Established in 2015, Practical CPD was created by New Zealand Specialist Veterinary Surgeons Brent Higgins and Damian Chase, who wanted to deliver high quality, practical, surgical training to New Zealand Veterinarians in a nurturing, collegial environment.
Practical CPD strives to be the leading provider of continuing veterinary education for Veterinarians and Veterinary Nurses in New Zealand. All our workshops are practical and skills based, including case discussions, videos, dry and wet labs, with a high tutor to attendee ratio, ensuring you will come away with skills and knowledge immediately applicable to everyday practice.
Great review of plating systems and healing mechanisms / complications.
Great speaker, good, practical content.
Great speaker, very clear and kept it simple. Practical video clips were very useful.
Very passionate and professional (speaker) with a lot of knowledge.
Plenty of opportunity to practice new skills, good instrument selection.
Fantastic. Good amount of gear. Plenty of time and opportunity to practice techniques.
Easy to comprehend and follow. Relaxed atmosphere.
Very easy to follow lectures. Nice and engaging.
I really enjoyed the practical parts, very helpful for understanding key principles.
Relatable (speakers) and easy going. Nice to be able to ask questions.
Very good relevant content. Practical component is excellent, hard to improve on this.
Perfect amount of time (spent) on the practical and plenty of expert helpers.
Very well run – excellent equipment and participant:surgeon ratio.
Dr Kim Thomas BVSc (Managing Director)
Kim graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from Massey University in 2001. She worked in mixed animal practice in the Hawkes Bay and small animal practice in Wellington before moving to the UK in 2003, where she worked across multiple practices in small animal locum roles before settling in the Essex area into a longer term position. After moving to Brisbane in 2007 to be closer to family and working in small animal practice, Kim took a break from clinical practice to run her own business outside of the veterinary industry. In 2016 Kim stepped back into the veterinary industry with a role as Business Development Manager for Veterinary Instrumentation at Provet, where she jumped head first into all things Orthopaedic. In 2023, Kim joined the Knight Benedikt and Practical CPD team in 2023 as the Business Development Manager for Australia.
Kim is passionate about Continued Education for both Vets and Vet Nurses, particularly relating to Orthopaedics, and enjoys facilitating and attending CPD events to build relationships and find out how we can better support Vets in clinical practice.
Amberlee Faint-Rafferty BVT BSc (Business Development Manager)
Amberlee originally hails from New Zealand, growing up in Wellington and graduating from Massey University with a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology and Bachelor of Science in 2018. Since then Amberlee has worked in both Emergency and Critical Care and Internal Medicine Referral before moving to Sydney and beginning with Knight Benedikt as a Customer Relationship Manager in 2022. Amberlee now operates as the Business Development Manager ANZ for Knight Benedikt, Kahuvet and Practical CPD. Amberlee is passionate about providing high-quality continuing education for veterinarians and vet nurses, ensuring Practical CPD workshops across Australia and New Zealand are both enriching and enjoyable experiences.
Janis Leong-Premraj, BAppSci, DVN (Education Manager)
Janis was born in sunny Singapore, where she earned her Diploma in Integrated Events Management and worked on exciting projects like the Formula 1 race. In 2011, she then made the big move to beautiful New Zealand to follow her dream of becoming a veterinary nurse. She also completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Animal Management and Welfare.
Janis gained valuable experience working full-time at SPCA Auckland and continues to enjoy hands-on work as a casual veterinary nurse. She joined Kahuvet in 2018, initially focusing on customer service and accounts. In 2020, she transitioned to the Practical CPD team as the Education Event Manager for New Zealand. By the end of 2023, she stepped into a new role as Education Manager for both Australia and New Zealand, dedicated to ensuring you have a fantastic educational experience with Practical CPD!
Chloe Street, DVN (Kahuvet Education Centre Manager)
Chloe joined Kahuvet in April 2022 and moved into our Kahuvet Education Centre Manager role in late 2023. A born and raised Kiwi, Chloe graduated with a Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (2008) and spent 15 years working as a nurse in New Zealand, with 10 of those years committed to working in specialist referral surgery departments. She developed a strong interest in furthering individuals training and development in all areas of surgery while practicing as a surgery team leader, always encouraging and striving for high clinical standards and patient care.
She has a particular interest in orthopaedic power tools and instruments and you will find her in our wet-lab workshops, supporting your equipment requirements and co-ordinating your day of learning with us.
Cassandra Fake, VN DipPracMgmt TAE Dip TAE TDD CertHR (Education Coordinator)
Cass started out life as a veterinary nurse back in 2006 in a general practice clinic. She joined the Practical CPD team as the Veterinary Education Coordinator in 2022, and also teaches Veterinary Nursing Students at TAFE. Cass has worked in a wide variety of hospitals including general practice, specialist/emergency, and welfare organisations. She is passionate about professional development and holds 9 qualifications in veterinary nursing, business administration, human resources, training and development, and practice management.