Veterinary students’ understanding of a career in practice

Abstract

Lack of a clear perception of the realities of a career in veterinary medicine could adversely affect young graduates' satisfaction with the profession and their long-term commitment to it. Veterinary students' understanding of a career in practice were explored. Traditional-entry first-year and final-year students, as well as entry-level 'Gateway' (widening participation) students, were invited to complete a questionnaire exploring their pre-university experiences and their understandings of a career in general practice. Broadly speaking, the undergraduate students taking part in the survey (the majority of whom were entry-level students) had a realistic view of average weekly working hours, out-of-hours duties and the development of their remuneration packages over the course of their careers. The main attractions of the profession were working with animals and the perception of a rewarding job. The main concerns were making mistakes and balancing work and home life. The vast majority of students wanted to pursue a career in general practice, and other career opportunities did not appear to be well understood, particularly by entry-level students.

Practice makes perfect? Skillful performances in veterinary work

“…In practice, it has frequently been reported that vets experience considerable stress (RCVS, 2014:16), doubts, anxieties, insecurities, mental health problems, drug addiction and high levels of suicide (Bartram and Baldwin, 2010;Platt et al, 2012). Nevertheless, there is limited understanding of how insecurities and concerns might partly reflect veterinary colleges not preparing students adequately for "a career in practice", especially relating to fears about making mistakes and issues of self-confidence (Tomlin et al 2010). For example, in their first year of practice 78% of graduates admitted to making 'iatrogenic' 4 mistakes due to inexperience, time pressures and lack of supervision and some 'suffered a loss of confidence…felt guilty or upset…and questioned whether they should continue to work as a veterinarian' (Mellanby and Herrtage 2004:762).…”

Towards a scholarship of primary health care

“…There is considerable anxiety about the ‘lack of time to do a proper job’, which may lead to mistakes (Mellanby and Herrtage 2004, Tomlin and others 2010), and pattern recognition being an inappropriate way to approach diagnosis and therapy (Tomlin and others 2008). Such students fail to acknowledge the supreme skill of many experienced primary health care veterinarians, and the robustness of their systems in delivering effective and affordable health care.…”

News

“…Although the causes of this are multifactorial, finances appear to be a pivotal factor, with suggestions that lack of pay rises and low pay rates are the greatest cause of dissatisfaction among veterinarians. 6,7 Veterinarians are four times more likely to commit suicide than the general population and twice as likely as other high-risk health professionals, such as doctors and dentists. 8 Onethird of medical general practitioners committing suicide have financial difficulties and the statistics are likely to be similar within the veterinary profession.…”

“…4,5,9 In one study, 92.4% of pre-veterinary and veterinary students wanted to work in general practice on graduation. 6 The stress of the pay rates and on-call hours are not recognised until after commencement of employment when some may consider nonpractice careers. 6 By this stage there is a competitive disadvantage in the job market for non-practice positions because knowledge is out-of-date and graduate training programs are no longer possible in these other areas.…”

“…6 The stress of the pay rates and on-call hours are not recognised until after commencement of employment when some may consider nonpractice careers. 6 By this stage there is a competitive disadvantage in the job market for non-practice positions because knowledge is out-of-date and graduate training programs are no longer possible in these other areas. Additionally, the intensive number of university contact hours during semesters and clinic rotations makes the completion of traditional internships and cadetships in non-practice areas more difficult.…”