Kay Ritchie – Recruitment Consultant in the Veterinary Industry at Nobles Futures
Biggest Challenge – The biggest challenge I see currently is burnout within clinical practice. The mental health of veterinary surgeons and nurses is being hugely impacted by the shortage of teams generally and the nature of the role means that team members are usually dealing with huge emotional and physical burdens on a daily basis. This is leading to a shift in the career paths of veterinary professionals moving away from clinical practice.
Biggest Opportunity – Veterinary industries have a huge opportunity to embrace the needs of their employees. Very rarely is salary ever discussed when we talk to candidates wanting to move out of practice. Flexible working and provision to have the time to spend working up and diagnosing always appear at the top of the list. There are more solutions than ever to help bridge the gap of the challenges in the industry. That could be using more technology services such as telemedicine and video diagnosing services all the way down to looking at what the needs are for the practice and the team such as adjusting consulting hours and providing a more balanced working environment that fits rather than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach
Anthony Chadwick – CEO at Simply Vets & The Webinar Vet
Biggest Challenge – One of our biggest challenges is coping with the burnout of vets and nurses caused by the stresses and strains of the last year. Many colleagues have worked long, hard hours with an increasing patient list and inefficient method of working. Social distancing and bubbles have meant that the camaraderie normally present in practices may have been lacking and there has been the worry of catching the virus. My concern is that when the restrictions finally come to an end, there will be a lot of very mentally and physically tired colleagues who will need a proper period to recuperate and re-energise. That’s why I’m so passionate about getting involved in the recruitment business, using cool digital tools to ease the strain of how little resource we all have. Events like Brexit mean we have potentially less talent and fewer foreign vets – this is something we need to manage.
Biggest Opportunity – One of the biggest opportunities for veterinary practice and the industry is to carry on with digital transformation. I’ve been encouraging the industry to remember that all businesses should be digital businesses for several years with limited success. We are a conservative profession. The coronavirus has been much better at persuading the industry than I was. However, I think the digital transformation of the last 18 months must continue. It’s so important that we continue to use digital tools to help us with booking appointments, holding online consults, ordering stock, sending out reminders and, of course, keeping ourselves clinically up-to-date. Those businesses who continue to think as digital businesses will be the ones who are successful. The general public will expect to engage with practices in a digital manner having transformed themselves over the last 18 months.
Dr.Ciara Reid – Practice Manager at Ark Vetcare
Biggest Challenge – The greatest challenge we face in the profession in Ireland and as it seems worldwide, is recruitment. As a profession we worried 10-15 years ago that the colleges would produce too many nurses. However, the opposite has happened. It seems many graduates do not enter clinical practice and those that do, drop out within a number of years. We seem to have lost so many vets to the Southern hemisphere and finding experienced vets who want to work a full week in clinical practice is proving extremely difficult. This then has the knock on effect that the staff in the practice are constantly tired and overworked.
Biggest Opportunity – The greatest opportunity we face is the level of knowledge our clients now have as to what we can do for their pets with thanks to Dr. Google and TV programs. A lot of people have done their research before presenting their ill pet. They know to expect blood tests. They know to expect perhaps an ultrasound or further diagnostic tests. They know there is the possibility of referral to a specialist. What is even better is that they want the best for their pets which means us as vets are allowed to carry out full work up and offer the best of care to so many of our patients.
Gudrun Ravetz – Director at Vet Sustain
Biggest Challenge – We know and have known for some time that recruitment and retention is a serious and significant challenge for the veterinary profession, but we also have a major challenge that is on a global scale – and that is climate change. This is an enormous challenge for the profession as we are both part of the problem as well as the solution. How the profession becomes more sustainable (and by this we must incorporate both environmentalism and social justice) must be a priority. Our profession works at the interface of environment, animals and people; a true One Health position. But our challenge is equipping ourselves with the knowledge, the confidence and the skills to be the leaders in sustainability for areas that we work within. As a profession we are making commendable progress and, in some areas, have led the One Health agenda but we can and must do more. This may well be uncomfortable and challenge our status quo but we must act to safeguard the future for all.
Biggest Opportunity – Our profession has a unique One Health perspective, and we are in positions of influence and trust with animal owners and keepers and multiple stakeholders associated with all aspects of One Health. This gives us an invaluable opportunity to progress and implement positive sustainable change across more than our immediate sphere of business. As a science based, evidence led profession we are well respected and have the opportunity to challenge the status quo. Positively engaging with the sustainable agenda is also a winner for recruitment and retention of both employees and customers. Society is more and more engaging with employers and business that having a positive impact in terms of sustainability and this is equally so for veterinary employees and customers. We may be a relatively small profession, but our impact can be huge; what a great opportunity that we must seize.
Simon Doherty – Chair at FVE, Food Safety & Sustainability Working Group
Biggest Challenge – We are in the midst of an unprecedented global shortage of veterinary surgeons. Other commentators have alluded to pressures within the veterinary workplace, causing high levels of stress and anxiety, leading to high numbers of vets feeling burnt out and ultimately choosing to leave the profession. This, in turn, puts further pressure on those remaining in practices – it’s a vicious cycle. Does the answer lie in building new vet schools and creating more highly skilled veterinary graduates? Perhaps in part, but we also need to concentrate on developing fulfilling career-paths within our profession and supporting the retention of those wonderful vets we already have in our sector. Our representative bodies are creating resources to support veterinary employers in better understanding and creating Good Workplaces. The biggest challenge centres on regaining a healthy balance in all these moving parts to create a dynamic, healthy, resilient and fulfilled veterinary workforce for the future.
Biggest Opportunity – As we begin to emerge from the global pandemic, we have a tremendous opportunity to drive forward, collaborative approaches to One Health and sustainability. Governments and the public have never understood so much about virology (SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus causing COVID-19), diagnostics (lateral flow tests & PCR), biosecurity (PPE, social distancing & lockdown), immunology (vaccine efficacy & duration of immunity) and social science (wellbeing, education & the economy) as they do just now. As veterinarians, we have a monumental opportunity to be involved in collaborative trans-disciplinary alliances to create sustainable solutions to global threats such as the emergence of zoonotic diseases, antimicrobial resistance and climate change. Each and every one of us can start to make small changes immediately to become more sustainable – in how we use single-use plastics through to how we support our clients in climate-responsible pet ownership and livestock production.
Will Stirling – Managing Partner at Vets Digital
Biggest Challenge – With the current recruitment crisis and a massively increased demand in services due to the exponential rise in pet ownership (3.2 million extra pets alone in the UK), the veterinary industry potentially faces a reduction in the quality of their service offering and care. The increase in pet acquisition, and a rise in prices, means pet owners are often not able to see the value in the services that they receive. The changing nature of consumption habits driven by millennials and Gen Z also means that clinics have to adapt rapidly – and with little resource, time and money, that can be somewhat challenging. In order to combat this, it pays for clinics to integrate a holistic, smart business strategy, strengthen the commercial aspects and have a long term marketing strategy to build trust and educate pet owners in responsible long-term pet ownership. This would clearly show customers the value they are receiving when they visit their vet.
Biggest Opportunity – Massively increased demand for services means there are a whole new tranche of consumers with new demands, there is the opportunity to offer new business models and digital services like telemedicine, using new technologies to drive change.
Those practices that have a strategic plan to utilise their digital platforms effectively can take this opportunity to stand out, to lead and innovate. We are already seeing the rise of a new breed of boutique vet practice start-ups leading the way with exciting new business models and I think this will only increase in the future.
Be sure to check out our eBook, Navigating What’s Next: How to Manage Change in Your Veterinary Practice, a free resource full of insights and practical tips to help guide your practice’s change journey this year.
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