Dedication is the name of the game if you want to become a veterinary nurse - as Gillian Aitchison soon discovered.  After sending off 200 applications to vet practices the length and breadth of Britain, 20-year-old Gillian almost despaired of being offered a job.

But now she is training to work with animal patients at Flett and Carmichael in Orkney - after the practice took the decision to invest in becoming a training centre for veterinary nurses.

With a client list that includes a snake as well as the more usual cats, dogs and guinea pigs, Gillian is learning the many skills involved by working alongside experienced colleagues at the firm's modern surgery at Hatston.

She also travels regularly to Thurso, to add to her knowledge on block release courses run by North Highland College, with her training costs met by Orkney Enterprise.

Doreen Rendall, development manager with Orkney Enterprise said: "We were really pleased we could help someone who has shown as much dedication as Gillian has.

"It is great that a business like Flett and Carmichael has invested in training young people.  This is something new for Orkney and hopefully there will be opportunities for more youngsters to follow in Gillian's footsteps in the future."

After starting her training with the practice, Gillian knew immediately she had made the right career choice.  She commented: "It is just as good as I hoped.  I love working here.  My uncle has a farm, so I've grown up around animals and this is something I've wanted to do for a long time.

"I get a lot of satisfaction from working with a wide range of animals and from the way we help their owners as well."

Opportunities to train as a veterinary nurse are few and far between across the country.  Therefore Gillian's advice to other young people wanting to join the profession is to have plenty of patience - and plenty of stamps.

"I applied to practices as far away as Grimsby," she said. "I wrote 200 letters and I got just two interviews as a result."

Her main problem was a lack of experience, something she hoped to put right by asking for the chance to help out at Flett and Carmichael.  The practice could soon see her potential and, in offering her a job, took the decision to become a training centre approved by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.  The process was guided by North Highland College, which manages veterinary nurse training from Orkney to Dundee.

Vet, Kate Carmichael said: "We were expanding rapidly and needed new staff.  We were also moving to our new premises and it meant that we could ensure they were purpose-designed as a surgery with all the facilities needed to train veterinary nurses."

This meant that as well as caring for animals, Gillian could gain experience of skills as diverse as biochemistry, bacteriology, developing X-rays and preparing slides for microscopic examination.

"Helping to train Gillian is good for the practice as a whole," Kate added. "It is good for communication between staff and it keeps us all on our toes in making sure we do everything in as up to date way as we can."

Pippa Peacock, head of veterinary nursing at North Highland College, said the profession had changed considerably in recent years, with students now having the chance to qualify with level II and III vocational qualifications.

She visits Flett and Carmichael regularly to help guide and monitor Gillian's work-based training.

Pippa said: "We are delighted that the Orkney practice has taken the considerable step of becoming a training centre.  It is a big commitment, but it has created a great opportunity for Gillian - a good student who is already a valued member of staff.

"We realise the difficulties potential students face, because veterinary practices in the north of Scotland are few and far between, but we do our best to find them placements with suitable practices."