Vet Times

Tag: wages

  • Exotics and the last-gasp presentation

    Exotics and the last-gasp presentation

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    For the first part of my career my “special interest”, and something I became gradually better known for, was exotics. However, in my first jobs, getting the bosses to take the specialty (and me) seriously was tough. At first they couldn’t see the attraction of these “novelty species”, as one old timer put it. Then…

  • Recruitment and retention

    Recruitment and retention

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    The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) recently commissioned a study to counter the arguments against new vet schools opening to show that the employment situation in the profession is still good. I have no argument with what it found: that most, if not all vets looking for jobs are employed very quickly. At the…

  • Money makes the world go around…

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    …unless you’re a member of the veterinary professions according to the latest edition of the SPVS Salaries Survey, which has revealed “an overall dip” in vets’ pay packets. The figures – which cover the whole salary package, including accommodation, company cars and CPD (when provided) – are particularly disappointing for small animal practitioners, revealing that the only…

  • David and Goliath

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    Like many of us I take an interest in the happenings of the RCVS and its disciplinary committees. This is becoming an even deeper interest as I work through a Masters degree in law; I am seeing how other professions regulate themselves and are regulated too. Having said that, I am still at the level…

  • Holiday options

    Holiday options

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    Our main holiday season is coming. YAY! We have our dog friendly cottage booked – now all we need is the dog! We took the decision with Wilson that, as he was geriatric, we wouldn’t take him to kennels. Instead, we developed a nice little collection of dog friendly places to stay (more of those…

  • Suicide: a compound problem

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    The perennial topic of comparative suicide rates in different professions came up this weekend at my course. I am in a group of nurses, lawyers, doctors, dentists, and midwives. Over lunch one of the doctors brought up the comparative suicide rates for the professions represented at my course and, as is well known, vets top…

  • Revalidation and us

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    As part of my studies at the moment I have to get up to speed with regulation of other professions. Part of this made my heart sink: in December 2012 the General Medical Council acquired the statutory powers to require revalidation of medical staff on a regular basis. Looking at the wording of the regulations…

  • Manipulated by those big brown eyes

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    “I want to be the person my dogs think I am.” That quote (I’m afraid I don’t know who said it) makes me smile whenever I am greeted like a long-lost friend after work. At least partly it explains why we treat them the way we do. But I find myself acting “like a typical…