Hilary Orpet is hoping to get re-elected to the VN Council.

Why Hilary Orpet is standing for a second term on the VN Council

Over the past four years Hilary Orpet has been heavily involved in the work to achieve statutory regulation and recognition for VNs.

Now she is hoping to gain re-election to the VN Council to see the job through.

"As chair of the working party, I have been involved in trying to find a way forward for statutory regulation. Having come this far I would like to ensure momentum is maintained," said Hilary.

She is up against four other candidates, battling for one of the two seats up for election on the VN Council.

Hilary is the only candidate re-standing for election when the ballot papers are sent out next week.

Having qualified as a VN in 1987, Hilary joined the Queen Mother Hospital for small animals at the Royal Veterinary College the following year.

She became a senior surgical nurse in 1992, and is now a senior lecturer in veterinary nursing at the RVC.

Hilary has co-authored The Handbook of Veterinary Nursing, and has previously been a member of the BVNA council.

In her manifesto she argues in favour of the new Royal Charter saying it will give RVNs the "formal status of associates of the RCVS".

With it she said VNs will finally be rewarded with "recognition as an integral part of the veterinary team."

The introduction of new awarding bodies meant the RCVS could concentrate on its function as regulator of the profession, she added.

"Having been a member of the VN Council, I have been a key figure in the developments that have been taking place within the profession. I would like to remain on the council so that I can continue to ensure that judgements made are necessary, effective and democratic," said Hilary.

She said she hoped that she had already demonstrated during her current tenure on the VN Council, that she has the skills and experience to represent VN views "In an assertive and proactive way."

"I have worked hard on various projects and hopefully been aware of the needs and requirements of VNs – from when I first started on council the paperwork has certainly reduced," said Hillary.

One of the key areas, Hilary hopes to improve is engagement between VNs and the college. She said one example of this was in the question time events held by RCVS.

"They are very good for this but often only a handful of VNs attend – I think we need to overcome the apathy within the profession first," said Hillary.

"In five year's time I would like to see statutory regulation for VNs and the title protected. I would also like to see  more engagement with the VNs in practice with the RCVS. I think there have been some massive changes within the college so it would be useful to assess the effect," she said.

If re-elected, Hilary said she would "Continue working on ways to achieve statutory regulation" and for VN recognition. Her manifesto priorities include ensuring that "veterinary nursing continues to develop as a profession in its own right", and that "an effective career pathway is established for VNs regardless of the route" that they have taken to qualify.

Votes have to be made online or by post and received by the RCVS no later than 5pm on April 25.

We have already featured candidate Amanda-Jane Erne and will be profiling the other three VN Council candidates in the coming weeks.