5 May 2020
“I still think about Lou regularly and it’s just such a shame she isn’t still here with us all. She would’ve been the first one celebrating any award win” – Lesley Moore RVN.
James Westgate
Job Title
Lesley Moore and Louise ODwyer at Vets Now's ECC Congress. Image: Vets Now.
The winner of a bursary set up in memory of Louise O’Dwyer has paid tribute to her “great friend” on the first anniversary of her death today (5 May).
Miss O’Dwyer was one of the most experienced and widely recognised VNs in the UK, and contributed to more than 35 publications and lectures worldwide on anaesthesia, emergency and critical care, surgery and infection control.
The first RVN from the UK to be elected president of the Academy of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Technicians, Miss O’Dwyer was also the recipient of the prestigious Bruce Vivash Jones Veterinary Nurse Award 2016 and RCVS Golden Jubilee Award.
Following her death at the age of 45 last year, her former employer, Vets Now, established a bursary in her name for the individual who best demonstrated a commitment to making a difference.
The inaugural winner of the £2,000 award was Lesley Moore, a friend of Miss O’Dwyer and a senior nurse at Vets Now Macclesfield.
Mrs Moore plans to use the money to help pay for a postgraduate certificate in veterinary education at the RVC, but she admitted to mixed feelings about her win.
Mrs Moore said: “As her friend, I had very mixed feelings about winning the bursary.
“I’m clearly delighted to have been the inaugural winner. Being in the veterinary profession isn’t just a job for me. I’m very lucky that when I go to work I am doing something I love.
“However, I still think about Lou regularly and it’s just such a shame she isn’t still here with us all. She would’ve been the first one celebrating any award win.”
Mrs Moore added: “I’m in the process of applying for the postgraduate certificate in veterinary education at the RVC, which is the first part of a master’s degree.
“I’ve always tried to be the best mentor I can be to my support staff, RVNs, and new or less experienced emergency and critical care vets, but I recognise I have minimal formal training in this area.
“Before I won the bursary I had started writing and delivering lectures. Since winning Louise’s award, and also an RCVS Knowledge award last year, this has really started to develop.”
