AIBU to consider teaching after becoming disillusioned with veterinary work?

[Sadvetatcrossroads]

I have been a small animal vet for 20+ years and have gone as far as I feel I can with it. I am a senior vet with responsibility for other staff and many other functions related to the safe running of a practice. I am kind, experienced and efficient, but feel really disillusioned with the profession.

As individuals we are so committed to our patients and clients, we always try to find a way to make things affordable and go the extra mile (giving clients a lift home, rescuing wildlife etc) but it all just feels so hostile now. The media and even MPs talk about “extortionate” prices, as if we are literally criminals. Clients distrust our advice (the same people who will ask their GP to run bloods, automatically think we are upselling by suggesting them). People assume that a 2 hour dental procedure under anaesthetic should cost the same as 20 minutes in a dentist chair subsidised by the NHS.

And for the budget prices people want to pay, using only our crystal ball and magic wand, owners expect correct diagnoses and effective treatments, and complain when things don’t work out perfectly, or that we can’t save their fur baby who has multiple health conditions and is the equivalent of over 100 in dog years, or they were kept waiting while we dealt with an emergency walk in (no a&e to send them to). They say they want an nhs for pets but would not be happy if we left them waiting for hours to be triaged or a year for a knee op. And to be honest, I know that veterinary medicine is expensive but I don’t really know where all the money goes either (corporate), it definitely doesn’t go on payrises or bonuses for our staff.

I enjoy teaching vet students, I can stand on my feet dealing with awkward people and explaining complicated things for 9 hour days. I have a very strong bladder and like teenagers.

Aibu to think about jacking it in and training to be a teacher?

could you get teaching post in a uni at the vet college ?

Surely, like all university lecturing jobs, you’d need to be at least studying for a PhD, or the vet equivalent. Most students would not be impressed if their lecturer only had a BSc or BA. You’d not get past the first sift.

I work in a vets and it's clients like you that make people like the op want to leave the profession.

Well it’s attitudes like this that make people mistrustful.

What, clients who know their dog, and want better care not unnecessary treatment? Right.

I'm going against the grain here and I think teaching might be worth exploring (although other posters are right in that your frustrations with public perception of your job won't be any different in teaching!)

I think the resilience, work ethic and people skills needed to be a vet, from what I have observed over many years of having animals, probably would stand you in good stead for teaching. It might be worth looking into training for chemistry because the shortage seems more acute there now than even in physics, and I imagine you've got a decent chemistry subject knowledge and qualification to get into vetmed.

I've been teaching science for 20 years and I still enjoy it. Teenagers are (mostly) great!

Well thats the first misinformation out there then
Check it out on google

I’ve had similar thoughts - I still actually really love being a vet but increasingly my favourite bits are teaching the other vets and nurses; plus the prospect of not having to juggle childcare over the school holidays is pretty appealing!

Ultimately what swung it for me was I really like having autonomy at work, and problem solving, and I’m not sure teaching these days would give much of either - you are constantly judged /pressured from above (SLT, academy trust, government, parents) and ultimately so little is in your control.

Have you considered something like working for the RCVS or VDS? Bit of a change of direction but still using your experience, and less public facing.

Google tells you the higher end of the market. I work in a profession that says i should be on £200k a year but the reality is most in the industry is on about £30-£50k.

Ah ok

Thank you for this

To be fair my post sounds moany, but I have been thinking about it for some time. I have been really impressed by the teaching and support my own kids have received at our (state) secondary and I do already volunteer with children/young people.
I didn’t find chemistry difficult when I did it (I got an A as a prerequisite for vet school) but feel like I’ve forgotten heaps. It crops up all over the place in vet med (acid/base, electrolyte balance, radioactive iodine treatment etc) but I feel like I’d need to relearn the whole thing for gcse/a level. All I seem to remember is blast furnace, benzene rings and endless titration.

Does the PGCE reteach the science theory you’ve forgotten or would I need to relearn/resit this myself prior to the course?

Telling someone to check Google regarding salaries in the profession they’ve been in for 20 years is a tad patronising.

I’ve never seen a vet job advertised for £150k, ever, and I work in London. The absolute max would be probably £100k and that would be only for vets who do something really specialist like spinal surgery (bringing in a large amount of income) and take significant management responsibility (I always suspect a proportion of these high salaries is actually performance related / profit share). Average for a normal GP vet of 10+ years qualified is probably about 60k, maybe a bit more if you have a postgrad qualification or if you’re a ‘clinical director/head vet’.

I meant check as in check the.misinformation out there causing some of the resentment.
If someone could give vets a platform people may understand the issues and they can correct misinformation. A vet tried today on radio 4 and the host kept talking over her.
Someone quoted this google thing and a lot of people now ask google and take it as a given. Also big chains need to be transparent

I cannot speak for all PGCEs but my PGCE did not teach me my subject. It was purely about education i.e. learning styles etc.

I'd recommend teaching at a vet college rather than a school, however, be prepared as teaching salaries for FE are very low.

Noooo 😭 this is the profession my Y12 daughter dreams of getting into and is now desperately searching for vet practices that take work experience students (which is proving hard!)

Sadly I don't think the parents of your human 'babies' are going to be any less expecting and ungracious than your current furry ones. Teaching is a very thankless task.

I honestly don't know why people complain about vets (and dentists) "ripping us off". Do they not understand that these are highly qualified people who studied for 5+ years? It seems the NHS has made some people very spoilt. The same people will think nothing of spending £100+ on a trip to the hairdresser.

Its the big chains, its getting to the point people are having to give up their animals and insurance is useless

I've watched all three independent vets in my area change massively over 40 years. It used to be like going to see Peter on the Yorkshire Vet programme - until the big corporates became involved and took over/became greedy. I know at one of my local practices that they charge unnecessarily (receptionist confided in me) for say, Apoquel check ups - the drug itself it extortionate; 2 of my dogs are on it for life, which I accept as it's the only thing that works and they're insured, but I have to pay a percentage and the full cost up front. They used to only be required a check up twice a year. Now it's every time they need the prescription, so 4 times a year. Thats about £85 x 2 then the meds are on top. Apoquel alone is £400ish every 12 weeks for one and £110 for the smaller dog. (Atopic dermatitis) and ai have two dogs with this lifelong condition. A pet has become a luxury item these days and it breaks my heart for those being given up because of the costs. I don't blame the vets - it's the corporates. There are a few mobile vets appearing in my area now - and also vet nurses- could that be a possibility? Please don't give up your profession - you have so much to offer but maybe in a different setting.. Good luck whatever you decide.

What about university teaching to veterinary students? It seems a waste of your expertise to retrain completely. Also, our vet is an independent. Is that not a possibility any more?

When my cat dies I will not be able to have another pet due to the cost (she's on palliative care currently). That's life surely? The responsibility and expectation of pet ownership have increased massively over the last few decades and with that comes greater costs. I don't believe it's a right to have a pet, if you can't afford it you can't have one.

Go into a school for a few days and shadow before making any rash decisions.

The ways MN makes schools sound does not reflect my experience of them.
Yes it's long, hard work, but it's incredibly rewarding and I have never had so much free time in any other job

Peoples circumstances change. My aunt didnt expect to get severly ill her husband leave her and no longer be able to work

I am a Science teacher op feel free to PM me any questions.

I love vets. They look after my pets and make sure they are happy and healthy.
I fucking hate how vets are seen. People moaning about a £50 fee to see a vet. It does not go in that vets pocket. It is split between the vet, all the other staff and all the outgoings like electricity etc.
But people go on like the vet is the only person getting that money.
Vets have a super high rate of suicide. I can see why.