Denise started working as a veterinary nurse in small animal practice in 1998 and qualified in 2001. She worked in private and charity practice supporting students as an NVQ assessor, training qualified nurses in running client clinics, and supporting local preventative health campaigns while working at the RSPCA in Putney. Denise began working as a lecturer in 2009, completing a teaching degree and focusing on improving the medical nursing care of patients. After maternity leave, she returned to veterinary nursing to support apprentices in practice, and following her move to Dorset in 2017 she began working at LSVN and completed TAQA qualifications to become an IQA.
In 2019 Denise started work at the RCVS as a Qualifications Assessor, quality-assuring education programs in colleges and universities around the country, and auditing awarding organisations such as City and Guilds, LANTRA and universities in preparation for accreditation by the RCVS. Her proudest moment was being involved in the development of the latest Standards Framework and being able to reinforce the importance of quality nurse training at a national level. Following the outbreak of covid, Denise took a sabbatical from veterinary nursing and opened a zero-waste refill store in Wimborne, with the aim of reducing plastic discarded in the Dorset countryside.
Sadly the business had to close in 2023 and Denise has returned to work with LSVN to support staff with practice visits, apprenticeship reviews and starting lecturing again in 2024. Denise has a husband, a daughter and a giant cat called Charlie.