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Alumni Profiles

Pam Girdwood

Mixed Practice, Northumberland

Having done most of my EMS at my local mixed practice in Alnwick, Northumberland I was delighted when they offered me a job 2 months before I graduated in 2005.  I started the day after we arrived back from the final year holiday and I’ve been there ever since.  I have no intentions of moving on especially because my family is here and I’m marrying a local farmer later this year. 

The job that was offered to me was mainly small animal work but they knew that my heart lay in mixed practice so by swapping around a couple of vets I managed to get an adequate amount of exposure to horses and farm work to maintain my enthusiasm.  A year down the line, an additional vet was employed which freed me up to do almost 100% large animal work at a more remote branch.  Then 2 years ago, due to amalgamation with a neighbouring practice I opted to move to another branch and now do approximately 50% small animal work, 40% farm and 10% equine.  I feel quite privileged to be one of the few truly mixed practice vets in the UK as on any day I can treat up to 10 different species!

I love the variety that mixed practice brings and the seasonality associated with farm work.  However, small animal work is generally more rewarding and makes you feel more appreciated by clients.  I also enjoy working as part of a team.

The RVC was my only offer when I applied to vet school. Moving from ‘up north’ in the middle of nowhere in Scotland to halls in central London was a huge shock to the system but probably a good thing to broaden my horizons.

In terms of what I enjoyed most at the RVC I would say: rugby, rugby, rugby!  I spotted the photos of the girls’ team in the prospectus and having played at school I couldn’t wait to get back into it.  At times when college work was getting me down it was what kept me going.  I was vice captain then captain but unfortunately the league and cup titles escaped us during my time on the squad.  It was a great way to meet girls from different college years and the best social life you could ever dream of!

With the number of pupils in each year nowadays I don’t think any of the vet schools can prepare you practically for the ‘real world’, I think EMS is far more likely to do this.  Fortunately I found a very good, forward-thinking mixed practice that I stuck with throughout the clinical years and they let me get involved practically in lots of cases. However, communication, team work skills and tasks such as herd health planning were very well covered and probably more advanced than in other colleges.

My advice for those considering entering the veterinary profession would be: if someone else has picked this career path for you, stop now!  But if you are committed and determined to succeed, veterinary medicine will offer you a great life.  Vet school was a huge turning point for me but things are probably even better since I graduated. 

Initially I found vet school very challenging – everyone goes from being top of their year getting 90% in every test to being somewhat lower down the ladder.  But things settle down and, like everyone else, you make friends there that you’ll never lose touch with.

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