Author: Kele Harris
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Am I still a new grad?
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I find it hard to believe students from the year below me at vet school received their finals results last week. It doesn’t feel like a year since my friends and I were sailing down the Kelvin for the infamous Glasgow raft race on results day. Well, there was more falling into the river than…
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Be Kind
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It’s Mental Health Awareness Week. I hadn’t planned it, but a certain package I had been waiting for arrived just in time – a navy sweatshirt with pale blue writing on. Many vets will know what this symbolises, demonstrating how tightly knit our profession is. From the age of 15, I spent a lot of…
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Being a millennial vet
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Millennials are stereotypically considered lazy, entitled and always wanting something for nothing. And having previously discussed the many advantages of employing new graduates (and, therefore, millennials), this sort of labelling angers me. The choices our generation makes are not due to lack of work ethic and naiveté about the future, but rather a reflection on…
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Are new grads avoiding OOH?
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With the increasing popularity of outsourcing out-of-hours care to specific emergency centres, today’s new graduates have a very real option to never have to work OOH. While it is often insinuated it would be a good learning experience to at least do some OOH during your veterinary career, many new grads are opting for the…
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Fake it ‘til you make it
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As a new grad, no matter how much you are told not to worry, you can’t help being aware of what your clients, colleagues, boss, friends and family think of you – and, more specifically, your ability as a vet. Having had a bit of a setback with my first job, I’m past caring what…
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How to handle breeders: let battle commence
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Breeders (of any species) can be some of the most challenging clients you’ll come across as a vet, and every year Crufts reminds us why. A lot of tension always ensues as interpretations of The Kennel Club’s breed standards often contrast with the opinions of vets. Despite a well-rounded veterinary education and some excellent EMS…
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Cat cafes – a pawsitive or negative?
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Cat cafes are popping up all over the UK and, while they may seem like a novelty for cat lovers, I had to wonder how ethical these feline havens really are. As vets, we believe cats are inherently solitary animals, and often become stressed when multiple cats are in the same household or when new…
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Supporting new grads: are you up to the job?
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As I discussed in my previous blog post, if you are a boss, partner or practice manager, it’s important to consider whether your practice is suitable for a new graduate, before taking one on. Perhaps you’re considering taking on a new grad for the first time, or maybe you’ve employed them before, but are struggling…
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Should you employ a new grad?
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This weekend, I helped out with a talk at SPVS-VMG Congress on employing new graduates. It gave delegates – vets, VNs, employers and new grads themselves – the opportunity to reflect on how wildly different each new grad’s experience can be, and appreciate the challenges employers face when hiring new grads. The fact those in…
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New year, new me
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To many new graduates, beginning a new year without a job would be cause for concern. For Jordan, however, it was a huge relief, having realised her first place of employment was, overall, a bad fit.