How yesterday shapes tomorrow
| Wednesday, March 19, 2025 |
| 8:45 AM - 9:45 AM |
| Goldfields Theatre |
Overview
Cat Walker and Trish Farry
Speaker
Cat Walker
Cat Walker Mediation & Veterinary Consulting
How yesterday shapes tomorrow
Abstract
Sir Isaac Newton said: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” There is strength in realising that we learn and benefit from those who come before us, and that it is up to us as a collective to create our best tomorrow. No one else can do this for us. Our “giants” are not just those who paved the way before our time; there are daily opportunities in our teams to extend a hand and lift each other higher. At a time when the sustainability of our profession is under threat, it is critical that we allow our yesterday to shape our tomorrow by teaching and supporting those coming into our profession. To share what we have learned, including our vulnerabilities and failures, and to foster mentoring relationships that help build cross-generational bonds and increase our ability to not just stay, but also thrive in this profession.
Biography
Cat Walker is a Registered Veterinary Nurse, Lawyer, Mediator, International Speaker, and Associate Lecturer. Cat has a wealth of experience in the veterinary sector including ownership and management of general practice and emergency hospitals.
Cat empowers veterinary teams to maximise patient outcomes by navigating common lines of conflict using evidence-based strategies grounded in conflict theory and neuroscience.
With a past life in performing arts, Cat’s skills as a speaker shine through with her interactive, engaging, yet extremely professional style. Delegates benefit from the pragmatic nature of Cat’s talks in which her goal is for individuals to walk away with clear strategies that they can apply to their working lives. Cat is the voice and mind behind the Radio Vet Nurse podcast with over 70,000 downloads.
Trish Farry
The University Of Queensland
How yesterday shapes tomorrow
Biography
Trish Farry is a registered veterinary nurse with specialist qualifications in emergency/critical care and anaesthesia/analgesia. She is a lecturer and clinical instructor in anaesthesia at The University of Queensland. Her areas of teaching include emergency medicine, anaesthesia, analgesia and clinical practices for undergraduate veterinary and veterinary technology students. Professional positions held include: Past-President of the Academy of Emergency and Critical Care Technicians and Nurses (AVECCTN) and past Board member of the Academy of Veterinary Technician Anesthetists (AVTAA), the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) and VNCA. In 2018 she was honoured to receive the VNCA Veterinary Nurse of the Year and the AVECCT Speciality Technician of the Year awards.
Trish is a passionate advocate of lifelong learning and is active in the development of CPD opportunities for nurses and technicians both nationally and internationally. Her belief is that fundamental to the future of veterinary nursing is having a strong national association that is active in recognising the challenges faced by our profession and is proactive in discussions and collaboration with the membership and other stakeholders.
