Miss Sam McGaw
PGCert AVN ECC, PGCert Vet Ed, BSc (Hons), VNCertECC, FHEA, RVN
Emergency and Critical Care RVN, Veterinary Nurse Clinical Educator
Clinical Groups: Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care
Sam (she/her) is a Registered Veterinary Nurse, working in the Emergency and Critical Care department of the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals. She is a Teaching Fellow and Clinical Educator at the Veterinary Nursing School, where she contributes to the delivery and assessment of the RVC’s veterinary nursing programmes.
Sam studied at the Royal Veterinary College, qualifying as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in 2015 and graduating with her BSc (Hons) in 2016. She spent time in a variety of practices during her training, including the RVC’s Beaumont Sainsbury Animal Hospital and the QMH, where she developed an interest in referral nursing. Sam initially worked for the QMH Internal Medicine department before embarking upon a career in ECC in 2015. She gained her Vets Now Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care in 2019, and in 2022 was amongst the first cohort of students to be awarded the Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing in Emergency and Critical Care (with merit) at the RVC.
Alongside her clinical role, Sam began working for the RVC’s Veterinary Nursing School as a Clinical Educator in 2022, and as a Teaching Fellow (fixed term position) in 2024. She completed her Postgraduate Certificate in Veterinary Education (with merit) in 2024. Sam was awarded 'Outstanding Student Support' in the first RVC Vet Nursing Awards in 2023.
Sam performed a clinical audit on nutrition for the ECC patient, which was presented at BVNA Research Bites 2022. The audit was selected as a Highly Commended Runner Up in the 2023 RCVS Knowledge Quality Improvement Awards.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1681-2401
Within her teaching roles Sam's experience is utilised in the delivery of the ECC undergraduate module, where interests include triage and stabilisation of the emergency patient. She teaches across all three years of the undergraduate degree, and is a Final Year Project Supervisor for BSc veterinary nursing students.
Sam works with postgraduate students on the Certificates in Advanced Veterinary Nursing programmes, where she is Deputy Module Leader for units 1 and 2 on the ECC Pathway and is involved in delivery and assessment of online teaching. She is a part of the Interprofessional Education Team and facilitates sessions for BVetMed students, with a particular interest in bereavement and communication skills.
As an ECC RVN at the QMH, Sam’s time is split across the Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Room. Responsibilities include managing the caseload, stabilisation of emergency patients and nursing care of critical patients. She is a Nutrition Champion for the QMH Nutrition Focus group, with a keen interest in critical care nutrition. Sam has played a large role in clinical student support and mentoring; she is a qualified Clinical Supervisor for Student Veterinary Nurses and has developed inductions for BVetMed students on critical care and emergency medicine rotations. She also mentors newer members of the nursing team.
Sam contributes to various RVC Outreach activities, including student selection interviews, summer schools and offer holder days.