Specialist Status Sees Paula's NDSR Journey Come Full Circle
3 years ago 
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One of the UK’s leading small animal hospitals has added another specialist to its industry-leading internal medicine team.
North Downs Specialist Referrals (NDSR), in Bletchingley, Surrey, now has eight specialists delivering expert treatment after Paula Valiente passed exams to become an EBVS European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine.
Paula’s exam success sees her complete a journey which began when she first joined NDSR as an intern in 2016, having moved to the UK from Spain the previous year.
She said: “I have learned so much during my years of additional study and I’m really excited by the opportunity to be able to make even more of a contribution to the care we offer our patients and clients here at NDSR.
“I still clearly remember when I first came to the hospital to complete a year-long rotating internship. I was immediately drawn to medicine and it gave me a fantastic insight into the referral world. I learned an incredible amount and soon realised I wanted to make internal medicine my specialty.”
Gerry Polton, clinical director at NDSR, said: “We are all delighted to see Paula recognised as an EBVS European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine, which is a deserved reward for all her hard work and studying over the past years.
“It means we’re able to offer even more expertise and excellence in the internal medicine team and the multidisciplinary care of our patients.”
Paula graduated from the University of Zaragoza, in Spain, in 2012. After completing an internship at a veterinary specialist in Valencia, she worked in general practice before to moving to the UK.
After a one-year rotating internship at NDSR, she undertook her specialist training through a three-year internal medicine residency programme at Dick White Referrals, Cambridgeshire, which was recently acquired by Linnaeus.
Following her residency, Paula returned to NDSR last September, before sitting her exams earlier this year.
She said: “It was a very busy time for me, finishing my residency and completing cases before moving to NDSR. Due to the pandemic, I hadn’t seen my family since December 2019, so I was also relieved to be able to return to Spain last summer to see them before I re-joined NDSR and, of course, tight restrictions were re-introduced.
Paula enjoys all aspects of internal medicine, with particular interests in gastroenterology and endoscopy.
NDSR offers specialist-led services in anaesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, dentistry, dermatology, diagnostic imaging, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery and spinal surgery.
For more information about NDSR, visit https://www.ndsr.co.uk/home or search for North Downs Specialist Referrals on social media.
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