Change in direction

Re: Change in direction

tess — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 18:34:27 GMT

From your update it sounds more like the wrong job than the wrong career. It sounds like you should be in a team of vets rather than on your own and preferably in a privately owned practice where the focus is on providing a great service, rather than it being all about the income.

Also consider checking out books on "mindfulness". We waste huge amounts of energy imagining worst case scenarios. I'm a terrible worrier, but if my imagination starts to go crazy I try to focus on the present and what is happening now.

Re: Change in direction

Liz w — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 17:32:36 GMT

What about retraining in accountancy/ bookkeeping? Or speak to a recruitment agency and ask for advice as to what qualifications would be most useful in securing a job. I think you're being wise addressing this now. The younger you are when you retrain, the easier I would imagine it would be.

Re: Change in direction

John Sheridan — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 17:10:33 GMT

Plenty of good advice here - but feel so sad that you're thinking about leaving the profession you spent so many years working to join. Maybe worth spending 10 minutes looking at this video. In any event, best wishes for whatever you decide

Re: Change in direction

Jill Butterworth — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 16:32:14 GMT

I agree that it is important not to mistake the wrong job for the wrong career.

Going part time might help hugely ('industry standard' full time hours being often inhumane). I love it and have also gone down the locum route to achieve it. It can be initially stressful when you don't know where anything is, so i make sure I know the computer system in advance and have a little pack of pens, thermometer, calculator etc and E books has made the little library in the back of the car obsolete.

Try self help books that include relaxation techniques: Paul Mckenna is fab for mind techniques 'Change your life in 7 days' and 'Instant Confidence' are good as you need a vivid imagination (which you have, but you are using it against your self. try flipping how you think and imagining stuff going well, it's just as easy with practice.

Also would recommend 'How to make a living without a job' by Barbara someone: lots of exercises and inspiration for alternative ways to make money.

'I could do anything, If i only knew what it was' by Barbara Shere is in the same vein. I know a disillusioned vet friend who used the excercises to come up with the idea of running a horse riding travel agency, she makes a very good living now.

'Making sense of your life is bringing the parts of it together': look at what you are good at, what you love and your assets, and then what you dislike and reconcile the two.

Also, for the record, I gave up sugar and gluten and within 2 weeks my stress levels were so reduced, that the nurses noticed (no longer addicted to the kennel of shame that contains all the sweets and chocolates!).

Good luck x

Re: Change in direction

Anthony Dennison — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 16:03:32 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]You still have to deal with clients (sorry Stakeholders) but you rarely get that good feeling after a 10 minute consult. There is a tremendous amount of staring at a computer and I'm reliably informed that this has got worse and client contact has decreased. Added to this you have to be prepared to follow the party line as everyone else does, unless you are prepared to go for management which brings it's own stresses.[/quote]

I can confirm this, my Dad's still there, 20 years on.

Re: Change in direction

Neil Wheadon — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 08:46:35 GMT

Returning to the original question of trying other things, I've found with doing cycle tours which is as remote from being a vet as I can think, are that the skills acquired in this area have been built by being a vet. Dealing with people in difficult situations, working to a tight timeframe and the need to make decisions are something that you will find come naturally. The average person has 7 different career changes in their life, and these can be quite diverse changes. You have the tools to succeed, as becoming a vet has shown. Neil

Re: Change in direction

An On MRCVS — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 08:38:44 GMT

My main stress with veterinary medicine is that worry of failure - every time the phone rings I think it's a client calling to complain, and I live in dread of something coming through the door that I can't deal with, or a cat that I can't bleed, or a PTS that I can't find a vein in (despite the fact that based on experience I shouldn't stress!).

I also find a pressure from management to make money a major stress, as I run a branch sole charge (part of an independent group) and we have a corporate opening around the corner soon.

I suffer from social anxiety and in my head other staff members laugh at me all the time, and clients think I'm hopeless.

I also don't feel comfortable working somewhere I have easy access to lethal drugs as I worry about my own safety should something push me over the edge.

Re: Change in direction

CatherineThomas — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 07:40:45 GMT

I found locum work much less stressful, I felt so much more appreciated and could just look on and laugh about the practice politics without getting tied up in things. If you don't like a practice then you can just tell them you are busy when they ask you to go back. I found that I could easily fill my time up just from sending letters to all of the local practices.

Re: Change in direction

Robin Grimmer — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 23:25:10 GMT

Locum work maybe? It can be stressful, sometimes more so than a regular job, but does enable you to have much more free time and get a better work/life balance to do the things you want to do.

Re: Change in direction

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 23:22:00 GMT

I heard in the budget the government was allowing further student loans to those wanting to study higher level qualifications - the cut off is 30!

I would say the thing to do (if you can) is identify where the stress in for you in vet medicine. I'd say all jobs are stressful, just for different reasons.

(you could become a farm vet - we are far more laid back!)

Re: Change in direction

tess — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 22:57:27 GMT

The problem is that our degree is quite specialised so you would lack the hard skills to transfer immediately to a pure science career. Would you consider doing something like this:

http://www.uhi.ac.uk/en/courses/msc-applied-bioscience-skills-for-industry#tab-summary

Something similar may be offered locally.

The other option is to look at the soft skills you have and work on those. I did my Citizens Advice training when I wasn't sure about returning to vet med after children. Obviously that's volunteer work but the training and experience often leads to paid employment.

I suppose it depends what aspect of veterinary caused you the most stress. You may not want to work with members of the public...

Re: Change in direction

Laurence Webb — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 19:04:20 GMT

Knowing a teacher friend who has just left his profession due to high workloads and stress I'm not sure teaching would be the best career for someone who is finding difficulty coping with those in the veterinary field. He was also disappointed to learn that, after 20 years tteaching, a trainee manager at Aldi would be on a similar rate of pay. Whatever you choose to do, I agree that happiness and health are more important that a career. Good luck with whatever you try and don't be afraid to try different things.

Re: Change in direction

Richard Carter — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 16:55:40 GMT

Teaching biology and sciences? Always thought of that as a 'fall back' option. Quite a few vets I know who have switched went into dentistry or pharmacy - obviously retraining involved but the fellow who went into dentistry found they were in such short supply, he was being paid while studying and somehow did it part time - I am not sure if he is now a full dentist or somewhere lower on the scale but the last time I saw him, he was doing extractions and fillings.

Re: Change in direction

Neil Wheadon — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 14:19:03 GMT

DEFRA is often quoted in these for a change in direction, but I'm never too sure it's that appropriate having worked for AHVLA for 11 years parallel to private practice.

You still have to deal with clients (sorry Stakeholders) but you rarely get that good feeling after a 10 minute consult. There is a tremendous amount of staring at a computer and I'm reliably informed that this has got worse and client contact has decreased. Added to this you have to be prepared to follow the party line as everyone else does, unless you are prepared to go for management which brings it's own stresses.

The advantages though are civilised hours and if you do work more than your 37 hours a week you can take this as lieu, 6 weeks holidays and your colleagues will be a pretty decent bunch. Added to this there is loads of support should you have an illness/personal issues which is something the Civil Service are good at.

For me, since leaving I'll never look back, as I got tired of 'leaving my brain at home' (well until the next disease outbreak when an experienced hand in the field would be handy) but for some it works very well and many there were treated very well with stress related issues.

Neil

Re: Change in direction

Alex Gough — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 13:50:34 GMT

How about the back pages of New Scientist? They have a lot of jobs there for science graduates, as well as further qualification options such as PhDs. Well done for being brave enough to admit the job isn't for you and looking for something that will make you happier. Do be sure you are making the right decision though - and that a different veterinary job wouldn't suit you better (academia? DEFRA? drug companies?). Mental health issues wax and wane even if they don't always go away completely, and it may be that a different vet job, different meds, and some time might change your outlook. Dont forget the vet helpline for support and advice too.

Alex