Opinion

Regular readers will notice that, for the first time in years, my column was missing from the pages of this essential publication last month. To be frank, like many of you I imagine, I was just too dep…

The elderly Labrador owned by my equally elderly next-door neighbour is slowing down with arthritis, despite NSAIDs and glucosamine together with a wonderful mix (his words not mine) of devil’s claw t…

Inclusion, diversity and culture are buzzwords that have been widely discussed within the veterinary profession over the last couple of years. Every day I am truly thankful that the majority of the pr…

We do like to think we make a difference, don’t we? The animal comes in ill, we treat it and most of the time it gets better. And there’s the rub… I was going to say “we cure it” but in reality, how m…

People. That’s what they don’t tell you about when you decide you want to be a vet. Yes, you may love animals and be good at science, but pretty soon into the job and you realise there’s a whole world…

The saying goes “Primum non nocere”. First do no harm. Sounds very old, doesn’t it? Must go back to Hippocrates? Well, there are two problems with that. First, it’s not in anything that Hippocrates le…

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee (DC) is considering lowering the standard of proof needed to convict a vet of misconduct. It currently stands that the committee must have something proved to a crimina…

As an ophthalmologist, I rarely have to perform euthanasia for the animals that come to me – enucleations are the ocular equivalent! But on occasion we do encounter animals where saying goodbye, as we…

Although 2020 has just begun, as I write it is still pre-Christmas, that period which brings much joy and happiness to receivers of Christmas presents (mainly children and young people) and can be a c…

We should all be aware of the feminisation of the veterinary profession, the existing gender pay gap and the disproportionate gender representation in leadership roles. Aside from the fact that discri…

Teaching veterinary students, I’m always keen to ensure that what I’m saying gives them the next step towards reaching the RCVS's Day One Competences, “the ability”, as their website tells us, “to per…

There have been many changes in the veterinary profession over the last few years. One thing has been the onus moved from vets to owners for being responsible for their pets’ medical care and transpor…

A veterinarian should play no part in the wild capture, captive breeding, selling or keeping of exotic animals as pets

My psychologist friend would have told me to start with: “This article is highly sensitive – DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER”. I have opted for “This article is important – please read it!” A visit to his hou…

It saddens me to read research suggesting that one in five vets would choose a different career given the chance. There is rarely a day that goes by that I do not feel that this is the best profession…

Today started with me staring into the abyss of the recruitment crisis. Just where are all the vets hiding? I thought we would try advertising abroad so had a look at the South African Vet Association…

Last summer, my holiday, if you can call it that, was spent in Chernobyl looking at wild rodents to see whether they had radiation-induced cataracts. They didn’t! A couple of years earlier, a paper in…

Veterinary work is full of decision making. A typical shift is filled with quick-fire decisions involving patients, sometimes with complex complaints and multiple stakeholders. What is the best way of…

I have just returned from a week-long CPD trip. Not for me, but for my daughter, who has GCSE Spanish looming. As a supreme act of educational investment, the whole family went off to Mallorca on a Sp…

Profit is a necessity and an admirable goal of all practices, so why does it often make us feel uncomfortable? Talking about money opens a can of worms when we consider balancing a caring public servi…