Hero photograph
Jasmine Peneamene - Vetlife Timaru
 
Photo by Marian Mehrtens

Gateway Profile - Jasmine Peneamene

Marian Mehrtens —

I started Gateway with a really good idea of what I wanted to do for a career, now I know that career is the right fit for me

Gateway is a way to try new things and to get work experience and a taste of what the world is like outside of school. You get the chance to research careers that you may not have even heard about before. I decided to research Veterinary Nursing and I was lucky enough to get a taster day as a vet nurse and as a dairy farmer. I now have a placement at Vetlife.

Being a vet nurse isn’t all about playing with kittens and puppies, you mainly see animals when they’re sick or at their worst, yet at times there will be days where you can play around with some kittens. Every day at the vets is different; some of the things I have done are setting up for operations, cleaning surgical tools, cleaning all the cages that animals have been in, cleaning the surgical ward, packaging and getting surgical tools and packs ready to be sterilized and looking after animals once they’ve gotten out of surgery. I also have had the privilege to be able to watch an array of surgeries ranging from a simple cat spey to a patella (knee) surgery.

My learning plan is tailored just for me and consists of a series of theory assessments all provided to me by Telford, I have chosen to learn about large animals and have already done a standard on the complications and diseases associated with calving and I am currently learning about the anatomy and physiology of a cow.

My plans for next year haven’t been fully decided but I am most likely go off to polytech to study veterinary nursing. I now know this career is right for me. My advice for anybody considering Gateway is that you don’t need to know exactly what you want to do when you leave school, Gateway gives you an opening to all the possibilities of the wider world of what you could be. So my advice is don’t be shy and come take a look at Gateway because there will be a workplace that is fit for you and there is a possibility you won’t even know what it is.