Mark Hedberg

Mark Hedberg on overcoming the problems facing new graduates

"They say sorry is the hardest word. No it's not, it's help, because no one likes asking for help," said Mark Hedberg during a lecture at BSAVA Congress.

Mental health has been a key cause for concern among the veterinary profession for some time and poor preparation for life in practice has been highlighted as one possible contributor.

Addressing this during a talk on making the transition from vet school to practice, Mark shared his own experiences of these issues, quoting: "Depression is not a sign of weakness, it means you have been strong for far too long," something he says applies to many in the profession.

Mark urged delegates to seek help from friends, family, colleagues and the Veterinary Benevolent Fund, should they find themselves in a similar position. "Once you actually start talking about it, it's amazing how many of us there are," he said.

A key aspect of preparing for life in practice is accepting that sometimes things will go wrong: "We are here to save every patient, make every client happy and get every bill paid. When it all goes wrong we beat ourselves up because we hate failure."

In this situation, Mark said vets should first find out what went wrong and take responsibility rather than accepting fault - and apologising to clients is not a bad thing.

He offers several tips for graduates entering their first job in practice:

• Don't compare yourself to others - "If everyday I remind myself I'm not as good as bones, I'm not as good as hearts, I'm not as good as allergies, I'm only reminding myself of the negatives," he said
• Remember there's no shame in doing the best you can with what you've got available - and accept that sometimes it'll work and sometimes it won't
  
• Value veterinary nurses and ask your colleagues' advice (and take it) - they are not going to think less of you, in fact they will probably think more of you
  
• Accept (privately) that sometimes in first opinion practice you won't know what the problem is with a patient
  

In dealing with clients:

• Set clients' expectations early - for example, are you looking at curing or managing the condition?
• Always have a back-up plan for tests and/or treatments you are going to carry out - and tell the client what you are doing
  
• Increase the cost estimates and expected recovery times you quote to clients a little, just in case
  
• Give owners something to do at home, for example if their pet has an eye infection, ask them to bathe it daily - this means they will be looking at the area each day and it encourages them to take ownership of the situation
  
• Write down your successes and refer back to them if you reach a low point
  
• Be confident - if you don't feel it right away, "fake it till you make it"
  
• Believe in yourself - "The more you believe in yourself, the more over folks are going to believe in you, then you take your strength from them, but you've got to start somewhere."