Helen graduated with a degree in Pharmacology in 2002, qualifying as a Registered Veterinary Nurse in the UK in 2005. She has worked nationally and internationally, gathering experience in referral medicine and surgery, charity practice, emergency nursing and exotics.

In 2013 she qualified as a human centred nurse, initially working in cardiothoracic intensive care. Currently she works as a Transplant Nurse Specialist. Day to day she supports living kidney donors through the process of donation. She also holds an on call role, managing the logistics of matching, retrieving and transplanting abdominal organs from deceased donors.

Helen remains a RVN and has developed a strong interest in the principles of One Health. Her first textbook, Veterinary Nursing Care Plans: Theory and Practice was published in 2018. Currently she is working on her MSc Healthcare Management.

Friendships in the workplace not only help you get through the day, but can increase job satisfaction, performance and productivity. However, when you take on a leadership role in your team, managing friendships at work can feel tricky, especially when those friendships involve people you manage. A change in dynamic is bound to happen, so how do you navigate the fine line of being a friend, who also has to set boundaries as a manager? Helen Ballantyne, who worked as an RVN before qualifying as a human-centred nurse and working for the NHS, will talk you through her experiences, and suggest the ground rules and boundaries to set, and the pitfalls to avoid, to help you find the right balance between being a manager and a friend.