Vet Times

Tag: Careers

  • Public health: the less recognised role of vets

    Public health: the less recognised role of vets

    —

    by

    Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as “mad cow disease”, hit the news again after an isolated incident was reported in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. In the 1990s, this disease resulted in the mass culling of hundreds of thousands of livestock, devastating the farming community and causing ripples throughout the British economy. Soaring meat prices, a ban on…

  • Working relationships

    Working relationships

    —

    by

    Something that only really comes home to you once you’ve started work as a vet: it’s more about dealing with people than about dealing with animals. So much of consulting feels like social work or diplomacy – a delicate negotiation between: what the animal needs what the owner wants what you think is best for…

  • Am I still a new grad?

    Am I still a new grad?

    —

    by

    I find it hard to believe students from the year below me at vet school received their finals results last week. It doesn’t feel like a year since my friends and I were sailing down the Kelvin for the infamous Glasgow raft race on results day. Well, there was more falling into the river than…

  • Being a millennial vet

    Being a millennial vet

    —

    by

    Millennials are stereotypically considered lazy, entitled and always wanting something for nothing. And having previously discussed the many advantages of employing new graduates (and, therefore, millennials), this sort of labelling angers me. The choices our generation makes are not due to lack of work ethic and naiveté about the future, but rather a reflection on…

  • Accountability and responsibility: which causes more fear?

    Accountability and responsibility: which causes more fear?

    —

    by

    It’s very daunting standing in your first consult as a real, qualified vet – even if it is “just a vaccine”, which invariably turns into “actually, this has happened“, or “now you mention it“, and so on. But why is it we have that constant feeling of being on edge – more so than a…

  • New vet schools are not the solution

    New vet schools are not the solution

    —

    by

    We’ve barely had a day of news in the past year that didn’t include Brexit. Yet, do any of us really know what the real consequences will be? Within the veterinary profession, specific factors are undoubtedly going to be influenced by Brexit, even if we don’t know the extent of these yet. They do, however,…

  • The gender pay gap – don’t put up with it

    The gender pay gap – don’t put up with it

    —

    by

    I used to consider myself a bit of an anti-feminist – but before the majority of the profession tear strips off me, let me explain… There are a number of very strongly opinionated feminists around – on your Facebook feed, in the news and also friends or colleagues – you know the type; those who…

  • Role recognition: credit where credit’s due

    Role recognition: credit where credit’s due

    —

    by

    Bloggers Jane Davidson and Nick Marsh team up to consider how much of each task on a typical invoice for surgery would, and could, be undertaken by a VN or vet. It reveals how, despite its importance, the role of the VN goes unnoticed and unrecognised. When Jane suggested writing a blog together, I thought…

  • Careers: choices, paths and wishes

    Careers: choices, paths and wishes

    —

    by

    I was talking to a colleague at work this week. We both have children about the same age, so naturally (and annoyingly to anyone who doesn’t have kids) there’s lots to share – nappy stories, who-jammed-what-object-where stories, and which-kids-TV-show-makes-you-feel-least-like-murdering-people stories. These conversations happen a lot, and when they happen with other vets, there’s an elephant…

  • What future for global VN community?

    What future for global VN community?

    —

    by

    Warning – political blog. Im so pleased to read the BVA/RCVS letter to the Prime Minister. While the initial shock of the Brexit vote has dulled, we still face the uncertainty of what Article 50 and our PM’s negotiations mean in the longer term. While this affects every sector of our lives, the effects on our…