
Beverly Smith RVN
Head Nurse
Beverly grew up on a dairy and beef farm in Hillsborough. As she was used to dealing with animals on a daily basis it was no surprise that she wanted to be a veterinary nurse. After attending Greenmount College and qualifying as a RVN in 2004, Beverly worked in a mixed animal practice and in an emergency out of hour’s clinic in Belfast. She really enjoys nursing intensive care patients, nurse clinics and consultations. Beverly is also very passionate about vet nurse training and the future of veterinary nursing. In her spare time she loves getting out on her horse or spending time with family and friends. Beverly currently has a cat called Peaches and a horse called Pepper Touch.

Alana Atkinson RVN
Alana graduated from Myerscough College as an RVN in July 2016 with a degree in veterinary nursing and has since been welcomed into the nursing team at Cromlyn House. She has a keen interest in small animal rehabilitation, particularly animals recovering after surgery, which she hopes to pursue further in the near future. At home Alana has two Labrador crosses named Ellie and Oscar, two mischievous pygmy goats named Dennis and Dexter, a few beef cattle and her most recent addition, a cat named Honey. Outside of work she enjoys baking and socialising with friends.

Katherine Boyes RVN
Katherine qualified from Myerscough College in 1995 and has worked in both mixed and small animal practice throughout her career. She spent some years training student nurses before taking time off to raise her family. Now back in practice part-time, she loves the variety that each day brings. Katherine has a particular interest in radiography and enjoys nurse clinics. In her spare time she enjoys seeing her family, playing golf and running. She has two rescue dogs named Murphy and Daisy and three farm cats, Smokey, Tiger and Jack.

Kathy Brady RVN
Kathy qualified from Glasgow Vet School as a veterinary nurse in 2001 where she continued to work for a couple of years, predominantly in theatre assisting orthopaedic surgeons. Whilst studying in Glasgow she received the Waltham Award for clinical student of the year. In 2003 she returned to Northern Ireland to take up the role of head nurse in Cromlyn House. After a few years training student nurses and having had a young family, she took some time out to be a full time mother. During this time, she gained a diploma in pharmaceutical science allowing her to dispense in a human pharmacy. She returned to Cromlyn House as a support veterinary nurse in 2014 and also continues to practice as a pharmacy technician one day a week. As a keen hill walker, she enjoys walks in the mountains with her four children and two dogs, Ripley and Ruby.

Debbie Burden BA (Hons) RVN
Debbie obtained her degree in European studies and Spanish from Queens University in 2002 but her lifelong love of animals led to a career in veterinary nursing. After a few years of administrative jobs (including a time as a veterinary practice manager) she finally got a training placement and started studying at Greenmount College in 2012. She qualified as a RVN in 2014 (the first in her class to do so) and has worked in general and referral practices ever since. She is a member of the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) and her main interests lie in medicine, emergency and critical care and exotics. She hopes to study for further qualifications in these areas in the near future. At home, Debbie is kept busy with her husband, two children and a mad Springer Spaniel called Millie.

Gillian Calder BSc RVN
Gillian graduated from Aberdeen University in 2003 with a BSc in animal welfare. In the same year she joined Cromlyn House as a nursing trainee. Gillian qualified as a RVN and was awarded the Norbrook Cup for being the highest placed student in Northern Ireland in her final exams. She is a member of the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) and takes a keen interest in all aspects of veterinary nursing – particularly anaesthesia/theatre, dentistry and running weight clinics. In her spare time she enjoys the great outdoors and is the proud owner of a beautiful fawn Staffy named Molly and two cats, Ginger Snapps and Black Pudding.

Guoda Fedorenko RVN
Guoda moved to Northern Ireland from Lithuania with her family in 2004 and has been working at Cromlyn House Veterinary Hospital from 2007. She achieved GNVQ and national diploma in animal management from Belfast College, then went on to study for a diploma in veterinary nursing at Greenmount Agricultural College which she completed in August 2012. She is married and has a dog called Rudis and a son called Lukas. In her spare time she enjoys studying French and interpreting to assist social services in the community.

Joanna Pritchard RVN
Joanna has had an interest in working with animals from a very young age. In 2010 having just left school she studied an animal nursing assistant course in Greenmount Agricultural College whilst training in a local veterinary clinic. After passing her exams, she continued to work in the clinic voluntarily for a year and a half to gain more experience. Joanna joined us at Cromlyn House in April 2011 as an auxiliary night nurse and in 2015 she became our student veterinary nurse. She is now a qualified RVN. She has a Beagle called Samuel and in her spare time enjoys socialising with friends and helping her brother with his sheep.

Marianne McMahon
Auxiliary Nurse
Since Marianne was a child she always wanted to work with animals and had a lifelong dream to become a registered veterinary nurse by attending Greenmount. Marianne has worked in both large and small animal practices as she completed her BTEC national diploma in animal management and applied sciences. She is a proud mum to her two miniature Schnauzers, Bella and Freya, and also has cat called Cherry and a tortoise called Donatello. In her spare time she loves to hike, practice yoga and play bass guitar.

Rachael Moody
Auxiliary Nurse
Rachael worked in the hairdressing industry for nine years and is also a qualified make-up artist. However, she loves animals and is very passionate about the welfare and care of them. She has a very handsome Pug called Hugo (winner of our Pet Factor 2013 competition) and she recently adopted the Cromlyn Vets practice cat, Juliette. Rachael believes she has landed her dream job with such a wonderful animal hospital. She hopes in the future to train as a veterinary nurse.

Laura O’Callaghan
Auxiliary Nurse
Laura has always had a keen interest in animals and began work in the veterinary field as a volunteer at her local vets when she was 12 years old. She began her nursing studies at Greenmount College in 2005 and started working with an old time friend and small animal orthopaedic surgeon in 2007 which she absolutely loved! In 2010 she decided to expand her knowledge to the equine world obtaining her British Horse Society (BHS) exams. She then took some time out of practice to be with her beautiful daughter in 2011, only working part-time but was still drawn to the animal world and began dog walking and home from home boarding for dogs, developing a keen interest in dog behaviour and training. She has since obtained a certificate from the institute of modern dog trainers (IMDT). However she still longed to re-enter the veterinary world and was fortunate enough to be given the chance to work with the amazing team at Cromlyn House Veterinary Hospital. She is owned by two Labradors named Paddy and Ruby who she enjoys training and going for long walks in the forest with.

Joeleen Plaxton
Auxiliary Nurse
Joeleen worked in a nursing home looking after the elderly before getting her dream job at Cromlyn House. She loves her job here and also fosters some of the inpatients in her own time. This could be anything from hedgehogs to kittens. Alongside this she enjoys looking after her own animals that include Frank her Jug (Jack Russell/Pug), Leo her guinea pig, Rodney the bearded dragon, Angel the chinchilla and her goldfish, Gerrard.

Helen Turtle
Auxiliary Nurse
Growing up Helen always had a passion for animals and between cats, dogs, rabbits and horses there was always room in her house for her four-legged members of the family. She always wanted a job working with animals and being at Cromlyn Vets is better than she could have hoped for. When she is not working, Helen and her partner Damien love to spend their time with Pancakes the cat, two schnauzers named Cassie and Harvey, Blue the Rabbit and Herbie the yellow bellied slider turtle. They keep them pretty busy but Helen would not have it any other way.