What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Utlendigur — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 20:11:27 GMT

[quote user="Jo Dyer"]

[quote user="Sarah McGurk"]they offered me a part-time role as a "veterinary assistant" (in Norway, that's a term for a non-qualified person as I wasn't authorised to work in Norway).[/quote]

[/quote]

Me too. We have ANAs - animal nursing assistants who are not qualified nurses, and who are there to do the simple jobs. Clients understand this, and also the idea of care/nursing assistants in human hospitals. So what are they to make of "veterinary assistants" - extrapolating would lead them to think we are not fully qualified and just doing simple stuff under supervision.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Thomas Johnson — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 14:42:08 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

It could also be thought that if you were "practising" you weren't yet fully competant.

[/quote]

But one of the definitions of 'practice' is:

"The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it."

as well as:

"Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it."

And we are all doing both of these.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 13:17:11 GMT

It could also be thought that if you were "practising" you weren't yet fully competant.

Wynne

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Malcolm Ness — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:03:42 GMT

[quote user="Jo Dyer"]Who are they supposed to be 'assisting'?[/quote]

The term assistant is an anachronism. It harks back to the days when vets and doctors "Put up their plate" and generated a personal "practice" comprising their own clients. When things got too busy, they would hire a second veterinary surgeon to assist them with their practice so, in fact, the term should be "Assistant to Mr (in those days it was almost always "Mr") Brown" in recognition that they were working with Mr Brown's clients in Mr Brown's practice. Time has moved on but the label has persisted.

It is noteworthy that in a corporately owned veterinary business, the title is nonsensical.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Jo Dyer — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 11:33:59 GMT

[quote user="Sarah McGurk"]they offered me a part-time role as a "veterinary assistant" (in Norway, that's a term for a non-qualified person as I wasn't authorised to work in Norway).[/quote]

Yes, that's a real bugbear of mine, calling our highly trained professionals (who may have 40 years experience under their belts) 'assistants'. Who are they supposed to be 'assisting'? Members of the public think that an 'assistant' is a non-qualified person and I'm sure it leaves them uncertain if their vet is qualified if they hear the term. I refuse to use it and think 'associate' is much better. Time to ban its use by the profession!

It's a matter for a whole new thread really.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Sarah McGurk — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 14:51:42 GMT

I moved to Norway and didn't work for six years. In April this year, I walked into my local practice and asked if I could "see practice" for a couple of weeks. On the Thursday of the second week, they offered me a part-time role as a "veterinary assistant" (in Norway, that's a term for a non-qualified person as I wasn't authorised to work in Norway). So I am now working there part time, learning Norwegian vet words (you don't have to do that at least) and gradually spending time watching and learning and reading to get myself back into the swing of things.

Hopefully at some point I will return to being a fully functioning vet, though I am obviously lucky in that I don't currently require a wage that covers child-care costs. I am also working alongside a recent graduate, and I can easily compare my progress to his... mine is faster I believe, because I am relearning things that were, at one time very familiar. You have skills that are very valuable. My new practice are delighted and so am I. I hope you can find a way back.

Good luck.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Braden Collins — Tue, 21 Oct 2014 05:09:53 GMT

[quote user="KathW"]

It seems to be a problem finding slightly older, more experienced vets. Compared to a new or recent graduate you will have lots more non clinical experience in communicating, handling clients, prioritising tasks, team working etc . If you combined that life experience with doing a refresher course - showing potential employers that you were doing something about the gap (real or perceived) in clinical work I would have thought a lot of potential employers would be very interested in employing you.

[/quote]

In addition to these points, a new grad will probably stay with a clinic for 2 years then head off somewhere else, which creates a poor return on the time you put into them. Someone returning to work after a period of time off is more likely to stick around long term, so even if they need as much help as a new grad initially there is a much better return for the clinic.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

KathW — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:53:57 GMT

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Jacquin Mitchell — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:53:22 GMT

Thank you for that link Michael. That's very helpful.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Michael Woodhouse — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 19:27:16 GMT

Very recent thread here

http://www.vetsurgeon.org/forums/t/19970.aspx?PageIndex=1

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Jacquin Mitchell — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 17:37:42 GMT

Well, that's kind of encouraging.
Has anyone on here ever done a refresher course? Any recommendations?

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 16:57:56 GMT

[quote user="Jacquin Mitchell"]The other thing I'm considering is a refresher course, but I'm not sure they are any substitute for 10 years of practice.
Would employers actually consider employing someone like me when there are dozens of bright young recent graduates out there?[/quote]

Certainly I would, if I were looking for someone.

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Jacquin Mitchell — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 15:49:10 GMT

This seems a good idea, and has been suggested to me before.
I have approached the possibility of this with a very local practice but they didn't seem keen so I wasn't sure if it was just not a good idea at all.
Maybe I'll approach some other nearby practices. I am in London, so there is no shortage of them!

Re: What to do when you've been out of General Practice for a long time?

Anthony Dennison — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 15:31:03 GMT

Sorry if it's something that has been suggested before, but have you though of affiliating yourself with a local practice? Means that you can get around the medicines storage problem, and will lighten the home visit load of the practice, increasing client satisfaction.