Vet Times

Tag: exams

  • Being a millennial vet

    Being a millennial vet

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    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…

  • Are new grads avoiding OOH?

    Are new grads avoiding OOH?

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    With the increasing popularity of outsourcing out-of-hours care to specific emergency centres, today’s new graduates have a very real option to never have to work OOH. While it is often insinuated it would be a good learning experience to at least do some OOH during your veterinary career, many new grads are opting for the…

  • It’s not personal, it’s strictly business

    It’s not personal, it’s strictly business

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    Veterinary practices are businesses. Their purpose is to make money for their owners. I state this clearly, because it’s a truth always felt incongruous. We all have our own reasons for entering the profession, of course, but mine didn’t include owning a business – that aspect of the veterinary world barely crossed my mind –…

  • Fake it ‘til you make it

    Fake it ‘til you make it

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    As a new grad, no matter how much you are told not to worry, you can’t help being aware of what your clients, colleagues, boss, friends and family think of you – and, more specifically, your ability as a vet. Having had a bit of a setback with my first job, I’m past caring what…

  • Testing times: reliving the exam nightmare

    Testing times: reliving the exam nightmare

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    Remind me why I’m doing this? I swore I’d never put myself through it again. Amid the bittersweet feelings at the end of my veterinary degree – sadness I’d never pass time in quite the same way with many of my fellow students again, nervousness about a suddenly unplanned future (I’d known exactly what I…

  • The messiness of medicine

    The messiness of medicine

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    My career has taken a very academic turn recently; I’m now a resident in clinical pathology, after (mutter mutter) years in general practice. It’s been a huge change and enormously interesting, and one of the things that has surprised me greatly (and said with caution, given I have general pathology exams looming) is how much…

  • Should you employ a new grad?

    Should you employ a new grad?

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    This weekend, I helped out with a talk at SPVS-VMG Congress on employing new graduates. It gave delegates – vets, VNs, employers and new grads themselves – the opportunity to reflect on how wildly different each new grad’s experience can be, and appreciate the challenges employers face when hiring new grads. The fact those in…

  • Enjoy what you can when you can – it’s not a competition

    Enjoy what you can when you can – it’s not a competition

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    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m not always the biggest fan of Christmas. Not from a religious point of view (everyone needs a birthday), but from the social pressure point of view. So, for the 2017 Christmas message from #planetrvn, I want to say this is for everyone who doesn’t…

  • If only they could talk

    If only they could talk

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    “It must be so difficult,” the old woman says, as I listen to her cat’s chest. As ever, this puts me in the awkward position of either taking the stethoscope out of my ears and interrupting my clinical exam, or politely ignoring her so I can listen. As usual, I opt for the third, least…

  • In at the deep end

    In at the deep end

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    Being a new grad is scary. And, although I don’t think I’ve been dropped in the deep end as much as some of my colleagues may have, I feel entirely overwhelmed the majority of the time and question several times a day whether I actually went to uni. Starting in practice has made me realise…