Opinion

Standards are useful things, but can also be difficult to live up to. A standard can mean that everything is the same, as in standardised. One of the most useful inventions in modern trade was the sta…

It’s October and that means the excitement of a new term and new students. I sit them down on their first day and tell them several things. Everyone will be telling them to aim for a first-class degre…

The readers of this magazine are mainly vets. But we are also a mixed group of, for example, employees of small companies, employees of large companies, business owners, farmers, UK and non-UK nationa…

Well, I guess you could call it a holiday of sorts. It was hot, for sure. But this resort, if you could give it that epithet, was not just thermally hot. The boots and overalls I took with me had to b…

Twenty years is a long time to be a vet. My cohort of graduates has just reached that anniversary. It is approaching half a lifetime for us. If you take the number of years it took you to learn to pot…

The term “exotic” can mean several things. Setting aside “unusual” or “strange”, exotic might be interpreted as something that isn’t where it should be. For most, if not all, exotic pets (ie pet wildl…

Writing this month’s column, I am not my usual upbeat veterinary self. A succession of client issues and generally being over-stretched at work has, for the first time I can remember, made me start to…

Last month we dealt with those annoying exams that spoil the start of summer for so many. But talking to undergraduates, there seems to be quite a variation between students. Many are stressed with th…

What is success? It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? Success can mean different things to different people. The dictionary definition says it’s the accomplishment of an aim or a purpose. But how m…

As vets, we are always trying to find the best treatments for our patients. This often leads to us trying something relatively new. When considering new treatments, we need to think about what evidenc…

Summertime, and the living is… well, pretty stressful if you’re a student and it is exam time! We’ve all been through them, haven’t we? GCSEs, A levels, innumerable tests at vet school. What are all t…

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…