Vet sector versus mental health

摘要

I WORKED in veterinary practice for nearly 14 years. The first practice was a lovely old vicarage in a beautiful little town. I did my veterinary nurse training there and they were like my family. After eight years I felt I had achieved all I could and it was time to move on to pastures new.The thought of a new place and people was daunting. The new practice was very busy and rather different to what I had been used to. However, everyone was welcoming, and after a few weeks I had settled in well. Fast forward six years -1 had become the senior nurse and had a lot of responsibilities.We were a busy, thriving practice. I took on the role of training students, alongside my other daily duties, and out-of-hours on-call became necessary, so I also shared that with another nurse. Some weeks I would find myself working in excess of 60 hours. But I carried on, believing it was necessary, and if I didn't keep my head up and march on, I would be thought badly of or be "letting the side down".