Tess Nolan

How it started.

Tess began working in a veterinary clinic in 2012 at 17. A work experience placement became a trainee role, and she worked full time while studying veterinary nursing online. She took on the clinic’s social media in 2015 and became a practice manager in 2018.

Bringing fans into the clinic.

As Tess the Vet Nurse, she shares the animals, practical skills and human moments behind clinic doors. One widely shared video showed her colleagues admiring a “cute guy” in a consultation room, before revealing Monsta the Golden Retriever. Need To Know covered the clip in January 2023.

Helping the next nurses.

She launched Vet Nurse School in 2022 with a beginner’s ebook and a short course. In her Ruby Olive interview, Tess explained that burnout, compassion fatigue and staff shortages motivated her to help people enter and navigate veterinary careers. Her resources now include courses, reference guides and clinical tools.