Vet Times

Tag: referral

  • Accessibility to veterinary medicine, part 2: attracting students

    Accessibility to veterinary medicine, part 2: attracting students

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    So why is the veterinary profession struggling to attract students from underprivileged backgrounds? Whether it has anything to do with economical geography or not, many vets will tell the same story – they were told repeatedly during their childhood and teenage years that they would never make it as a vet and to pick another…

  • Commonly held beliefs that don’t do us any good, pt 2

    Commonly held beliefs that don’t do us any good, pt 2

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    Belief #2: if you can’t afford to care for an animal then you shouldn’t have one You, young doctor or nurse – living in your privileged society of excess, with your years of study, working in an industry that exists largely to minimise animal suffering – have certain expectations of what “taking care of an…

  • Are you firework ready?

    Are you firework ready?

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    The season of terror will soon be upon us, and by that I don’t mean Halloween – I refer, of course, to the dreaded Bonfire Night, and the influx of owners requesting a magical cure for their dogs’ noise phobia. We’re all guilty of losing track of time, but this time of year particularly seems…

  • General practice: a boring job?

    General practice: a boring job?

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    I have, on occasion throughout my career, heard people describe general practice as “boring”. “Sure,” they’d say. “There’s stressful bits, but so much of it is the same – anal glands, vaccinations – it just gets boring after a while, doesn’t it?” My first reaction to this viewpoint has always been a double take and…

  • How I finally fell in love with my job

    How I finally fell in love with my job

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    I’m Ami, and I’m a farm vet. I first wrote for Veterinary Times as a new graduate – wide eyed and enthusiastic, with a hint of terror that comes from not quite feeling ready to fly the nest. I’ve been a vet for seven years now, and it’s taken about six of those for me…

  • CPD as a new grad

    CPD as a new grad

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    One of the advantages of new graduate programmes is the regular and, on the whole, good quality CPD included as standard. This can vary between the programmes, with some offering a degree of choice and others a strict programme of compulsory sessions. These often include a variety of non-clinical and clinical topics, delivered in both…

  • A cryonic kitty conundrum

    A cryonic kitty conundrum

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    I’m starting this blog with an apology. I frequently like to use links to other stories to illustrate a point or show where an idea originated from, but, sadly, this time that “read through” is from The Sun. I’m warning you now as I don’t want anyone to click through who doesn’t want to give…

  • An abbreviation too far?

    An abbreviation too far?

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    We love an abbreviation in the veterinary world. CBA, RTA, TTA – just hopefully not all on the same patient, or all at the same time. To laypeople, medical notes must seem like another language. Therefore, it’s no surprise, when said laypeople request access to their records, that these notes rarely hold the answer. So…

  • A defence of generalism

    A defence of generalism

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    Ahh, veterinary medicine. Look at it, stretching out over the horizon – so pretty. Look at all those referral centres. Of course, I remember back when it was all fields. Back in my day, you could be a proper mixed vet, expressing anal glands with the lingering scent of cowpat on your fingers, and an…

  • Role recognition: credit where credit’s due

    Role recognition: credit where credit’s due

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    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…