Opinion

I am fortunate to be blessed with relatively few emotional ups and downs in life. I can identify with that sage of our times, Homer Simpson, when he was asked “Are you always this shallow or do you ha…

“Gilbert and Sullivan is in our DNA as Englishmen” said the light opera enthusiast, and most in the discussion group agreed with him. It’s amazing what can be taken as fact, especially if it’s said on…

This month’s article marks the last in our series looking at what we expected being a vet to be like and whether the career lives up to expectations. We began with a sixth-former at the start of the s…

A friend of mine made it his new year’s resolution to learn a new word every day. That seemed rather taxing to me, so I’ve gone for one a week. My first word was maieutics. The dictionary defines this…

In our series on the hopes and expectations of aspiring and qualified vets, we have heard from school leavers, vet students and recent graduates. This month, it’s the turn of someone at the peak of th…

Sitting at a dinner a few nights ago in college, I attempted a conversation with my neighbour, a professor of mathematics. “What does the next term hold in store for you?” I asked. “Two new PhD studen…

This month it’s the new graduate’s turn in our vertical cross-section veterinary satisfaction Q&A, where I put similar questions to vets at various stages in their careers. Have the new jobs of 20…

On a recent perambulation, I happened to chance upon three quarrymen. “What are you up to?” I asked. “I have to cut out these blocks,” said the first. “It’s backbreaking work – I can’t wait for the da…

Working out what Christmas present to buy me at this time of year is not difficult. Anyone who’s been on my website or seen the picture always attached to this offering will know that bow ties are, on…

I left you last month with a hint that I might tell you more about one of my heroes, Casey Wood (Figure 1). 2017 marks a century since the publication of his key work on the avian eye, of which more l…

Hopes, dreams and aspirations... Have yours been dashed upon the rocks of working life as a vet or are you still on the up?

PERISCOPE continues the series of reflections on issues of current concern

GARETH CROSS has itchy feet and, having happened upon a company – VetSwap – which offers vets and nurses opportunities to practise abroad, finds out how it all works

THE MERCURY COLUMN in which a guest columnist takes the temperature of the profession – and the world around

VICKI BROWN continues her series on client behaviour, under the heading ‘Challenging clients: from the weird to the wonderful’, with a hungry heap of harassment

PERISCOPE continues the series of reflections on issues of current concern

GARETH CROSS returns to the subject of the RSA’s Preferred Referral Network and talks to a vet about his experiences on ‘the wrong side’ of the RSA

THE MERCURY COLUMN in which a guest columnist takes the temperature of the profession – and the world around

PERISCOPE continues the series of reflections on issues of current concern

GARETH CROSS takes a lighthearted look at the different types of record-keeping one might encounter in practice, from helpful to terrible