Legacy grant awarded to inspiring leader

Vets Now’s Louise Hosford has become the sixth winner of a bursary in memory of vet nurse Louise O’Dwyer. 

A principal nurse manager who works at an emergency and critical care clinic in Sheffield, Mrs Hosford was named the bursary winner at a gala dinner hosted as part of the Vets Now ECC Congress, which was held in Leeds from 7 to 8 November.

A new Louise O’Dwyer bursary winner is announced each year at congress with the award open to all vet nurses within Vets Now.

‘Over the moon’

The bursary offers an extra £2,000 CPD allowance for the winner who is the candidate who best demonstrates their commitment to making a difference in their chosen discipline, while furthering Miss O’Dwyer’s legacy of sharing learning.

Louise Hosford said: “I’m absolutely over the moon to have been awarded the Louise O’Dwyer bursary – and am incredibly grateful for the support and opportunity provided by Vets Now.

“I have worked in practice for some 26 years now and was lucky enough to attend several of Louise’s emergency and critical care nursing lectures at a variety of veterinary conferences over the years.  Her lectures were inspiring and full of humour.”

Passion for ECC

Louise O’Dwyer was one of the world’s leading emergency and critical care veterinary nurses and a huge influence on the thousands of vet professionals who encountered her through her lectures, practical guide books and journal papers.

After her death in 2019 Vets Now launched the Louise O’Dwyer Bursary as a tribute to Miss O’Dwyer’s passion for her role in ECC and the culture of shared learning she helped to create.

Racheal Marshall, head of clinical nursing at Vets Now, added: “It was important to all of us at Vets Now to find a way of honouring Louise’s work and to keep her memory alive. The Louise O’Dwyer bursary is our way of thanking her for all that she contributed to the Vets Now family and the veterinary community.”