The Journey Of A New Graduate

Well it’s been five months of being a real-life vet and while vet school and 38 weeks of EMS does a lot to prepare you for a career in veterinary medicine, there is nothing quite like on the job experience! Chatting with my classmates about their experiences of a newly graduated vet it seems that there are some definite surprises that nothing can prepare you for. And so, I present: What no one told you about becoming a vet – the surprises of a new grad in practice. There are a surprising number of dog owners who aren’t aware of the functional anatomy of their pet’s reproductive system. This was common to a lot of my friends, accompanied by horror stories of having to explain exactly what that ‘white stuff’ coming out of their dog’s nether regions was. I remember a specific call from a distressed lady one evening when I was last on call, her dog had managed to tie with a teddy bear and it took all my professionalism to keep a straight face and calm voice during the phone call. The r...

“So, have you made any friends on the island?” my practice manager asked kindly from behind his desk. It’s the end of my three month probation period and I’ve just had my review. While the review in general was thankfully positive (Hooray!), under the section on my feedback form entitled ‘How can you improve in the next 6 months?’ I had written, tongue in cheek: ‘Get a life’.  Of course, throughout vet school and indeed, the veterinary literature, the work-life balance is widely discussed as part of the wider discussion of the mental health of veterinary professionals.  I know it’s important but I’m not sure worrying about my poor work-life balance is helping my stress levels! In first year it took me until February to make a firm circle of friends in spite the hectic social schedule of Glasgow Vet School, so I was not overly concerned about my lack of new social life. But since this meeting I have reflected on my rather blasé attitude to friend-making, if it takes me 4 mont...

Wow, nothing really prepares you, does it? I was very fortunate not to join the on call rota straight away; some of my friends had been on call from their first month, week and even day of work, but the tachycardia and feelings of dread at taking possession of the on-call mobile still hit me hard. I’m not sure when these feeling cease, I hear they’re replaced with apathy and dismay but to be honest, anything is better than the gut twisting terror I experienced a few weeks ago. But then again, being on call is great. What else tests you as much as being the only vet in the practice with the responsibility of making decisions?  That’s not to say I didn’t call my 2 nd on-call for help when on my first night I was presented with a seizuring cat, or message a partner when I wasn’t sure about the possibility of a tendon repair. Once I got over my decidophobia there was almost a masochistic desire to be the one in charge which I certainly didn’t expect! Should I be worried?! Being o...

As I settle into my new job and find a routine, I’m finding my confidence and joy in veterinary medicine. I’m not performing life-saving surgery or diagnosing rare illnesses at a glance, but I am making clinical decisions which I have confidence in. Trusting my instincts isn’t easy, but there is an art to veterinary medicine as well as science and sometimes there is more than one right answer. After one particularly tough day in which everything I did ended up a bit of a bodge job I went upstairs to speak to my clinical coach about my general feeling of uselessness.  “My skin sutures were awful”, I wailed. “I had to put staples in my stitch up”, I sniffled. She sat me down and looked at me square in the face, “Did you remove the dog’s testicles? Did you do the job you set out to do?” I did, I reluctantly agreed, but it could have been better. She cut me off, “On this day, for this job, were you good enough?” Good enough. Initially I bridled at those words, being good enough is ...

Welcome to the latest BEVA blog! Max Hannan graduated from the University of Glasgow in the summer of 2017 and we will be following her journey over the coming months as she begins her career in mixed practice in Jersey.  After a whirlwind weekend of graduating, Grad Ball, entertaining the family, packing up my life and cleaning my student flat I find myself on a ferry bound for Jersey. “Oh sh*t, what have I done?” I think to myself as the English coastline recedes into the distance. While most of my friends chose to remain in Scotland or the north of England, I took a job on the island of Jersey (total area 45 miles 2 , population 100,000) over 550 miles away from my university home in Glasgow (city area 56 miles 2 , population 600,000) with the aim of doing a mix of small animal and equine practice.  I was met by the friendly face of the practice manager at the ferry terminal who helped me back to the practice flat where he promptly got stuck in unloading my car and int...