There's a reason I've been here 22 years
How Drove supported Maria from student nurse to senior leader
Hi, I’m Maria Roberts, and I’m part of the leadership team at Drove Vets.
I started here in 2004 as a student nurse – and I’m still here. That’s not something that happens by accident.
Drove has supported me at every stage, funded my development, pushed me into leadership when I wouldn’t have pushed myself, and given me a role I genuinely love.
I’m not a director and I don’t want to be – and that’s absolutely fine here.
What Drove offers isn’t one path upwards. It’s a structure that lets you find your level, develop your interests and do your best work. For nurses especially, that matters.
If that sounds like the kind of practice you’re looking for, check out our vacancies here, or get in touch with the team here for an informal chat.
Or read on to find out more about my journey.
From student placement to senior leader
Getting into veterinary wasn’t a lifelong obsession for me.
I did know I wanted to work with animals. It was a friend who worked at Drove who suggested there was a student placement coming up and suggested I give it a go.
So I came for an interview, got the job and started in 2004. 22 years later, I’m still here – I think that says everything!
Those early years were an interesting time at Drove.
The practice was in a much smaller building – bungalow-sized, one storey – and a big refurbishment was underway.
That actually delayed my training a little, and I didn’t qualify until 2009. By then the new practice was up and running and everything was kicking off.
From there I moved through deputy head nurse, into a head nurse role, and then when Drove restructured and put a proper leadership team in place, I became part of the theatre leadership team.
Now I’m part of a two-person senior leadership team that oversees the whole nursing lead structure – all the nursing leads, their appraisals, everything underneath.
Along the way, Drove supported me through a diploma in advanced veterinary nursing – a three-year course that needs significant backing from a practice to make it work.
I’m the only person at Drove to have completed it so far. The first of many, I’m sure!
That qualification fed directly into my leadership development, shaping the protocols and ideas I’ve brought to the role.
A leadership structure that works
Leadership wasn’t something I chased. I’m quite quiet by nature – not someone who walks around thinking they’re a natural leader.
But the team here saw qualities in me that fitted this environment and these people, and they pushed me – in the nicest possible way – to step up.
What’s made it work is the structure itself.
The old model of deputy head nurse and head nurse in isolation didn’t work – it was lonely and isolating, and people who’ve joined us from other practices say they’ve experienced the same thing.
What we’ve built at Drove is a team of leaders who support each other, which makes the whole thing more sustainable and, frankly, more appealing to nurses who might be thinking about that next step.
We get a lot of people interested in moving into leadership, which I think is a good sign. If the role looked scary from the outside, they wouldn’t be putting their hands up.
Day to day, my role is a mix of clinical and operational.
My favourite part is still getting downstairs into theatre – the real clinical work, the questions that get thrown at you.
But there’s a lot behind the scenes too: appraisals, one-to-ones, HR conversations, liaison with outside companies. I did thirty appraisals in a week recently. It’s a lot, but it’s satisfying.
What I'd say to anyone thinking about joining
We’re an independent practice with a real family feel.
There’s a good workplace culture here – people are thoughtful about how they treat each other and how they go about their day. That’s not something you can manufacture.
For nurses in particular, what Drove offers is rare.
If you have an interest or an area you want to develop, the practice will find a way to let you shine in it.
That’s exactly what they’ve done for me.
Check out our vacancies here, or get in touch with the team here for an informal chat.
Join us
