Meet The Team

Dr Kim McPherson
Director & Veterinarian

How does success feel for you?

Rewarding. We’ve just always tried to be focused on supporting the valley. From the very first year we always supported Gargett rodeo, Finch Hatton Show and the schools; it’s all been about the community.

What does the day to day look like for you now?

I'm full time still- but I have Tuesdays off to play golf. I love my golf. One of the big things that I enjoy doing at the moment is mentoring new grads. The James Cook University graduates are really good, and we're all about supporting them. It’s a tough job, and we used to just be thrown in the deep end. But these days, we’re much more aware of the repercussions of the pressures of vet science and so we want to support them to enter this great industry and look after it. Mentoring the young ones keeps me young.

Where did your love for animals come from?

I grew up with that great farm life, first in Narrabri and then in Longreach, around lambs and calves and piglets and chickens. That led both me and my identical twin sister into it, because we just enjoyed animals and really wanted to be farmers. We were always fascinated with them. Dad was pretty much a butcher, and we would look at all the viscera; it's just one of those things, like how little boys are often interested in trucks. We were interested in the ins and outs of animals.

What advice would you give others?

Do the best you can do. Don’t be half hearted about things- try and do things to the best of your ability, whatever that is, and be proud of that effort.

Dr Ben Brightman
Director & Veterinarian

What led you into this career?

I always wanted to be a vet ever since I was in primary school. I grew up in Mackay with a family of a cane and cattle farmers, so I always had that love of animals and livestock. My grandfather, on the other side of the family was in human Orthopaedics. So I guess I sort of just ended up mixing those two interests together, of animals and medicine.

What have been some of your personal highlights at Valley Veterinary Surgery?

Every day there's a different highlight. Mostly getting to be do some really cool surgeries and help pets that otherwise wouldn't have been able to be helped, bringing services to Mackay that just weren't an option for clients in the past. It’s also really cool to be able to offer procedures that people in the past had to drive to Brisbane or Townsville to get done, making that access to care so much easier.

What makes Valley Veterinary Surgery special?

We're family owned. A lot of clinics are being bought by corporate companies, whereas in ours, the owners of the business are working in the practice. So we're there and we're actually making sure that our patients and clients are getting the very best.

Chloe Watson
Director & Practice Operations Manager

What advice would you give to your younger self

Never discount the unexpected, because I definitely never thought I would not be a full-time vet nurse. But now, I love management. I love helping the clinic. I love helping staff, and that's something I never, ever expected.

What career path brought you here?

I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid. That was what I always wanted to be. But when I went to university I didn't get into vet studies. I did zoology for eight months, but I realised I just wanted to get into the workforce. I was really not enjoying studying full time. I had done a week of work experience at Valley Veterinary Surgery during Year 11 and Kim had offered me a school-based traineeship, because she saw that I work really hard. So later, when I realised university wasn’t for me, my mum reminded me that Kim believed in me, and I applied for some nursing positions- and just happened to get a job with Valley Veterinary Surgery.

Do you have any pets yourself?

I have a cat called Wendy. We’re a one cat household. I tried to bring another cat home, and she was not super impressed with that! My sisters both have dogs and my parents have chickens, so there are always plenty of animals around.

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