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New graduates are worth the energy
Alison Lambert.
Onswitch director suggests why a new graduate could be a safe bet for your practice

"It's not just veterinary business that has a recruitment problem, recruitment is an issue across the whole business sector," said OnSwitch managing director Alison Lambert, speaking at BSAVA Congress on Thursday (5 April).

Alison made an important point that, empirically, we don't have a shortage of vets. Currently, we have more vets registering than ever before, she said. The real issue for recruitment is the number of veterinary premises which have risen from 2000 in the year 2000 to the current number of 5089.

She suggested that a new graduate could be a safe bet for your practice as long as you have planned the appointment. It is important to look at your business, analyse your data (work done and revenue) and see what a new graduate could do.

Graduates will be able to hit revenue targets if they are given the appropriate tasks. For most practices, their greatest income is generated by consults and vaccinations and this is an area that new graduates could easily be moved into. Indeed, most graduates' diagnostic workups will create a high revenue, possibly more than existing vets.

It is also important to be aware of what a new graduate wants from their first job. Alison listed some of the requirements, including the support of a veterinary team with experience, a good work-life balance, a CPD plan (this is far more important to new graduates than most practices think), a good social structure, reasonable working hours with a lunch break and a salary that will build up in time to £40k.

It is important to have information about graduate programmes and graduate recruitment in your practice and to actively encourage their applications.

Alison's final points were that recruitment, particularly for new graduates, is business critical and that the employer brand matters. Practices need to design a revenue model into which a new graduate can fit and make sure that it is a team based business.

"Nurture new graduates," she said. "They can do a good job and will be part of your employer brand".

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.