Vet Times

Tag: mental health

  • Advice for first year vets beginning university in a pandemic

    Advice for first year vets beginning university in a pandemic

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    With first year on the horizon in the midst of a world that is far from the normal we knew, some newbie vets are bound to be feeling nervous at the prospect of a fresher’s year like no other. Having spoken to a number of students due to begin their vet journeys later this month,…

  • Grieving as a professional

    Grieving as a professional

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    The pet of a close friend of mine has just passed away. Zilla the black Lab was the most beloved dog, who had a fondness both for rummaging through the bins and belly scratches. She’d had progressive problems with her health and, earlier this month, it became clear that, sadly, the time had come for…

  • Tips for studying in self isolation

    Tips for studying in self isolation

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    I feel the phrase “the show must go on” is going to apply heavily to the student community over the coming months – vet students included. Universities across the country are moving their teaching and examinations to an online platform, which means that for a lot of young academics, come rain or shine (or, it…

  • Look after each other – including the four-legged ones

    Look after each other – including the four-legged ones

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    As much as we’re having to adapt our lives in so many ways during these strange and uncertain times, I think a lot of us take for granted that our pets will always be so reassuringly consistent. This is mainly because, while our own lives are currently being turned upside down and inside out, our…

  • Don’t get a puppy

    Don’t get a puppy

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    I read somewhere that, as more people will be at home at the moment, now might be good time to get a puppy. However, I cannot disagree more: in the middle of a pandemic, now is NOT the time to get a puppy. If you are due to get a puppy or are considering getting…

  • What about vets on the front line?

    What about vets on the front line?

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    Our profession is generally pretty good at pulling together in the face of adversity. I’ve always loved the community feel of being able to go to CPD events, and usually know someone, or have connections with someone, who is there. I love being able to send a message to my uni friends at any time…

  • Disillusionment

    Disillusionment

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    “Have we had the suicide talk?” I was 16 or 17, seeing practice at my local vets’, as I did every Thursday evening. One of the vets would often fill gaps in consults by grilling me on the ins and outs of the profession, but this topic had not been covered before. When I blinked…

  • EMS: life, death and lost holidays

    EMS: life, death and lost holidays

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    EMS is something I haven’t touched on too deeply, which is odd considering how much of a vet student’s life it takes up. For those not familiar with the term, EMS stands for extra-mural studies: work experience conducted outside of university term time. Each vet school organises its EMS slightly differently, but at Bristol we’re…

  • Needlestick injuries

    Needlestick injuries

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    We’re often strangely silent about the injuries we get at work – the ubiquitous needlesticks, the mystery bruises that appear from nowhere on legs and arms, the strange scratches on arms or necks. It’s not that we’re clumsy or bad at our job, it’s more that, in the average fast-paced veterinary clinic, we are usually…

  • Money and medicine: compromising care for cost

    Money and medicine: compromising care for cost

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    Here’s a good way to start a blog: Victorian humour. Man: I say, Doctor, how’s that old chap you’ve been treating? Doctor: I fear he is beyond medical help. Man: Oh no! Is he dying? Doctor: No, he ran out of money. Hey, I never said it was a topical blog… Uncomfortable bedfellows In my…