The New Vet's Handbook: Information and Advice for Veterinary Graduates

Clare Tapsfield-Wright

• Publisher: 5m Books
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9781912178858
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Veterinary Medicine

Entering the veterinary profession after leaving vet school is a challenging stage of the new vet's career. Finding the right first placement, fitting in with colleagues, adapting to the practice environment and understanding what's expected of you clinically, professionally, ethically and academically are all challenges that face the new graduate. Attrition rates and reports of dissatisfaction of new graduates are high and a matter of concern to the profession and it is recognised that extra support and guidance is needed. The New Vet's Handbook acts as a guidebook for newly qualified vets on personal and professional issues, covering employment options, interviews, mentoring, working with clients, patients and colleagues, consulting advice, dealing with euthanasia, record keeping, veterinary standards, training and CPD, career options, professional skills and avoiding pitfalls relating to social media, drugs and ethical issues. The book also covers topics specific to vets in small animal and large animal practice. Written in a supportive and lighthearted way The New Vet's Handbook aims to provide advice based on long held experience and reduce stress at a challenging time. It will be an essential read for newly qualified vets and final year vet students.

Chapter 1

Becoming a vet

The beginning of your veterinary career

You may now be in your clinical years at vet school, or have just graduated and are about to embark on the start of the exciting life of a qualified veterinary surgeon. There are so many different career pathways for a vet but the majority of graduates will go into general practice which may be small animal, large animal, equine or mixed, and the aim of this book is to give you a helping hand as you navigate the first days, months and early years in practice.

Your weeks of extramural studies (EMS) will have given you the opportunity to have an insider view of veterinary practice and will have assisted you in making the decision as to what sort of veterinary work you would like to do. You have been trained to treat all species of animal to the level of the day one competencies but some vets will know from the outset that they only want to work in small animal practice whereas others have a special interest in equine or farm work. Whatever you decide to do, make the choice that you know is right for you, not because of anyone else’s expectations or external pressures, or fear of making the wrong choice, but because you want to follow that path.

It is wise to think very carefully about the choices you make now because, even though it is entirely possible to change your mind in the light of experience, your first job is inevitably very influential in the direction your working life will take. Employment with a good practice with the right amount and quality of support will, however, provide the foundations for your future life in the profession and will be a springboard for your career and your happiness in your life as a vet.

What type of practice do you want to work in?

If you are convinced that you only want to work with companion animals, then your choices are clear when you look at the adverts and you will be considering all the ones which are small animal-orientated and disregarding any offering large animal work. If you are a little undecided, then you may find it a little easier to change to a small animal practice from a mixed practice rather than the other way around, and currently there is a reasonable variety of advertisements for new graduates for work both in mixed practice and small animal practice.

If you have always wanted to work in an equine practice, you may find the choice of positions available for a new graduate limited and there are likely to be many applicants for those that are advertised, but you may be able to find a mixed practice with a proportion of equine work in which you can gain valuable experience which will enable you to find an equine-only position in the future.

Mixed practices can offer you a broad range of experience in many species and a change in career path is always an option in the future once you know what you want to do. Be aware that if you are employed in a mixed practice where you are mainly performing small animal work in the daytime but are included in the out of hours rota for both large and small animals, then this can be quite a challenge as you have limited opportunity to learn the basics during the day. You only meet the farmers when faced with a large animal emergency, fire brigade work as we call it, and this can be daunting even with another vet on second call. If you are attracted to working with zoo animals or wildlife generally then a good grounding in a mixed practice will also give you valuable experience and transferable skills which will come in very useful in the future.

Some referral centre practices offer internships which might appeal to you, but they often require you to have some experience of working in first opinion practice beforehand, so that you become familiar with the common cases presented, and have the basic skills and ability to recognise what is normal and what is abnormal.

There are other options available to you such as staying in academia, and there is better advice on these options at the university where you are studying, but I will be concentrating in this book on aspects of working in general practice.

Many job adverts ask for a vet with some experience, but it is always worth considering sending a letter of application for such a position which you have found very appealing, if you feel you have something to offer despite being a new graduate. There are occasions when a practice asks for some experience but no suitable vets apply for the position, and an outstanding application from a new graduate might make a practice willing to invest the time and effort in bringing on a new graduate after all. Just make sure that they are able and willing to support a new graduate sufficiently and that you will not be asked to perform work beyond your capabilities.

If you had a good experience at a practice during EMS and you like the idea of working for that practice, then do write a letter to them even if they are not currently advertising. They may be prompted into considering you as an addition to their workforce and be glad to be approached, especially if you were a bright and willing student and they can see a role for you in the practice.

This is definitely the time to be proactive and go and look for the job that you want, using all your contacts and putting effort into your job search. If you know some recently qualified vets in practice then contact them and ask about any potential vacancies in the practices they are working in, especially if they have been treated well, because a word of mouth recommendation is invaluable.

Maternity cover positions may mean that the practice is going to ask you to fill a short-term vacancy rather than invest in you as a future member of the team, but this can also be a stepping stone to a permanent position, so do not discount them. Some vets do not choose to return to work after the end of their maternity leave so it may develop into a permanent position, but you still need to make sure it is a practice who is willing to give you good mentors and take time to integrate and support you as a new graduate.

When you are young, and you have a busy social life but few commitments, it may be tempting to work part-time with no evening or weekend work and to enjoy that precious work–life balance that everyone speaks of and treasures. The fact is, however, that if you take a part-time job at this stage of your career it will take you considerably longer to become experienced and confident, so I would advise you to take a full-time position as a new graduate if at all possible. Working two days a week usually means that you have to hand over a complicated case to another vet and by the time you are back at work again the animal is either better or might even be dead! Learning case management by following cases through and assessing outcomes is so much easier if you are working full-time and can find out what happened and how accurate your diagnosis and treatment was. There are well-paid part-time positions in vaccine and neuter clinics but, if you restrict your exposure to more complex cases and sick and injured animals, you will limit your opportunity to become an experienced clinician so do not be tempted by pots of cash for uninspiring part-time work.

I believe that if you do not take a job which involves working out of hours in the first few years of your career then there is a strong likelihood that you never will, and some students have indeed told me that they never want to work in an on call rota. There is a great deal of discussion in the veterinary press about work–life balance and the stress of working out of hours but the fact remains that it presents a great opportunity to learn. Fear of not being able to cope with the pressure has been cited to me as a reason but in a moderately sized practice there are not as many dire emergencies out of hours as you may fear. Although we all fear the midnight GDV, these drastic emergencies are not nearly as frequent out of hours as less challenging but interesting cases such as acutely sick animals, cut paws, diarrhoea and collapsed, old dogs.

Out of hours work offers amazing opportunities to learn and can be exciting and interesting, offering you the time to work a case through from start to finish, and the chance to experience the responsibility of using your training and skills and seeing the results. You will really feel you are making a difference when you help a sick or injured animal out of hours and it is one of the many things which makes the job worthwhile. It is potentially easier to complete the requirements of the Professional Development Phase (PDP) if you work out of hours too, as during the day there may be fewer opportunities to perform more complicated procedures and surgeries.

It can help when searching for jobs to have criteria which exclude the practices which you would not consider but do not make those criteria too restrictive. Read every advert carefully so as not to waste your time applying for something unsuitable.

Look everywhere, in the Vet Record and the Vet Times and also online as increasingly this is where jobs are being advertised.

Some jobs advertised as farm animal positions may be primarily TB testing so make sure you read the advert carefully.

What area of the country do you want to work in?

It is not a good idea in a competitive job market to be too rigid about what geographical region of the country you are prepared to consider; if you are willing to work anywhere in the country then you are more likely to find the practice which offers what you seek.

I do understand that it can be attractive to be reasonably near family and friends as this is going to be a time where family support can be very helpful both emotionally and practically, but this will depend on your individual circumstances and your personality and needs. You have already been away from home studying and you know yourself best, and though some individuals thrive well without the support of family and friends, others do not and this will be a challenging year. You may feel that you need that level of proximity in your first year and would not be happy starting work in a completely new region of the country. It can make a big difference if you are near enough to drive home for some home-cooked food and a sympathetic ear from those who love you.

Do not limit your choices of job by imposing too many filtering criteria as it may be that the job market does not offer enough of exactly what you seek and you have to work in a slightly different type of practice or in a city environment when you would prefer a rural setting. You can always move practices in a few years’ time. For a new graduate, choosing a good, supportive practice is far more important than the location.

What size of practice?

You will be faced with choices of a large practice with many vets, which may be part of a company or corporate organisation, or a medium-sized practice which may or may not have central management. There are still some small practices with one or two vets or nurses who are owners and who are planning on expanding and taking on a new graduate as their client numbers increase. Your employer may be working alongside you, or you may be supervised and managed by a clinical director who is also themselves an employee. Some practices, despite employing quite a large number of vets, are set up with multiple branches with one or two vets working at each branch, whereas a practice with one large building will have all the vets and nurses under the same roof. Practices come in all sizes and with multiple variations of management structures, with vets with different levels of expertise and the potential for expansion and opportunities for the vets they employ.

This can be a very important consideration and one you should look at carefully, so always search for the website of a practice and check how it is organised and who is working and where. In a large practice, the chances are that you will have vets of varying ages, some of whom will most likely have qualified relatively recently and with whom you will have much in common. This can also increase the opportunity for a good social life outside work which can be very important especially if you are of a sociable disposition and likely to enjoy the company of other young vets and support staff. Young, recently qualified vets will also remember what it is like to be a new graduate and may be more helpful, understanding and supportive, having experienced it themselves so recently.

I have been told by younger vets that in some large multi-vet practices, the more senior vets have a tendency to monopolise much of the interesting work and leave the younger graduates with a high proportion of the more mundane, routine work such as neutering and basic consulting. This is perhaps only to be expected in the first few months while you find your feet, but can become frustrating if you never get the opportunity to increase your experience as time goes by. Good management should prevent this happening but human nature being what it is, and a natural inclination by vets to look for the interesting surgical work, can make it more difficult for a recent graduate to get a look in with the exciting cases.

Some large practices can appear a little intimidating in size because they employ many vets, but the organisation of the premises may be that of several self-sufficient small branch surgeries which can mean that you are still working in a relatively small team. In some practices with small branch surgeries there may be just one vet at a branch, and I would suggest that it is preferable for a new graduate not to be expected to work completely on their own without the support of a more experienced colleague who is physically present and not just at the end of a phone.

In a small practice, there may not be the same number of complex medical and surgical cases as in a large practice and they may not have the top-of-the-range equipment that you have seen at vet school, but you may be more likely to get individual attention from an experienced vet who is highly motivated for you to succeed.

This is especially true if they are the owner or have a significant financial stake in the practice. They may be inclined to be more generous with their time than a fellow employee and may give you encouragement and the opportunities to gain experience in more complex procedures at an earlier stage.

You may be an individual who thrives better with this sort of personal, one-to-one mentoring by your employer or line manager, or you may prefer being part of a larger group, but it is useful to think about it in advance while you are looking at the jobs on offer.

Who will you be working for and who with?

Practices may be independent, small businesses owned by one or more vets or may be owned by a large company or a charity. Many investment companies buy independent practices and keep the practice more or less the same in terms of organisation and culture because this is the model which has made that particular practice successful. There may, as a result, be many different types of practices even within a group owned by the same larger company, and new graduates may have varying experiences despite being employed by the same company.

Some companies have their own internal new graduate support and mentoring programmes which are structured and consistent and this approach may appeal to you more than the informal mentoring which exists in some practices. As previously mentioned, you may prefer the personal approach from an independent practice owner who is mentoring you on a daily basis as well as employing you.

I recommend that you make some enquiries and see if you can get feedback from vets who work there such as graduates who qualified a year or two ago, or see if you can speak to the vets employed in a practice as this may be more revealing than the information you receive from the prospective employer. Vets are more willing to be frank with their views if you contact them by phone or private message rather than asking them to put anything in writing or in an open forum online.

When to start work?

After all that studying for your final exams you may have plans to go travelling after you qualify or you may be eager to use your skills right away and start applying for jobs. Once you are working in practice you will be highly unlikely to get more than two or three consecutive weeks of holiday unless you are between jobs, so if you are desperate to go to Thailand, now might be a good time.

At a recent congress for final year students, a panel of graduates qualified for one year said that they felt they needed a few weeks off to recover from the last six months of vet school because they were exhausted, but they also felt concerned that they would forget things if they took six months off to go travelling.

It is worth considering that practices looking for a new graduate may be targeting their advertising right now and there is competition for jobs out there. Starting work at the same time as your vet friends can also provide you with an unofficial support group because you can compare notes and keep in touch with people you know who are experiencing the same situations as you are in the same timeframe. The first few weeks and months are exciting but can also be bewildering, exhausting, wonderful and terrifying and speaking to people who are experiencing the same feelings can be very comforting and helpful.

Applying for a job in practice

I am sure you have had plenty of advice and instruction on the practicalities of applying for jobs and composing CVs, so I am not going to duplicate that here but instead explain just what I was looking for when I was advertising as a prospective employer of a recent graduate and of assistant vets generally.

Over the years, I must have read thousands of CVs and covering letters from new and recently qualified graduates. The advent of the computer has been both a blessing and a curse as in the past I have received handwritten letters of application which allowed for a certain amount of early filtering. Applications on lined notepaper with fluffy kittens and letters full of spelling mistakes, such as spelling veterinary as ‘vetinary’, and hastily dashed-off letters which were virtually illegible, went straight into the rejection pile. You may think this harsh, but if an applicant cannot be bothered to compose a good letter of application, then an employer may have less confidence in their potential to be a diligent and organised employee. Many applications are now online and you will have been told the importance of a good CV and covering letter.

Nowadays, every veterinary graduate can use spellcheck and will have received training in producing a professional-looking CV, which is good news for the applicant but means that it is also more difficult for you to mak...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Becoming a vet
• Chapter 2 Finding the right job for you
• Chapter 3 Preparing for work in practice
• Chapter 4 Your first weeks in practice
• Chapter 5 Working with large animals
• Chapter 6 How to look good in the consulting room
• Chapter 7 How to be a good vet in the back
• Chapter 8 Working out of hours
• Chapter 9 Clients: the good, the bad and the ugly
• Chapter 10 How to get on with the rest of the veterinary team
• Chapter 11 How to get on with other vets
• Chapter 12 How to get on with your boss
• Chapter 13 How to get on with yourself
• Chapter 14 Challenges you may encounter in practice
• Chapter 15 Being a vet in real life
• Chapter 16 End of life care and euthanasia
• Chapter 17 Paperwork and procedures: do it or weep!
• Chapter 18 Being a professional
• Chapter 19 Six months in practice
• Chapter 20 Itchy feet and greener grass
• Chapter 21 So now you know it all
• Appendix 1: Notes for employees and mentors
• Appendix 2: Wellbeing
• Appendix 3: Acronyms
• Index