Author: Kele Harris
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There’s an app for that…
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I recently stewarded at BEVA congress for the second year (which I would highly recommend to any students considering applying) and between helping set trade stands up and registering delegates, was able to attend some of the talks that made up the academic programme. One series of talks I found particularly thought-provoking was entitled “improving…
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My various reasons for running
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Maintaining a work-life balance can be difficult within the veterinary profession, unless you actively make an effort to do non-vet things. Joining a sports team or other society requires a certain level of commitment (depending on the level), and this can be helpful to keep a frequent scheduled period of “escape time”. Another good way…
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The consigned colleague conundrum
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Many universities put veterinary students into groups for final year rotations, in which they remain for the year. Others keep students in the same group for the majority of rotations and shuffle them around for selectives only. However, selective rotations at the University of Glasgow run throughout the year and, to accommodate as many of…
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Communication is key
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Recently, I have been engaged in a battle with my internet provider and – ignoring the fact I’ve been without the world wide web for a month – no one seems capable of doing anything about it. Despite these grievances, it’s actually a) the communication factor and b) lack of desire to please the customer…
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Change for the better
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The UK veterinary profession is suffering. While a documented shortage of graduates does not exist as in previous years, significantly less fuss has been kicked up about the announcement of the new Aberystwyth-in-conjunction-with-RVC vet school, compared with the opening of the Surrey Vet School in 2014. Is this because we knew Aberystwyth was in the…
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Lectures, laughs and looking ahead in Lancaster
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I recently attended the infamous Lancaster weekend, which many final-year veterinary students and graduates will have heard much about. The theme being “Your first job”, it is an annual weekend of lectures, seminars and group activities based around finding your feet as a graduated vet when pushed out into the big wide world – for…
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How to anaesthetise a reindeer
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I’ve written before about omnicompetency, but the word is mostly used in the sense of vets being able to work in mixed practice and tackle the veterinary care of horses, dogs, cats and farm animals in the same day – certainly, the first thing to come to mind would not be a reindeer. However, on…
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Standing surgery
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On my latest EMS placement at an equine hospital, I’ve seen a number of surgeries – some done under general anaesthesia (GA) and others under standing sedation. After getting over the fact a horse can stand half asleep while having its face drilled into and not really seem to care, I started wondering about the…
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The beginning of the end of vet school
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As regular readers of this blog may have noticed, I was a little apprehensive about starting my final year at veterinary school… Having already been in the small animal hospital for two days, we finally received our results – confirming I and many of my fellow classmates had passed our exams and could now wear…
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Behind the scenes at Fitzpatrick Referrals
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Two years ago, I received an email to confirm an EMS placement at a certain well-known veterinary practice in the south of England. In my head, the placement remained far off until – three days after one set of exams ended and four weeks before another set – it seemed to sneak up on me…