price updates
- Staff training
VETERINARY TECHNICAL SUPPORT OFFICER
Bayer Australia
Pymble
01.1999 - 03.2002
- Telephone customer support officer
- Veterinary department consisted of Companion Animal products, Livestock Animal products & Pest Control products
- Recording of and follow up of adverse reactions
- Receiving customer complaints
- Providing MSDSs
- Liaising with the poisons advisory
- Management of Veterinary Loyalty Program
- Presentations to sales team re: analysis latest intake of calls
- Kennel hand
- Trainee Veterinary Nurse
- General small animal practice duties
- Surgical prep & anaesthetic monitoring
- Puppy pre school
- Care of boarding animals & hospital cases
Education
CERTIFICATE BUSINESS & MARKETING -
Tafe NSW
ADVANCED CERTIFICATE VETERINARY NURSING CERT 4 - undefined
TAFE NSW
Ultimo01.2000
Skills
- Client education (Skillful),
- Nutrition planning (Experienced),
- Animal welfare (Experienced),
- Wildlife care (Experienced),
- Crisis management (Skillful),
- Team camaraderie (Skillful),
- Surgical assistance (Skillful),
- Medication administration (Skillful),
- Behavioral training (Experienced),
- Patient monitoring (Skillful),
- Surgical preparation (Skillful),
- Veterinary diagnostics (Experienced),
- Patient assessment (Skillful),
- Patient comfort,
- Veterinary software (Experienced),
- Animal handling (Skillful),
- Palliative care (Skillful),
- Animal rescue (Experienced),
- Anesthesia monitoring (Skillful),
- Client rapport (Skillful)
Hobbies and Interests
I love spending time with my beloved three dogs and my elderly cat. Also my turtles, guinea pigs and rescue parrot! I also love bush walking and pet sitting.
Training
- TELEPHONE CUSTOMER SERVICE Homebush ARH
- WILDLIFE SERVICES TRAINING Sydney Metro Wildlife Services Nov 2019
Timeline
VETERINARY NURSE & RECEPTIONIST
Parkes Street Vet Hospital
02.2025 - 08.2025
EMERGENCY VETERINARY NURSE
ARH Baulkham Hills
05.2023 - 05.2024
SENIOR VETERINARY NURSE
West Pennant Hills Veterinary Hospital
09.2006 - 11.2022
PRACTICE MANAGER
Glenhaven & Winston Hills Veterinary Hospitals
01.2002 - 03.2006
VETERINARY TECHNICAL SUPPORT OFFICER
Bayer Australia
01.1999 - 03.2002
ADVANCED CERTIFICATE VETERINARY NURSING CERT 4 - undefined
TAFE NSW
CERTIFICATE BUSINESS & MARKETING -
Tafe NSW