Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Wren — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 09:22:59 GMT

I know it's not for everyone, and you ain't going to get a 4 day week, and there is no escaping OOH, but I do think that those in mixed/large/equine practice probably have it easier. And it hurts me to say that! I do a 1 in 2 (currently doing a fortnight of 1 in 1 as my colleague is away) and am looking at some of the examples above with horror. I could never in a million years do 2-7pm consults. Ever.

Maybe a lot of you could never do OOH again, but I guess it's a trade off. I often eat my lunch driving, but I do get a break between my clients by virtue of having to drive to each one, am not stuck in a windowless box, and know most of them reasonably well. At the moment I am averaging approximately 8 visits/clients a day (there may be multiple patients at some of these visits though), which is plenty given the travelling involved. And although I am on a pretty tough OOH rota and often start early (from choice) I am generally finished by 5.30pm. It's still a stressful job, but I just cannot imagine coping with the volume of clients that consulting 2-7pm and having someone new through the door every 10mins would bring. I have enough difficulty keeping up with the lab tests/progress reports/phone calls from my 8 or so clients/stops a day as it is!

Maybe I should stop envying the small animal 4 day week/comparatively higher wages/no OOH!!!

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Hannah Wynne Richards — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 14:59:08 GMT

Same here, although the down side of that is it's upsetting to have to euthanise an old friend. I had 1 PTS like that last week, and the owner came in a few days later with some flowers. The plus side - I PTSed a dog 3 years ago. The owners (at the time ) were so upset they didn't want another. On Monday, they brought in the new dog to be introduced ( he'd been vaccinated at the rescue centre)

Wynne

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Bob Russell — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:41:28 GMT

I suspect the sick animals may be taken to a practice that does not have vets working 'insane' hours.

We may see fewer routine vaccinations but do see a higher percentage of sick patients. It is not unusual for these to be 'second opinions' from the busier corporate type practices.

I work long hours but absolutely not as intense as the big boys. Fairly profitable, busy enough overall but the crazy days can be tough! Enough time over coffee to post here!

Many of my patients are seen 'cradle to grave'.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

An On MRCVS — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 12:25:20 GMT

Two recent examples spring to mind (anon as don't want to upset those who work there!)

One a windowless corporate box as described earlier, hours 8.30 till 7 4 days a week plus 9-5 saturdays and 10-4 sundays, working every other weekend. Consults 9-11.30 then ops then consults 3-6.30 without a break (10 min consults throughout and usually fully booked). Unsurprisingly they could not retain their staff. It was an incredibly depressing place to work.

Second one had much nicer premises and was an established practice recently taken over by unbranded corporate. Had decent receptionists and nurses so was much better. But...the hours were still insane. 'Evening surgery' was from 2 pm till 7pm, 10 min appointments, with a half hour break somewhere that often got booked up if it was busy. This was of course after consulting 9 am till 12.30 or 1, unless you were doing ops that day. However much you love animals/people /want to change the world, that type of production line work where you are expected to repeat the same flea/worm/vaccine/neuter/healthplan salespitch to every client is really not rewarding.

In my early days of practice there was a lot less of that routine stuff and a lot more sick animals, which were satisfying to deal with, even though the options were limited. It tended to be more about getting people back in regularly, getting to really know them, being there for them whilst their animal was poorly and then probably putting it to sleep, and then seeing them again when they came in with a new pet. I used to enjoy that side. Costs were generally less too and there was a level of discretion in terms of charging people who were there a lot.

I think the main change has been the money grabbing nature of it which never used to be the case (maximising selling etc) plus things just cost more. a jab of betamox la and steroid was much cheaper than the current modern options.

Plus as someone up thread said, the need for OOH cover meant most practices were a bit over staffed in the day and you could often finish at 5 if you weren't on call. Plus I find it quite stressful knowing that people are going to have to pay a fortune / travel a long way to get seen over night if their animal worsens.

So in summary to a long ramble, things have definitely changed in many practices, particularly corporates, I would say over the last 10 years. Due to corporatisation and OOH changing mostly. Yes clients are better informed but I don't think that is the cause of all our problems. I was in specsavers this morning and I'd say the conditions for their staff are similarly bad as for vets (only less money related stress)

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

J G Wray — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 11:37:07 GMT

[quote user="Harriet Nicholson"]Referring to the question about why are there so many experienced vet positions, why doesn't anyone demand better hours or pay from a new job, the experience of my friends, colleagues and classmates is that although lots of practices seem to be reluctant to change rotas and upset the current other colleagues by bringing in a new person on a much better rota.[/quote]

Pay and conditions are related to performance. Everything in terms of rota, duties etc. can be negotiated from a position of strength, where performance is high. Colleagues will have the same opportunities, but different priorities. Our Head Nurse for example has just negotiated a reduction in her hours, from a position of strength.

[quote user="Harriet Nicholson"]The other reason I always consider is, are people staying in one practice because they have the exclusion clause in their contract (saying they cannot work within 3-10miles (friends experience) of their current practice) and to move would either extend their commute to an unacceptable limit or they would have to move house (and therefore lose their support network)?[/quote]

If you sign a contract then there is a reasonable expectation to be bound by all the conditions of the contract. It works both ways. If your employer has contracted to provide the employee with something then the employee can use the contract to negotiate the condition agreed to. Binding our clauses are probably difficult to enforce and perhaps should have been removed from the initial contract at the time of taking up employment on that basis. BVA offers a legal helpline that is strong on these matters, backed as it is by a very large Trade Union - the helpline service that is.

[quote user="Harriet Nicholson"]Another though could be tied to the 'feminisation' (a term I dislike) of the profession, so experienced vets of 5-10 years qualified may be at a stage of buying a house, starting a family etc and therefore moving job just isn't possible for them as they may lose maternity leave benefits for example?[/quote]

There's nothing new here. Back at the Dawn of Time i.e. 1990 we moved house had a baby and started a new job all in one. The present Mrs Wray suspended her professional career for a period which mysteriously became 9 years....then went straight back in and is now an equity partner in her practice and Head of Department. We were very very worried at the time and finances were precarious. I don't think there is anything else to be expected from transitions like this. If you don't want this then don't do it in some part and accept something less, because that's your choice.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Anthony Todd — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 10:33:09 GMT

Sorry I thought you meant a new practice on your own; never heard of an ex-employee being bound out but obviously it does happen apparently.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Marie Kubiak — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 08:50:46 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]

[quote user="Harriet Nicholson"](saying they cannot work within 3-10miles (friends experience)[/quote]

Tell your friend to take legal advice. [or google it].... Binding out clauses are very difficult to pursue and must be reasonable. 10 miles in rural Wales, possibly, anywhere else; no chance.

[/quote]

All well and good but the moral high ground means little when you are demanded via lawyer to cease new employment while it is debated and then have to go through the stress and financial drain of a legal challenge. Successfully challenging them is not guaranteed either given recent cases in other sectors but even a win is a horrible situation to battle through. (Not my personal experience fortunately but does happen, ACAS were very informative and helpful in helping defuse this specific issue for me and negotiate realistic terms)

Marie

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Anthony Todd — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 08:39:54 GMT

[quote user="Harriet Nicholson"](saying they cannot work within 3-10miles (friends experience)[/quote]

Tell your friend to take legal advice. [or google it].... Binding out clauses are very difficult to pursue and must be reasonable. 10 miles in rural Wales, possibly, anywhere else; no chance.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Neil Wheadon — Wed, 10 Aug 2016 08:31:40 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]

[quote user="robloxley"] I enjoy the job but there is more to life than just work.[/quote]

So why are more vets now than then unhappy; that is the question, and the reason for the thread?

I'm just trying to help find the reasons.....

I enjoyed the job and there was little life after work and most of my contempories were the same, so I contend that the reason for the apparent increase in dissatisfaction is not "overwork".

The only thing which seems to be significant so far is a lack of help or support with the actual vetting from superiors but that can't be all.

[/quote]

Does this illustrate a problem?

Lots of illustrations on this tread.

Sickness, a desire to open extra hours, 2 vets instead of 1 on a Saturday. Let the employees cope, I love my job, I'm sure they don't mind......

Neil

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Harriet Nicholson — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 18:50:52 GMT

Referring to the question about why are there so many experienced vet positions, why doesn't anyone demand better hours or pay from a new job, the experience of my friends, colleagues and classmates is that although lots of practices seem to be reluctant to change rotas and upset the current other colleagues by bringing in a new person on a much better rota.

The other reason I always consider is, are people staying in one practice because they have the exclusion clause in their contract (saying they cannot work within 3-10miles (friends experience) of their current practice) and to move would either extend their commute to an unacceptable limit or they would have to move house (and therefore lose their support network)?

Another though could be tied to the 'feminisation' (a term I dislike) of the profession, so experienced vets of 5-10 years qualified may be at a stage of buying a house, starting a family etc and therefore moving job just isn't possible for them as they may lose maternity leave benefits for example?

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

grumpyoldman — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 17:34:37 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]

[quote user="Francisco Gomez"]If a client makes a 5 page written complaint about one of your vets in your practice and she/he needs to write a response back. Do you give them 30 minutes of consultation time for your employee to write it?[/quote]

If that happened I would a) sit down with the employee veterinary surgeon and discuss the whole thing very thoroughly, and decide on a course of action; then b) write a reply myself, show it to the employee and allow him to comment, and possibly make changes before posting; then c) receive and read the client's reply then d)repeat the process as many times as necessary.

If at any time, to have the employee write a letter seems the best course of action (very unlikely) then I'd assume they would find time to do it. I wouldn't be running the sort of practice where the employee's every minute in the working day is tightly scheduled so "blocking out 30 minutes" would hardly be applicable; however I might just quietly make sure that they aren't hideously overworked that day.

I'd say that's what a boss is supposed to do. However, I am aware that there are some pretty lousy bosses out there.

[quote user="Francisco Gomez"]If you do, how do you justify the loss of earnings of your employee?[/quote]

I don't understand. What loss of earnings?

[/quote]

I would have said just talk to the VDS , otherwise you just end up apologising for having big hands ,being tall and pale with very grey hair ,which makes you look over your glasses at people. You then apologise for that and promise to review the situation at the opticians on your next full day off . You then carry on apologising for not being Noel and not giving them a cuddle post euthanasia because the TV cameras are not there and your worried about other accusations if you invade someones personal space in a small private situation like a consult room.

A lot of our problems come from the unrealistic expectations created by over media exposure. You are after all dealing with people who thought Len Fairclough and Denis Watts were real people .

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 16:37:05 GMT

[quote user="Clare Tapsfield-Wright"]I assume in a big practice the buck stops with the owner or the clinical director but if they employ twenty of more vets that is potentially a lot of client letters to reply to.[/quote]

Yep. But that's their job.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 16:31:25 GMT

I'd say that's what a boss is supposed to do. However, I am aware that there are some pretty lousy bosses out there.

[quote user="Francisco Gomez"]If you do, how do you justify the loss of earnings of your employee?[/quote]

I don't understand. What loss of earnings?

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 16:26:11 GMT

Anthony (Dennison) I think you have a point in there is a gap between what new grads would ideally like and what 1st opinion practice is actually like.

I couldn't perform Noel Fitzpatrick's surgery, but very few animals actually need that level of expertise - and I can alwaus refer them. I gain my satisfaction from doing the routine stuff, and doing it well. My most difficult operation today was a bitch spay. It doesn't bother me that some might say this was boring, because it's an operation I've performed thousands of times. I'm happy that I've contributed to overall animal welfare by preventing puppies being born into a world with insufficient good homes to go round.

If new grads become frustrated at the routine nature of much of veterinary work, then I think the fault lies with thosr who selected the wrong students in the 1st place.

There's a limited demand for brain surgery - lots and lots of people want their tom cats castrated!

Wynne

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Sarah Keir — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 16:11:42 GMT

[quote user="Francisco Gomez"]

Nowadays everywhere you go is very much like this (at least if you don't do OOHs).

[/quote]

This is why I currently stay put - why jump out of the frying pan and into the fire? Early retirement or change of career looks increasingly attractive. I can own my own business, but not veterinary related!

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Anthony Todd — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 15:36:00 GMT

[quote user="David Mills"]This actually simplifies things quite a bit - you say to fix it, we need to do x,y and possibly z which will cost a or b. If you don't want to pay that I can have an informed guess but that's it. [/quote]

And I wager, with few exceptions, your informed guess would be right 90+% of the time so that only 10% need the diagnostic workup that is now routine and maybe, with some or many clients, the source of discontent, as they realise [a] you don't know and [b] they'll have to pay a lot to show you didn't know.....

My approach was to "guess", treat the guess, and advise that the 10% wrong would need more; today I think it's the total reverse, and that's why clients are unhappy.

The dachsie with anterior abdominal pain [another thread today] really needs some bloods and that's one not for "B12 and Betsolan" or an exlap. I doubt if I'd Xray and scan though; the bloods [[liver/pancreas] should nail it and the Xray and scan would be the usual vaguely suspicious of something..... and just add to the cost....

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 15:03:09 GMT

[quote user="David Mills"]

It's multi-factorial, but as a relatively recent grad as follows.

Dissonance between expectations and actual veterinary work. Training in referral centres and over-thinking the slightest problem versus as GOM says pragmatic GP work.

[/quote]

As an even more recent grad, I agree. Everyone is wanting the 'cool' EMS placements where they'll get to watch ground-breaking surgeries. Less people are wanting to spend as much time in general practice as possible to get as much practical experience as possible, which leads to a lower day 1 skill set. Bristol were (not sure if they still are) good with this - for clinical EMS you had to find a 'foster practice'; somewhere you would go more often than other places so you would become familiar with them and be allowed to do more. A lot of my friends got jobs at their foster practices, and if not, got good references. I often cite the two senior partners at my foster practice as the people that turned me into the vet I am today.

[quote user="David Mills"]Partly this is due to client demands. In the charity sector, most clients see it as taking their dog to the garage - they want it fixed, for as cheaply as possible. This actually simplifies things quite a bit - you say to fix it, we need to do x,y and possibly z which will cost a or b. If you don't want to pay that I can have an informed guess but that's it. [/quote]

There's still plenty of this in the private sector too, though cost isn't always the limiting factor. Sometimes it's other things, like not wanting to put an elderly pet through a GA.

Yesterday I had an elderly Great Dane with a large, pedunculated mass lateral to the tail base. Owners wanted the mass off, but didn't want to risk a GA. I offered to remove it under local anaesthetic but warned it would be nowhere near as effective as surgical removal, but they still went for it. Not perfect, but owners were happy, my boss will be happy because the clients paid a bill that wouldn't have been there if the mass was left.

Not perfect veterinary medicine I know, but client expectations were managed.

[quote user="David Mills"]Some locums I've done in private practice will have similar clients, but some will be more to the paediatric end - they want to talk through the problem, want options, and want to know more to make a semi-informed decision, and this may include asking us what we would do etc.[/quote]

I find these people more difficult to deal with and the people more likely to make a complaint. Generally, the more you do for someone, the more likely it is to blow up in your face. Although these sorts of people don't appear as intimidating, they generally are more difficult.

[quote user="David Mills"]I think the garage mechanic role can be difficult for newer vets to do because they are trained to have problem lists and tests in their head and work through them (with little idea of which of those are likely or necessary). Many - including me when newly qualified - therefore over-test, and come up against clients whose money or patience run out, and this can be difficult to take, as they take it as criticism (even though they may be doing their best within their competence). This can be turned around to blaming the client, when it shouldn't be.[/quote]

100% agree. Vet Schools should be teaching final years about working within budgets. When coming up with potential plans, always come up with three: 1) Money no option 2) Money available but not unlimited 3) Severe financial restrictions. Covers most eventualities. The new grads we've just taken on seem to be excellent at discussing finances, much better than I was in the first few months of graduating.

[quote user="David Mills"]Also, the SuperVet effect - as said the cost is never mentioned and the ***-ups are buried. Everyone wants to see nice Noel, but there is then frustration from the client with the reality.[/quote]

I saw on twitter recently an England & Lions Rugby player complaining to Fitzpatrick referrals that it had taken them over 6 weeks to get a report back on an MRI. He voted with his feet and went to North Downs instead.

[quote user="David Mills"]Then blaming the client from the vet for not being insured, unreal expectations, rather than thinking I could have a go at this quite easily. [/quote]

The 'let's have a go' mentality can be dangerous if you don't know your limitations though - I'll have a go at most things but won't try a fracture repair. Orthopaedics just doesn't interest me so I haven't learnt much about the surgical techniques involved. I'm sure there's a lot of vets that are the same with different disciplines.

[quote user="David Mills"]

Add on top of that lots of new grads being consulting machines, with one day of surgery a week - this is commplace even in grand sounding "surgical intern" positions - or most days spent out at branch clinics with no support.

So you have new grads seeing their careers panning out as the odd cat spey, lots of vaccinations and anything interesting being farmed out, and when they do get their teeth into something clients may not appreciate their efforts.

[/quote]

Which is where correct management is important. Not just from the practice management, but also from colleagues ('Yeah I know it's a bit dull at the moment, but things do change and there is room for progression'). I spent about 18 months as 'holiday cover' vet, basically like an internal locum, going to branches when vets were off. I'd often be in a different place each day of the week. I know have my own branch surgery and a funded certificate. I knew that I wouldn't be stuck as a consulting machine because of good management.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Robin Grimmer — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 14:02:31 GMT

[quote user="Niki C"]

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]

[quote user="robloxley"]I think that's a very sad state of affairs. I enjoy the job but there is more to life than just work. For old-timers to suggest that other vets are somehow less worthy because they want more to their life than just work really doesn't help things.[/quote]

I've been talking about this for years

Many of us simply don't want to be a vet all the time. For some (Wynne is a good example, they love it and good luck to them) However the hours many of us work force us into it and resentment builds. A simple example was my outlet which was squash. I joined a club and entered the leagues however I had to stop simply because no-one wanted to play at 2000 when I could play, they all wanted to play after work at 1800 then have dinner, how sad was that?

Dinner dates, cinema, nights out with friends, nothing fitted. I locum at a fabulous practice and occasionally get out at 1800 and it feels like a day off, I can actually do something in the evening aside eat and sleep.

Many practices have extended opening hours and I believe all it does is shift the work later. How useful really is 2-3 hours in the early afternoon?

One employer recently said they liked me because I still enjoyed the job. The reason is simple. I locum and can see the end in sight so can tolerate the 10.5 hours days + travel. I can absolutely guarantee that if that was my life I would have joined the ranks leaving the profession, life's too short.

Neil

[/quote]

Yup.

I have been locuming in the UK for over 10 years, and part of the reason is being able to see "the end in sight" as you say. Also, gives me a chance to visit more English Heritage/National Trust properties and more bird reserves! :)

However I have reached a point (both physically and mentally) where even this is not enough. I haven't worked as a vet since Sept 2015, and don't see myself returning to clinical practice in future. Perhaps if I had graduated as a fresh-faced 23yo instead of 33yo it might be different. Then again, there are younger members of my year at Uni (in Oz) who have gone part-time or even bailed on the profession altogether. Arlo has summed up some of my and their reasons.

I knew I would never own an Aston Martin on a vet's income, but I also thought my hourly rate would be better than (for example) a hairdresser's!

[/quote]

I can identify with this. I've taken quite a bit of time out the last few summers to do cycling endeavours etc. and I'm finding when I go back to practice I like it even less. Can I ask what you do for income when you've had nearly a year off? Or are you living on savings?

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

David Mills — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 14:00:44 GMT

It's multi-factorial, but as a relatively recent grad as follows.

Dissonance between expectations and actual veterinary work. Training in referral centres and over-thinking the slightest problem versus as GOM says pragmatic GP work.

Partly this is due to client demands. In the charity sector, most clients see it as taking their dog to the garage - they want it fixed, for as cheaply as possible. This actually simplifies things quite a bit - you say to fix it, we need to do x,y and possibly z which will cost a or b. If you don't want to pay that I can have an informed guess but that's it.

Some locums I've done in private practice will have similar clients, but some will be more to the paediatric end - they want to talk through the problem, want options, and want to know more to make a semi-informed decision, and this may include asking us what we would do etc.

I think the garage mechanic role can be difficult for newer vets to do because they are trained to have problem lists and tests in their head and work through them (with little idea of which of those are likely or necessary). Many - including me when newly qualified - therefore over-test, and come up against clients whose money or patience run out, and this can be difficult to take, as they take it as criticism (even though they may be doing their best within their competence). This can be turned around to blaming the client, when it shouldn't be.

Add to this the proliferation of referral centres. There are practices now who do no routine orthopaedics or beyond basic soft tissue surgery, everything is referred. Also, the SuperVet effect - as said the cost is never mentioned and the ***-ups are buried. Everyone wants to see nice Noel, but there is then frustration from the client with the reality. Then blaming the client from the vet for not being insured, unreal expectations, rather than thinking I could have a go at this quite easily.

Also, my generation are not here to work work work, we want a life. Cheap travel, technology, social media all make friends, experiences and other fun things accessible like they weren't previously. Older generations may have worked more hours but that may have been a choice based on a lack of other opportunities plus some post-war pride in working hard being morally superior to actually enjoying time off. People don't want that anymore, they want to spend their money, have a life and not be stuck in a practice til 9pm three nights a week vaccinating a cat or talking about worming. We don't want to put down roots in an area in our 20s by buying a practice and not leave for the next 40 years - there are far more opportunities out there we want to experience. It's nothing to do with work ethic - vets work hard to qualify - but to do with wanting a life.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 10:42:46 GMT

[quote user="Alistair Graham-Evans"]Thanks Arlo for rationalising all this to keep discussion focused[/quote]

Thank YOU (and everyone else) for your thoughts.

First of all, I think the danger of a thread with a title like this is that it paints an overly black and white picture. Clearly not all clients are a nightmare. Not everyone spends their life fretting about complaints. And by no means everyone is disillusioned / dissatisfied.

Nevertheless, I don't think I can ever recall anyone in the profession ever saying to me: "Wow, this is a really exciting time to be a vet" (except perhaps in the context of advances in medicine). Rather, it seems to me that the overall sentiment IS somewhat pessimistic about the general direction of travel.

However you feel about the way things are going, it also seems to me that anything designed to tackle some of the issues raised is 'a good thing' (i.e. even if you are not disillusioned, anything which helps improve working your life still further is still worth doing).

With that in mind, the idea I have in mind falls into two parts. The first is to start a series of tangent discussions to explore the issues in more depth and try and develop/brainstorm ways in which some of the issues can be met, both by individuals and by everyone together.

Then (unlike most forum discussions), I'd like to try and summarise the issues raised and the solutions put forward, and possibly publish them in a separate section of the site.

This alone might be a fruitful exercise, but I also have an idea for a framework within which any solutions we develop could be put into action.

To kick off with, first tangent discussion is: The impact of changing public attitudes on veterinary surgeons' perception of self-worth.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Tim Mainland — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 09:51:47 GMT

I haven't read every entry on this thread. But the more I do read, the more I feel that we are missing the point.....

This is 2016. The world is not a great place and the working environment is poor. Driven by competition, consumerism, get it now, litigation etc etc. It is all around. We are viewing 2016 through vet practice specs. Take the specs off. Not a lot will change. Everyone out there shares our problems of working in this unpleasant moment. It's not nice. T'others are cheesed off too.

We are not alone. If moving on helps you that's great....but don't bank on it!

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 08:16:48 GMT

Recurrent theme seems to be being in control of your own life , either by being a locum so you can say no and tailor your work to suit yourself, or by practice ownership so that you feel empowered.

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Niki C — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 08:16:12 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]

I've been talking about this for years

Many practices have extended opening hours and I believe all it does is shift the work later. How useful really is 2-3 hours in the early afternoon?

Neil

[/quote]

Yup.

I knew I would never own an Aston Martin on a vet's income, but I also thought my hourly rate would be better than (for example) a hairdresser's!

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

Niki C — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 08:05:28 GMT

Sums it up pretty well I think...

RE: Dissatisfaction of vets in practice

mariette asselbergs — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 07:45:04 GMT

Neil

Yes this is exactly my position as well. I enjoy jobs that are long hours and 90% routine and "boring" and 10% sudden surprise, challenge or amazement, and [people like me liking it, because i have built in enough spare time to do all my other things. I have been more than 40 years in vet work and still enjoy every day of it exactly for the reason Neil stated. Of course I have not become a millionaire but I am not poor either and never look at what other professionals earn. Even the boiler man may earn more than me, who cares? I am certainly not envious of my medical friends!

Mariette