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.
Very well run – excellent equipment and participant:surgeon ratio.
Great speaker, very clear and kept it simple. Practical video clips were very useful.
Plenty of opportunity to practice new skills, good instrument selection.
Perfect amount of time (spent) on the practical and plenty of expert helpers.
Easy to comprehend and follow. Relaxed atmosphere.
Fantastic. Good amount of gear. Plenty of time and opportunity to practice techniques.
Relatable (speakers) and easy going. Nice to be able to ask questions.
Very easy to follow lectures. Nice and engaging.
Very good relevant content. Practical component is excellent, hard to improve on this.
I really enjoyed the practical parts, very helpful for understanding key principles.
Very passionate and professional (speaker) with a lot of knowledge.
Great speaker, good, practical content.
Dr Vince Frank, BVSc
After graduating with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from Massey University in 2004, Vince started work as a mixed-animal veterinarian in Gore. This role was mainly focused on dairy cows, but included a significant amount of sheep and beef work, as well as a companion animal and equine caseload. In early 2007, Vince moved to the UK, where he worked as a locum veterinarian with a focus on companion animal and emergency medicine.
He moved back to New Zealand in late 2008 to take up a position as a veterinarian, first in Whakatane and then in Christchurch where he founded Kahu Veterinary Equipment, a veterinary wholesaler. Vince continued to work as a companion animal locum veterinarian while establishing the company until the end of 2014. He is a managing director of Kahu Veterinary Equipment Ltd and Practical CPD Ltd. He is involved in organising veterinary education events and remains involved in the veterinary profession, with a special interest for orthopaedics and IT.
Dr Matt Knight, BVSc
Matthew graduated from Massey University Vet School in 2004. He then worked in general practice for North Canterbury Vets in Culverden for 3 years, working with sheep and beef, dairy, deer farms and companion animals. In 2007 Matthew moved to the UK, working there for 2 years as a companion animal veterinarian at a number of clinics, in a locum capacity.
After the UK Matthew spent 2 years working in NSW, Australia as a locum veterinarian before returning to New Zealand in 2010 to help establish Kahu Veterinary Equipment. Matthew has worked as a companion animal locum intermittently in New Zealand between 2010-2013, as well as 3 volunteer trips with SPAW as a veterinarian in the Pacific Islands. Currently Matthew co-manages Kahuvet and is a director of Practical CPD Ltd. Matthew maintains an interest in veterinary education generally and attends several veterinary educational events every year.
Dr Kim Thomas BVSc
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.
Dr Danielle Page BVSc BCom
Danielle holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Sydney University and completed her veterinary studies at Massey University in 2008. She has experience as a small animal veterinarian, both in Australia and in the United States. Since moving back to New Zealand in 2014, Danielle has been the Professional Consulting Veterinarian for Hill’s Pet Nutrition, training the field team, organising events and speaking about nutrition throughout NZ. She is passionate about building relationships, training and continuing education of both vets and veterinary nurses. She is welcomed into our newly developed Business Development Manager role for NZ.
Janis Leong-Premraj, BAppSci, DVN
Janis was born in sunny Singapore in which she has attained her Diploma in Integrated Events Management, involved in projects such as the Formula 1 race. She then made the big move to beautiful New Zealand in 2011 to pursue her dream job as a veterinary nurse. She also completed her studies in Bachelor of Applied Science (Animal Management and Welfare). Janis worked full time at the SPCA Auckland and still loves getting her hands dirty as a casual veterinary nurse. She joined Kahuvet in 2018 doing customer services and accounts, in 2020 she joined the Practical CPD team as the Education Event Manager for New Zealand.
Chloe Street, DVN
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
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. Cass is currently on maternity leave and will be back end 2024.