At BEVA Congress last year, a session on recruitment and retention revealed some rather depressing statistics about the equine sector. It was reported that the desire to work in equine practice among students reduces dramatically over their time at vet school – by final year, nearly all students plan to work in the small animal sector. Aside from the obvious advantage, perceived or real, that earnings and options for working patterns are greater in small animal practice, it was clear that things are more complicated than that.
In recent years, BEVA has been focusing on students, reaching out through vet school tours, inviting undergraduates to attend BEVA Congress as “student stewards” and making student membership free. It was agreed that all students should at least have access to BEVA’s educational resources and career support, and be able to readily connect with the equine veterinary profession and wider equestrian industry. Students were also recently given representation on BEVA’s careers committee by way of co-opting the British Student Equine Veterinary Association (BSEVA) vice-president Florrie Clark, who has been a hugely valuable addition to the team. This addition is a much-needed conduit for communicating with the future members of our profession.
The desire to work in equine practice among students reduces dramatically over their time at vet school – by final year, nearly all students plan to work in the small animal sector
Equine teaching at vet school
There have been anecdotal reports that equine teaching is receiving less attention at some vet schools, most likely as the result of an increasing bias towards a small animal career. Requirements for equine extra-mural studies (EMS) have been reduced and even dropped entirely at some universities. Understandably, this most likely reflects the change in demand and, therefore, justification for committing time and resources – the likelihood being that small animal teaching can be delivered more cost-effectively.
There may be a need for solutions to this problem on a greater scale, but that discussion is beyond the scope of this article. However, it could be possible to avoid equine practice suffering as a consequence of this unfair comparison between career paths. Are we all comparing apples and pears? Are those doing so understandably choosing the riper fruit at the expense of reaping the rewards of a more slowly maturing fruit in the future?
From a student’s point of view, it is easy to see why a career with small animals may eclipse a career in equine practice. Individuals often cite a lack of flexible working options in equine practice, which, perhaps, makes it logical for someone who sees horses as their passion to opt for a career that enables them more time off (and, perhaps, better earnings) to fund this as a “hobby”.
Are we all comparing apples and pears? Are those doing so understandably choosing the riper fruit at the expense of reaping the rewards of a more slowly maturing fruit in the future?
But some students also report another frustration with the equine sector. As the rate of learning skills is much slower, it can lead to students feeling “more capable” in small animal practice much sooner than in equine. Equine is perhaps more of a “slow burn”. With owners ever-present and valuable sports horses as patients, there is far less opportunity to get “hands-on” while “seeing practice”. And with far fewer clinic and hospital facilities to choose from and competition from overseas students and qualified vets, you can see how challenging it can be to make headway in the equine field. Even when you are successful in securing a placement, you are unlikely to practise invasive procedures and observe the sheer number of cases expected in small animal practice.
EMS and the new graduate
The chasm between veterinary career paths doesn’t stop there. A new graduate entering small animal practice not only will be surrounded by a clinic of experienced staff but will likely have a reasonable list of day-one competencies under their belt in a few weeks or months. In equine practice, you are lucky if you’ve carried out an intramuscular injection or peered into an oral cavity, so good luck at your first “routine health check” visit. As such, it is understandable that a new graduate wouldn’t feel ready to start life on the road as an ambulatory vet.
Could we be underestimating the importance and value of time spent on EMS, expecting it to be more akin to small animal practice, with cat castrates and placing catheters?
Given so much of equine practice involves building client relationships, communication skills, horse-handling, history-taking and “management consultancy”, should we not focus on these as day-one skills for the equine vets of tomorrow? Of course, they will need to learn intravenous injections, rectal examinations, euthanasia and nerve blocks at some point, but these are probably not realistic day-one skills for today’s graduates, even if they were once upon a time. Those skills are probably best taught in clinics and hospitals, where colleagues can guide and support, away from the pressure of the owner’s glare.
Postgraduate training
In the absence of any change to undergraduate teaching, there may be under-used opportunities for teaching in practice (whether an internship or similar training position). Providing these positions are not treated as a way to gain “dogsbodies” by employers and colleagues, they can provide the ideal environment for equine vets to master the practical skills they require for a confident career in equine practice.
Skills learnt from the rest of the practice should not be underestimated as the ambulatory equine vet must play all roles when on the road
Naturally these positions will vary between clinics, but this could be used to an advantage if clinics worked together. Training need not rely solely on the experienced vets of the practice but can be spread across the whole team, from nurses and technicians to laboratory, accounting and reception staff. Skills learnt from the rest of the practice should not be underestimated as the ambulatory equine vet must play all roles when on the road. So having the confidence and knowledge to perform these roles is invaluable to that individual.
Final thoughts
When I look back on my time in practice, it was rarely the clinical skills which caused me to doubt my career choices. Instead, it was the times I communicated badly, took the wrong blood tubes, hadn’t learnt the head nurse’s trick for “passing a tube”, was unable to work the new X-ray equipment or failed to discuss costs with the client. These were all skills I could never learn from a lecture or textbook, but I could have absorbed them while “seeing practice”, being around the people that had already mastered them.
Looking back, these were the skills I learnt during EMS and my internship. I cannot remember the clinical parameters of the spaniel with immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia during my small animal EMS 16 years ago. Yet I remember the way the nurse taught me to prepare the equipment and hold the patient, and how the vet interpreted the results and discussed the findings with the owner.
If we start to value other skills more and approach EMS and new graduate employment with more realistic expectations, we could better grow and develop the workforce of tomorrow
Non-clinical skills are as important, if not more so, for equine vets to learn and should be taught first and foremost at university and during EMS. We, our employees and future colleagues should not be expecting to achieve the same level of clinical competence in equine as in small animal practice during vet school or recent graduate years. If we start to value other skills more and approach EMS and new graduate employment with more realistic expectations, we could better grow and develop the workforce of tomorrow.
