If it seems like every day is the same with that sneaky puppy who presents with a foreign body at closing time, the chronically vomiting cat, or the rabbit who is suddenly inappetent, it may be time to change things up. It’s not that you don’t care about these cherished pets or their owners’ peace of mind – we know you always will. It’s just that, after years of the same routine, some vets find themselves wanting something new; different challenges, new procedures, fresh ways to learn and grow…and with that, maybe a little more balance in their work-life balance too! If you’re willing to explore new horizons with an open mind, you’ll find a host of exciting and often surprising veterinary career options that you may not have considered, or maybe didn’t know existed or didn’t even exist at all when you started…
It’s time to focus on your own well-being!
Improving your well-being is more complex than taking a week-long holiday at a health spa, or simply getting more exercise and improving your diet. Though all of these are important to Veterinary Professional Wellbeing (and wouldn’t we all like to justify our own annual spa retreats), stress management and mental health care require fundamental changes to our daily lives. Remember that you deserve to nurture yourself to the same degree that you look after your patients. How do you cope when you are being pulled in so many mental and physical directions? Here are some essential first steps…
9 ways to take your Vet Nurse or Vet Tech career to the Next Level
Veterinary nursing is indeed a calling, and the passion and care that you, as a Veterinary Technician or Nurse, display, always on the front line of veterinary care, is admired by us all. No practice can deliver gold-standard veterinary care without your compassion, commitment, experience, expertise, and knowledge. While the personal rewards are to be cherished, the reality is that we all have to live in an ever-expensive world. But once you step up a few rungs, your income will start to meet your lifestyle expectations. Although trends are changing, entry and early-year salary levels will remain modest for the foreseeable future. So to get ahead with your situation and finances, you need to level up…literally. It’s time to work your way rapidly up through the ranks. Let your experience, expertise, and ability “self-negotiate” career advancement. The accompanying salary increases will enable you to experience the reality and comfort of financial stability in balance with your remarkably satisfying work. So to help you take that next step up or three, we asked leading Vet Nurses and Technicians worldwide who have achieved personal, professional, and financial success to share their advice on accelerating your career. And here it is…
5 Ways to Boost Your Veterinary Career
It’s time. You have built up your experience and expertise, and you are quietly confident that you are ready to take a big step up in your career. Your motivations could be many. Building up a nest egg in anticipation of adding to your family, you want the challenge of leading a substantial team, you desire to fix some of the systemic issues that challenge the veterinary space, or practice ownership is your goal. You may be concerned about skill stagnation, have a deep-seated wish to create the ideal practice culture from the ground up, or take on a leadership role at an industry level, guiding policies and protocols that will have a long-lasting impact. Current research confirms that one in four veterinary professionals – doctors, nurses or veterinary technicians or management – are considering changing their employment in 2023. If you are considering such a change, here are five key ways you can prepare to boost your veterinary career…
5 Social Strategies that will Rapidly Accelerate your Veterinary Career
Sometimes changing jobs is inevitable…there are multitudes of reasons for needing to change your job. Perhaps your partner has secured an opportunity of a lifetime elsewhere, or you need to move a little closer to the family as they need extra care. Or, you decide that now is the time to step up and move ahead in your career and changing jobs is the most viable option. So, having made the big decision, it’s time to start working on your Social Media Veterinary Career Strategy…
The Pain of Caring – 8 Practical To Do’s to Overcome It
As a Veterinarian, Vet Nurse, Technician, or Veterinary Team Member, you probably don’t get told this enough; we are deeply grateful that you care so passionately about our pets and animals, and their family members. You are generous and empathetic, and your many years of study and your practical experience make you an expert that we trust. And as a caregiver, you are uniquely rewarded each and every day. But you also know vulnerability, occasional helplessness, and that there will inevitably be a small number of failures, even if they are often out of your control. So, if you are finding that your days are not as sparkly as they once were, that kittens don’t make you smile quite as often, or that a senior dog still vigorously wagging their tail doesn’t make you feel as warm inside as it once used to, you may well have Compassion Fatigue. Emotional and physical exhaustion that can often lead to a diminished sense of satisfaction in both work and life generally. Here are some practical tips to help you maintain your passion for your profession…Exploring these suggestions may help you return to being vigorously passionate about your profession…
How To Find Locum Relief Vets Nurses & Techs, Attract & Keep Them
Like many practice owners, you may be finding yourself a bit short-staffed these days. As the demand for veterinary services increases, there simply aren’t enough Veterinarians, Veterinary Nurses and Technicians to fill every single open position. In many practices, this shortage means temporarily relying on the help of a locum relief team member. While locum relief Veterinary Professionals can offer tremendous value to your practice and help with filling in gaps, they can also be in short supply. Depending on your location, there may be a limited number of locum relief vets, nurses and techs in your area, and there might be a surprisingly large number of practices courting them. Learn how you can make your practice stand out, improving your likelihood of finding, attracting and keeping high-quality locum relief team members…
Setting boundaries: 7 key steps for balancing work, life & play
Setting boundaries means being honest about what you can and cannot handle right now…and often that is a daunting admission…an admission that we are indeed human, have our limitations and need to be constantly balancing and rebalancing work, life and play. Perhaps if we all learned how to set and respect boundaries, we could foster more mutual respect and compassion amongst each other, rather than resentment or anger. And we might just add another small but important facet towards improving the overall mental health of the veterinary profession. Here are some key steps toward setting mutually beneficial boundaries…
New Veterinary Career? 7 Ways to Kick Start Things (or Give Help)
So, you’ve worked hard and earned your certification. Congratulations, you are now a qualified Veterinarian, Veterinary Nurse or Veterinary Technician. But now, a whole new challenge lies ahead – continuing your momentum and success as you start this next stage of your career as a working Veterinary Professional! Making the transition from student to practicing in-the-real is an exciting time, but it can also be understandably daunting. During your first year of employment especially, a great support network is invaluable. Helpful colleagues, accessible professional resources, and some mindful self-care will not only kick-start your career but will also support your mental and physical health during a potentially stressful time. So, to help you feel more grounded, calm, and in control of your journey, here are a few early veterinary career tips that we sourced from Veterinary Professionals like you who have “been there, done that” and not just survived, but thrived…