3 minute read
LIFE AS A FARM VET
Laura Sage 2006-2013 explains why she chose a career in veterinary medicine, and the challenges and rewards of her varied work as a farm vet in rural Dorset.
From an early age I was determined that veterinary medicine was the career for me, being the perfect combination of working with animals and intellectual challenge. My time at KES Senior School prepared me well; I loved the academic side, especially languages, and I maintain that Latin and Greek were very useful when later learning veterinary terminology! Extra-curricular activities were also a huge part of my school life, particularly hockey and music, giving me plenty of transferable skills as well as enjoyment.
After a fun and challenging five years at the University of Bristol vet school, I moved an hour south of home to rural Dorset to embark on my career as a farm vet, where I have remained since.
The majority of my work involves looking after dairy cows, but I also see plenty of beef cattle and sheep, along with a range of smallholding species including goats, alpacas and poultry. My days can be extremely varied, with a mixture of pre-planned and emergency visits. For example, I could be ultrasound scanning cows for pregnancy and treating any fertility problems, testing cows for TB (tuberculosis), dealing with emergencies such as difficult births, treating sick animals, operating on a cow with a displaced stomach – the list is endless. Not knowing what you might do each day (or night) is one of the most exciting aspects of my job.
There is also technical office-based work, looking at farms’ data and advising on how to improve their herds’ health and productivity most efficiently, with animal health and welfare central to all we do. I am also enrolled on a post-graduate qualification, the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (Cattle), with the University of Liverpool, to satisfy my academic interests whilst staying in full-time clinical work.
Some aspects of farm veterinary work are very seasonal, with spring being notoriously busy and full of ups and downs. These periods can have a huge impact on us, both physically and mentally, and there is currently a lot of discussion in the industry about mental health, given the statistics: the suicide rate of vets is three to four times that of the general population. I feel very lucky to enjoy my job, with supportive colleagues, good clients who I have got to know well and a brilliant support network outside work; but when there is a bad outcome, despite having done everything possible, it can be hard to deal with. Veterinary work comes with an arguably unique set of stresses, including owners’ financial constraints (and emotions) influencing treatment decisions, performing euthanasia, long hours and working solo in high-pressure situations.
Despite this, there are some moments that make it all worth it, such as treating a severely dehydrated calf with intravenous fluids, transforming it from listless to bouncing around in a matter of hours, or ultrasound scanning a cow and declaring her ‘in calf’ (pregnant), after nursing her back to health from near-death illness a few months earlier. Calvings and lambings, including C-sections, are also immensely satisfying – the incomparable feeling of bringing new life into the world never gets old. To me, one of the most rewarding aspects of the job is getting to know our clients and their farms, working with them over time to improve herd health.
These days a veterinary degree can open doors to many careers, whether as a vet for pets, horses, farm or exotic/ zoo animals; and in areas from welfare to research, conservation, food safety or public health. I am very happy that I chose farm work as it’s a fascinating combination of treating individual animals, while also influencing the health of whole herds and playing an essential role in agriculture and food production.
