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Tips for vet school: the first few days

The first few weeks of university life can be a little scary, and it’s understandable you might just want to hang back to try and digest it all.

Trying to be outgoing, charming and outlandishly sociable when you’ve just been thrust into a new city, a new environment, and left to fend for yourself can feel like a daunting task. But I really can’t encourage you enough to get out there as soon as possible…

Get to know as many people as possible in your first few days

By now, you’ve probably heard something along the lines of “the first person you sit next to in uni becomes your new best friend”, but try not to get so comfortable that you completely stop socialising after the first day.

While there is some truth to this rumour (I can personally relate), university is a massive new chance to meet people from all walks of life. You might find yourself immediately gravitating towards those who are familiar – maybe from the same region of the country – but it’s important to fight this instinct and expand your friend group to those with different ideas, concepts, etc.

Trust me, it will come in handy during those group revision sessions in the future.

Know you won’t always be top of the class

I’m sorry if reading this makes you upset or mildly infuriating, but that may mean you are the kind of person who needs to hear this the most. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, for those new to the game: you do not have to know everything; you will not be able to know everything; you will get things wrong – and every one of these things is okay.

What’s more, everyone in your whole year (indeed, your whole course) is just as fallible as you are. You are not competing against them any more, they are your allies, your sounding boards, your tutors and tutees.

Also, don’t expect 90-100% on your first test… or the second.. My point is you shouldn’t be upset with yourself when you’re not perfect, because nobody is – and that’s okay too.

If you like taking hand-written notes, Eleanor suggests you bring lots of pens and a bottle of electrolytes for the resultant hand cramp. Alternatively, invest in a laptop or some type of tablet. Image © WavebreakmediaMicro / Adobe Stock

Stay organised

If I could time travel, this is one of the main things I really wish I could tell myself. If you were perfectly organised for your A-levels, then that is excellent – but now forget everything you know.

Revision

Of course, you may be the exception that proves the rule, but for nine out of 10 people, the best revision methods you employed for your GCSEs and A-levels will not be the best method for your university examinations. In fact, it may take you a while to find out which method works best for you (flash cards, quizzes, etc).

Note-taking

Finding the fastest and most efficient way of taking notes is also paramount, ideally (though not essentially) before stepping into the classroom.

If you like taking hand-written notes and find you produce more in this way, then be sure to bring lots of pens and a bottle of electrolytes for that hand cramp. If you’re a little slow at writing or find you lose paper notes easily – *cough* guilty *cough* – then I would suggest using a laptop or some type of tablet – something light and portable that you’re comfortable with.

Once you’ve found which type of note-taking works for you, and what revision type works for you – stay organised.

Everything in order

If you find yourself having trouble understanding certain lectures, read ahead on these topics so you know which questions to ask the lecturer. Also, understand there are a number of different broad topics to veterinary medicine, and then try filing your notes in these groups – take my word for it, it makes everything so much easier when you take your end of year exams, which are often divided into units.

And, most importantly of all, have fun. Get the most out of it, grab it by the horns, carpe diem and all of that.

I hope you enjoy the next big chapter of your life.

September 23, 2019
Two down, three to go

Eleanor Goard says that, at the start of your course, it’s hard to envisage how you’re meant to metamorphose into a competent and qualified vet in just five short years. However, two years into her studies, it no longer feels impossible. Image © stevecuk / Adobe Stock

I feel so incredibly lucky to be where I am today: two years down as a vet student, on the course of my dreams and heading toward the career I’ve been aspiring to since I was six years old.

And it’s still as surreal, stressful and exciting as ever!

For Bristol uni, at least, the gap between the second and third years is significant in that it’s where we transition from pre-clinical to clinical content; moving from the nice safety bubble of learning and classrooms to more of the practical stuff, and the “this is why you were learning it in the first place”.

Holding pattern

If I’m being honest, it’s a little daunting. It’s uncharted territory – just like the beginning of the course.

I think I’ve fallen into a comfortable pattern of learning, digesting and regurgitating theory, so the idea of breaking away from that is, quite frankly, a little scary. One thing that keeps the nerves at bay, however, is acknowledging how far I’ve already come.

When you start vet school and walk away from those first few lectures realising how much you already have to learn, it can be really hard to envisage how on earth you’re meant to metamorphose into a competent and qualified veterinary surgeon in just five short years. But here I am, two years later… and I think the pieces are starting to come together.

Voyage of discovery

I know so much more now than I ever thought possible: how everything works, why it sometimes stops working and how to make it work again – the gist of any medical degree at its heart.

The fact I will be able to call myself “doctor” in just a few short years still seems incredible, but no longer impossible.

Yes, it’s something new, something slightly intimidating; but I’m so excited to explore this new part of my degree, where I’ll begin to learn new skills I will use for the rest of my career – to start discovering what being a vet actually means, and what kind of vet I want to be.

August 22, 2019
A vet’s role in an environmental crisis

Climate change and mass extinction have been hot topics over recent weeks. But, if we’re being perfectly candid, these subjects should have reached the headlines a long time ago – which is perhaps why so many people have taken to the streets of London in protest.

Though I share the plight of the people who have, and continue to demonstrate, as well as the frustration in the rate of progress being made (as it can appear, at times, to be achingly slow), there is nothing to be gained for mourning the time that’s been lost, as it’s time we will never get back.

The only change we should concern ourselves with is that to come and, in the current climate (no pun intended), the next generation of vets will be vital in filling environmental, public relations and food health roles as they never have before.

Food industry

In recent lectures we have been encouraged to research and understand elements of the food industry outside of our curriculum. One expert informed us that if we carried on consuming and demanding food at the rate we are now, we would require five-and-a-half planet earths’ worth of space to feed the population within the next 100 years.

Within the next 100 years we will require five-and-a-half planet earths’ worth of space to feed the population, it has been claimed.

This statement introduced what went on to be a two-hour seminar, and although none of the content was to be examinable, we all paid attention.

I think it’s because we all understood that what we were being taught went beyond text books and exam papers – it represented a facet of the veterinary career that probably very few of us had even considered before applying for the course, and yet now seems one of the most important.

Turning the tide

A veterinarian’s role in conservation is no new thing, but with multi-species extinction on the rise, and with no signs of slowing down, it’s never been more important to encourage graduates to forego the comfort zones of first opinion practice and expand their experience in this field.

It’s only by pooling together the research, time and expertise of as many trained medical, zoological and biological professionals as possible that we can begin to turn the tides, and protect the most vulnerable, but beautiful, creatures on our planet for good.

Sustainable diet

As for the world food crisis, reaching a solution is two-fold: finding a sustainable diet, and then finding the most efficient and cost-effective means of producing this diet on a global scale.

Veterinary involvement is paramount for this to be achieved. Not only are vets crucial for both ethical and reliable research, they are also the bridge between the scientific and farming communities.

By working alongside the farming industry and educating the next wave of agricultural workers in efficiency and sustainability, we can begin to form the infrastructure from which real, tangible change can be seen in all of our futures.

May 9, 2019
Staying motivated

When your course is a minimum of five years long, and your days are filled with lab work, lectures and study, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture – the real core driver behind why you wanted to be a vet in the first place.

Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I’m sure no 18-year-old, fresh from 14 years of full-time education, has ever signed up for their degree purely for a love of spending the fleeting British summertime in an exam hall and 9am-5pm every day staring at a white board.

For most of us, investing the money and dedicated years of our lives that university demands are all part and parcel of building the foundations for our futures.

What’s it all for?

For vets especially, many options are available: whether you’re driven towards specialised surgery, welfare, research or first-opinion practice, it all starts with the same degree, the same path, the same investment.

However, while the journey may be unavoidable, the repetitive humdrum of student life (and life in general for that matter) can make it difficult to keep your eyes on the end goal.

How bad do you want it?

It’s not a matter of commitment. Trust me; if you even manage to get an interview for a veterinary course, you’re as committed as they come. There’s no way you’ll find a teenager voluntarily scooping poop – from a staggering variety of sources – on their weekends without a real solid mindset as to where they want to be.

“There’s no way you’ll find a teenager voluntarily scooping poop – from a staggering variety of sources – on their weekends without a real solid mindset as to where they want to be.” Image © chelle129 / Adobe Stock

When I was applying to vet schools, the standard requirements for work experience ranged from four to 12 weeks. I just about managed the latter, but I had friends around me doubling that – don’t ask me how.

Getting sidetracked

University life can be repetitive, not to mention full on… in a particularly heavy week, I managed to have a dream about revising ectoparasites, so let me tell you, sometimes there really is no escaping it.

Through all this it’s understandable you might lose track of the driver that got you here in the first place, let alone what you want to do when you leave. When you‘re struggling to keep your head above water to deal with the task in front of you, how on earth are you supposed to look so far ahead?

Personally, I didn’t realise I’d reached this point until very recently.

The epiphany

My university had organised “practice consult sessions” with some of its vet surgery’s genuine clients. Each client came to us with his or her dogs and had been told by our teaching staff to be as difficult as possible in an attempt to get us out of our shells.

In groups, we had to practise gathering a patient history – not easy, as it turns out, when the client’s been instructed not to play ball – and describe a simple neutering, addressing both pros and cons.

Not only did this supply a very realistic “hands-on” scenario, it forced us to use the collective knowledge provided to us in countless lectures and seminars and regurgitate it in a manner that was both professional and understandable. For example, a lot of the clinical terms we’re encouraged to memorise aren’t commonly used by the general public, so you must find easier ways of explaining things without oversimplifying anything important like surgical risks.

Remind yourself

I can’t describe how motivated I felt when I came home after that practical – I was buzzing.

I had stood behind real vets in real consultations for so long, watching how they interacted with clients and patients and itching, from such a young age, to do what they did. I wish I could carry that feeling with me every day, but, of course, after a while you find yourself treading water again.

I think the important thing is to give yourself moments every now and then to stop and reflect on how far you’ve already come, as well as where you want to go. The course, the workload, life in general – none of it’s easy. But if you want it enough, it’s so, so worth it.

April 23, 2019
All work, no play

Christmas is almost here, which means a much-awaited and deeply longed-for break from the 9 to 5 pattern of university life. The holiday period for Bristol students is starting a little later than normal this year, so, naturally, my friends and I are counting down the days until we get to retreat to the festive comforts of home.

This is my second Christmas coming home from uni and I remember the same time last year being quite a culture shock; the jump from student accommodation and rationed toilet paper to a house that is too hot – though you never believed there could be such a thing – and surprises in the form of presents rather than re-timetabled lectures and unexpected

deadlines.

Post-Christmas examinations

“It’s important to engage with whatever holiday traditions your family takes part in, and not lock yourself away behind your bedroom door with only text books and highlighters for company.”

Over it all, though, loom the post-Christmas examinations, which can’t help but make the season a little less jolly.

This is when all students must learn to juggle enjoying the well-earned rest and respite as well as finding time to work, a skill that vet students will likely have to draw on for the rest of their careers.

The task is not an easy one – ever since GCSEs kept me inside, revising on sunny summer days, post-holiday exams have been a bane of mine. It can also feel quite unjust and confusing when your university and lecturers both tell you to “have a relaxing holiday” and “take some time off”, but still expect the same quality of work you’ve been producing all term.

The same demand is made of most students, veterinary or otherwise, but for those who are also trying to fit two weeks of work experience into the bargain – such as my, perhaps foolish, self – the challenge and strain on time management become greater.

Staying motivated

Treading the line between work and play can be a daunting prospect, especially at a time when all you want to do is kick back and enjoy yourself. Staying motivated is really important. Being back home can feel like living in a whole other world, and it can be easy, especially if you live miles away from your university, to forget exams really do exist and are around the corner. On the other side of the coin, it’s important to engage with whatever holiday traditions your family takes part in, and not lock yourself away behind your bedroom door with only text books and highlighters for company.

Exams aside, and as patronising and impossible as it sounds, it is important to take some down time over the Christmas holidays with your family and friends. Mental health can take a dive during exam periods and working endlessly isn’t healthy. Of course, it’s important to study for those tests, get good grades and be the best that you can be – and if your joy stems from doing that then great.

But, at the same time, if you’re miserable because you have no time to spend with important people or to clock off then what is the point? It’s also important to recognise if you’re not at your best mentally, your capacity to revise is going to be low; so taking breaks isn’t detrimental to your studying, quite the opposite.

I love what I study, so a small break from learning recharges my batteries, but also makes me itch to start learning again. A work-life balance is a part of every course and every career, and it’s important to find something that works for you.

December 22, 2018
The 7 stages of revision

Finals are imminent, so my colleagues and I are going through the annual rite of passage more commonly know as “revision hell”.

Let’s break down the various stages… I think I’m at around number 5.

1. Denial

A couple of days into your revision, you’re thinking of the long weeks between now and the exam – you’ve got ages, it’ll be fine.

You’ve done two hours of “reading” today – most of which was probably spent trying to find the right set of notes, ordering your highlighters into an appropriate rainbow effect and googling funny cat videos.

You deserve a break – after all, in a few weeks you’ll be snowed under and won’t have the luxury of time to do other things and enjoy life outside the imprisonment of your degree.

2. Panic (stage 1)

This is probably somewhere around a couple of weeks into “proper revision”.

You’ve still got a few weeks left, but, be honest, you probably haven’t been massively productive so far. You’ve looked at a calendar, maybe drawn up a timetable, looked at the list of topics to cover… and absolutely crapped yourself.

3. Bargaining

Shortly after panicking, you try to work out how you’re realistically going to tackle this.

“If I cram 10 lectures worth of notes into half an hour, I should be able to cover the course in time,” you reason.

Maybe at this point, you’re already deciding which topics to bin and, instead, go for a “strategic approach”, which involves trying to work out questions likely to be asked. However, in the time you spend looking up past papers, asking people a year older what they were asked and trying to calculate what hasn’t come up in a while, you probably could have just read about those diseases and conditions you are sacrificing.

You also waste a lot of time looking up the elusive course information documents you definitely should have found a long time ago, but were not really listening when advised to do so in your final year induction lecture.

You desperately work out which parts of the exam you have to pass, where you could make up marks, and the worst possible mark or grade you could get and still pass.

This doesn’t really change your outlook at all.

4. Past caring

You feel like you haven’t seen daylight for days or worn anything but “comfy clothes” for a while, while the diet/fitness regime has gone down the toilet.

You’ve been locked in this hell forever and still feel like you have forever left (probably about two weeks). You’ve lost all motivation and just want it to end now.

5. Panic (stage 2)

Anytime from a week to a few days before, panic sets in again.

Okay, you really have to get your act together. It’s now or never – you’ve got five years worth of stuff to learn in four days… sounds reasonable?

But you don’t have time for a full-scale breakdown. This panic stage tends to be more productive and actually kicks your lazy butt into action. Get the caffeine on board and get on with it.

6. Hysteria

The combination of exhaustion and your brain feeling like total mush results in a drunk-like hysteria. Something that probably isn’t that funny makes you cry with laughter; a diaphragm deep bellow, as if you’d forgotten how to laugh or be happy.

You realise you’ve probably gone a bit mad, but don’t even care – the end is in sight.

7. Acceptance

Whether it’s the night before the exam as you close the books and try to get a good night’s sleep, or as you walk into the exam room buzzing from the seven Red Bulls you downed in the past four hours off the back of yet another pre-exam all-nighter, you will finally reach a point of acceptance. There’s nothing more you can do now except stay awake long enough to finish the paper your degree depends on.

It’s all very well when people who’ve likely never sat a veterinary exam offer you extremely unhelpful and unrealistic advice – such as “drink green tea instead of coffee”, “get lots of sleep” and “take regular breaks” (jeez, if I took a break every 15 minutes, it would take 20 years to get this degree) – but you’ve got this far using whatever “unhealthy” method works for you, so believe in yourself. It’s the last push now and you’ll never have to sit an exam again (maybe).

Anyway, I’d better get back to my cocktail of Pro Plus, chocolate and Earl Grey.

Good luck!

May 16, 2017
It’s good to talk…
The issue of poor mental health in the veterinary profession as a whole is becoming more recognised, and has sparked the launch of initiatives such as Mind Matters and Vetlife’s helpline service. But what about vet students specifically?

Despite not being selected for the sports teams she tried out for initially, Jordan (mounted) got on to the riding team during her second year at Glasgow.

When I was applying for vet school, I remember numerous people told me the hardest part is getting in… well, they lied. Having now spent five years at Glasgow, I can’t even comprehend why they would spread that awfully inaccurate myth.

My first inkling this oft-repeated phrase was totally unfounded came during one of our first lectures where my entire second year of A-level physics was summed up in an hour – and the pace only continued to pick up from there.

Difficult beginnings

Along with the personal struggles of moving away to university (in my case, 300 miles from home), not being selected for the sports teams I tried out for and the social pressures (feeling I had to take part in things despite feeling exhausted and wanting to sleep), it was hard.

I also had a sense of emptiness – having worked my entire life towards getting into vet school, once I got there, it was like: “Now what?”

I began to wonder whether veterinary was really the right career for me and, in the first term, seriously considered leaving.

No alternative

One of the main things that kept me there was the simple fact I didn’t know what I would do instead. I took my car back with me after Christmas, which helped with logistical issues, and started an evening creative writing class that gave me the opportunity to get away from vet school and vet students every so often.

By the summer of first year, I still wasn’t convinced I would stay. I hinged my fate on exam results, deciding I wouldn’t have the motivation to resit them because my heart wasn’t in it.

Jordan and the team of volunteers with Bolivian NGO, Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi.

However, I passed, and bundled myself on to a plane to South America to undertake some EMS in the Amazon rainforest. My time in Bolivia was incredible and rekindled a long-forgotten passion.

After that, my vet school experience shifted massively. I suddenly loved being a vet student – I got on the riding team, became more involved with the social side of vet school and continued my love of writing through getting involved with the Association of Veterinary Students.

I was the definition of the “work hard, play hard” vet student, but it was all about balance – the negatives of being a vet student were being outweighed by the positives.

Serious doubts

I still wasn’t particularly enthused by the course and merrily carried on because I was coping. Besides, a veterinary degree didn’t have to culminate in a veterinary career.

Every exam period was a rite of passage to get to the next year. Before Christmas, one year, we had nine exams in eight days – I think I averaged two hours’ sleep a night that week, but we got on with it. Everyone moaned together and everyone came out the other side, one way or another.

Nobody is immune – even at later stages in the course, those students who were high achievers and never seemed phased by anything started having doubts – serious “I’ve been to discuss where my degree stands if I drop out now” doubts.

By fourth year, I’d reached a level of acceptance that, since I’d got this far, I may as well carry on.

A sense of equilibrium

I started final year rotations absolutely terrified, but took comfort in the shell-shocked looks reflected in my classmates’ faces on the first morning of medicine rounds in the small animal hospital. We were all in the same boat.

Yet, finally, I found my stride; I have absolutely loved final year. For the first time in five years, I didn’t regret my life choices and found myself thinking “this is exactly what I want to do”. I was fascinated by medicine and felt a real sense of achievement of actually doing things for myself, such as taking consults and performing surgery.

Again, some of my peers hit their “walls” during final year, but we got them over it.

Another nugget of advice “they” tell you is final year will fly by. That one, I’m afraid, is not a lie – I can hardly believe I’m sat here with 12 months of rotations behind me, already facing finals and job applications.

All in the same boat

Jordan eventually “found her stride” during final year rotations.

Everyone has a wobble at some point and thinks “why am I doing this to myself?” The important thing is to remember other people are probably feeling the same way.

Mine was very early on, when everyone else seemed to be loving life, and I felt so alone. I felt like I would let my family and friends down if I dropped out, so felt too ashamed to say anything. However, when I eventually voiced my feelings, it transpired a lot of people were thinking the same.

A lot of support is out there now, which can be accessed in different ways. Each university will have a formalised counselling service and many vet schools now have a peer support system in place – this has been a huge success at Glasgow.

Meanwhile, Vetlife offers confidential telephone support to vets and vet students alike if you need an impartial, anonymous ear.

Feelin’ good

Glasgow recently held “Feel Good February”, a month of events and activities to raise awareness of these services and promote good mental well-being around the vet campus, part of which involved defining the problem at Glasgow specifically.

The Glasgow University Veterinary Medical Association revealed the results of a survey, which showed:
- 62% of current vet students felt stress had a negative impact on their everyday life
- 89% felt it was normal to feel stressed during a veterinary degree
This normalisation of stress can lead to students feeling they should be able to deal with it, but that the inability to cope will not translate well to life as a vet. It’s a very tough course for a number of reasons, including the workload that was described by our professor, Ian Ramsey, as “savage” in an STV interview.

However, this perception students should be stressed leads to an inability to speak out, for fear of seeming weak and “not cut out” for veterinary.

So worth it

I cannot imagine where I would be now if I hadn’t carried on with my veterinary degree. I’m so grateful friends and family supported me through everything and I made it to the point of starting a veterinary career knowing wholeheartedly this is what I want to do.

If you’re thinking of dropping out, please talk to someone – I can guarantee they’ve felt the same at some point. And if you’re having a particularly tough rotation or coming up to exams, power through and help each other – it’ll be worth it in the end!
April 15, 2017
Behind the scenes at Fitzpatrick Referrals

Two years ago, I received an email to confirm an EMS placement at a certain well-known veterinary practice in the south of England.

Fitzpatrick Referrals: arguably one of the most recognisable practice premises in the UK. Image taken from the VBJ Practice Profile.

In my head, the placement remained far off until – three days after one set of exams ended and four weeks before another set – it seemed to sneak up on me far quicker than expected.

Brain slightly frazzled from exams, but orthopaedics (hopefully) fresh in my mind, I found myself pulling into the car park of Fitzpatrick Referrals.

Making sense of things

Being such a large and busy hospital, the first few days were a bit manic, with lots of new faces and protocols to get used to. To be honest, just finding my way back to the staff room was quite a challenge.

As my first time in a referral hospital, there were notable differences from first opinion practice, and the sheer number of surgeries the vets would get through in one day was impressive.

I was able to see a lot of surgery, which helped make sense of the numerous abbreviations our orthopaedic lectures presented, for both the conditions and procedures – an FCP corrected by PUO or the options of TPLO or TTA for CrCLR meant very little until I was able to see the procedures and understand a little more why they helped correct the particular conditions.

(If you’re still wondering: FCP = fractured coronoid process; PUO = proximal ulnar osteotomy; TPLO = tibial plateau levelling osteotomy; TTA = tibial tuberosity advancement; CrCLR = cranial cruciate ligament rupture).

Standard versus innovative

Noel Fitzpatrick: veterinary visionary? You be the judge.

The above are among many other “standard” referral procedures carried out at other referral orthopaedic hospitals throughout the country. There are, of course (as seen on television), other surgeries Noel carries out. Whether these are considered groundbreaking, experimental or too much is open to interpretation, but they are certainly unique to the “Supervet”.

Noel himself is clearly very passionate and believes wholeheartedly his innovations provide the best options in the world for his patients.

Many other vets would disagree. Many believe he goes too far; that the prolonged recovery and rehabilitation time for heroic procedures are not justified in patients that live in the moment and cannot perceive the future advantages temporary discomfort may bring.

Having been “behind the scenes”, I’m still not sure where I stand on these heroic procedures, but am certain the ethics must be considered on an individual case basis, as is done at Fitzpatrick’s – for example, limb-sparing surgery was decided against in a case of osteosarcoma in which survey chest radiographs showed metastasis.

Camera shy

Undoubtedly, Noel is an extremely clever bloke who has dedicated his life to providing animals with the best orthopaedic technology possible, but his methods will always remain controversial.

The placement was certainly a worthwhile and very different experience. The stationary cameras around the practice were easy to ignore, but observing a surgery that was being filmed, with the surgeon re-explaining the procedure for the third time at a different angle, not so much.

A very definite highlight was scrubbing into a TPLO and being handed the bone drill, to my utter terror and delight at the same time. I’m not sure the novelty of putting a screw into a dog’s leg will ever wear off.

May 16, 2016
An irrational fear of the final year

Having averaged four hours’ sleep a night for a couple of weeks, I came out of fourth year exams alive… just.

Poster image created online with the Keep Calm-o-Matic.

Sleeping pattern ruined, and a number of family and friends to see in quick succession (seeing as the next time I’ll be “home home” will be in five months or so), the four-day “summer holiday” we were given was anything but restful.

Midway through a week of induction lectures and “how to cope with real life” talks, the prospect of final year rotations beginning in five days’ time is becoming very real.

However, I think the induction week has had the opposite of the desired effect and, subsequently, I am anticipating my first week in the hospital with utter terror.

Panic mode

In theory, we should have the knowledge base to cope with whatever they throw at us in final year. However, in my panic-stricken state, I can only imagine drawing a blank at the first case I’m given and already feel sick at the thought of looking like the idiot I’m almost certain I am.

I feel under-prepared and tired from the last few weeks, not to mention the fact I don’t know if I’ve passed the exams and deserve to be in the hospital in the first place.

Several family members have asked me if it feels like my time at vet school has gone quickly, to which I can only answer “yes and no” – on one hand, it feels like I’ve always been at vet school; on the other, final year has sprung suddenly out of nowhere.

Time flies

Sound familiar?

More relaxed times seem a long way off, such as soaking up the German sun at a yearling auction, or paddling waist-deep through a swamp to care for a puma. Even scrubbing into orthopaedic surgery a month ago seems much more distant. Time flies when you’re having fun… or are kept stupendously busy by the various aspects of vet school.

While this transition feels tough, I’m sure tougher ones are ahead (such as this time next year, when we’re all about to enter the real world of work), but I’ll worry about those closer to the time.

I can only hope students in the year above (those finishing final year), who claim they felt the same way when starting rotations, were speaking the truth and, somehow, as unlikely as it seems right now, we’ll come out the other side as qualified, competent vets.

The question now is whether to spend the next few days – between the remaining induction lectures – catching up on sleep or frantically trying to relearn everything I’m supposed to already know…

May 4, 2016
RCVS VN council election manifesto: Matthew Rendle RVN

MATTHEW RENDLE RVN

Senior clinical VN, London Zoo

T: 07947 812630

E: matthew.rendle@zsl.org

Matthew’s VN career kicked off in 1989 at The Park Veterinary Centre in Watford, a busy mixed and exotics 13-vet practice. It was here he completed his training and here in 1994 where he became senior theatre nurse.

Leaving in 2003, Matthew headed to the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) to pursue his interest in zoo and wildlife nursing, where he remains.

Matthew is a regular lecturer to veterinary nursing and veterinary surgeon undergraduates at the RVC, and lectures on herpetology throughout Europe and America.

Why is he standing?

Matthew says he has “dedicated his life” to being a VN for 25 years, and has observed “many changes” that have taken place during this time.

“Our role and the general understanding of it has improved significantly within my time in the profession and it continues to,” he said. “I am passionate about veterinary nursing and consider myself very lucky to work at ZSL. With my experience and background, I am in a fortunate position to help educate and support the next generation of VNs.”

Matthew said it would be a “great honour” to be elected to council, as will be having the opportunity to represent UK VNs and “contribute to the advancement of our profession”.

“I would relish the opportunity to promote the vital role of the RVN,” he said.

Hustings highlights

In Matthew’s video, he said he feels there needs to be a “greater understanding” of the roles of a modern VN and, while these roles are “misunderstood” by the public, VNs are “too keen to blame this on everybody else”.

“I think a lot of it is our own fault,” he said. “We need to raise our profile and demonstrate professionalism wherever possible, and during my time on council I would really like to push forward on that.”

As a male VN, he would also like to work on diversity within the profession. “I’ve been a VN for more than 25 years now,” he said. “I’ve always really enjoyed it, and haven’t felt at any point that being male has held me back in any way, but again I think this comes down to public perception of what VNs are.”

March 24, 2016