Author: Kele Harris
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Remember, remember, the 5th of November… in June?
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It’s that time of year – the daylight is getting shorter (though I somehow ended up with an extra hour on call when the clocks went back, for the second year running), the relentless summer heatwave burned itself out and, with bouts of snow at the weekend, winter seems to have appeared from nowhere. In…
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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…
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Is the grass greener?
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My classmates and I recently reunited at our beloved university to celebrate joining the profession as qualified vets around a year ago. While there we attended a CPD event based around managing difficult situations as a new grad, be that with clients, colleagues or bosses. While the scenarios were entertaining, they also highlighted aspects of…
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Reflecting on the good moments
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As me and my (non-vet) partner sat down for a rare mid-week breakfast together, I made an offhand comment about “having” to vaccinate 15 puppies that day. “What do you mean ‘have to’?” was his response. “Most people would love that, and you get paid for it.” I considered this – and, while I’m more…
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Importance of pet MOTs
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The annual vaccination appointment is important for a number of reasons, there’s no denying that. However, it should be considered an annual health check or pet MOT, as many owners like to put it, rather than a yearly visit to the vets – a distinct difference exists. By law we have to take our cars…
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Seven – the magic number?
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The veterinary community is changing. We are gradually moving towards a world of better work-life balance. Rotas vary massively from practice to practice, and even within practices, depending on particular species bias. One way some practices are adapting rotas is using a seven-day working week. The knee-jerk reaction is often negative – especially when we…
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Corporate vet school
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The announcement of a corporate veterinary group’s collaboration with the new Keele University/Harper Adams veterinary school struck a few chords, and seemingly opened a figurative can of worms that (like their literal parasitic counterparts) just doesn’t sit well in my gut. A few points to consider here, the first of which I have written about…
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An unrecognised reliance on technology
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It’s surprising how much we rely on the internet and associated technologies. In fact, you don’t quite realise how much it helps until you find yourself without it. I experienced a weird widespread internet fault. I’m not sure if it was localised to to my geographical area, but, for a few hours, neither my mobile…
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How to survive your first weeks as a new grad
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You’ve done it – five long years of hard work and study have paid off and you’ve graduated as a fully fledged vet. Welcome to the veterinary community. And it is just that – a community of people who’ve all been there and had a first day as a vet. You’ll find that everyone (meaning…
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Regaining surgical confidence
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Having worked at my latest practice for three months, I had something of an epiphany while in surgery. It was a routine cat spay, which I performed entirely unaided and, while this may sound like nothing out of the ordinary to most experienced surgeons – or even other remotely confident new grads – it seemed…