Completely disillusioned =(

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Alison Clare Hickman — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 14:25:48 GMT

Hey there Elerrina,

I see - - - that's not a good place to find yourself in .

So then it goes back to what we've said to you earlier then honey. Talk to your boss and discuss / agree what you can and cannot do so there is no conflict for you. It may also be a perception thing...if other people don't realise you are doing things in your own time they may think you have abandoned your paid-for role? Again, it would be a good idea for the boss to approve your 'extra-curricular' activities and let the rest of the team know what is going on.

Good luck and my thoughts are with you. Chin up!

Ali h

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Elerrina — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:05:30 GMT

Thanks for looking Ali but I'm currently doing the VCA course from CAW though that hasn't been too great as in the head vet who ok'd it assumed it was just going to be me doing work and i only needed a mentor to do practicals. Which obviously isn't the case as my mentor has to give feedback on all my written assignments to which they weren't happy about.

The thing was that i didnt ask to do the lab stuff one of the vets started trying to get me to do it because no one else was interested in looking at slides and things and i have always loved doing that kind of thing. And the head vet said it was good and there was no reason i couldnt do it as they dont often have time to look at them. But then the next thing i hear is that theyre not supposed to be teaching me things because its taken me away from my normal jobs. Which i really dont understand how it has as i've done it in my lunch break and when its quiet :S

And i guess it was just that which made it all the more upsetting - to be told by multiple people it was fine to do and then suddenly be told actually no youre not cleaning properly. which is basically what it amounts to. And i was so excited doing it because i was learning things and doing well actually recognising the correct WBC and stuff

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Alison Clare Hickman — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 07:37:53 GMT

Hey there!

Hope a good nights sleep has brought a bit of cheer?

http://www.openstudycollege.com/

I have done some research for you and found a distance learning college called "Open Study College". They have animal care courses that will give you a paper qualification starting from Level 2 NCFE (equivalent to GCSE A* to C). You are given a tutor (email) and support packs etc. Have a look and see if there is anything you might like to do? As Sarahbeeee says, finding a practice to train in is hard to do so if you could stay where you are and do some self-supported training might that be a good idea? Do you think you could ask your boss about supporting you through this sort of distance learning? If he/she insists it should not impact on your existing duties then do you think that is possible?

I was thinking that if you remain at the practice and do embark on self-study, then if a vacancy became available for a trainee position your boss might be (more?) willing to promote you into it? It would certainly impress me that someone is working and striving that hard to get on.

Lots of questions from me, sorry! Just trying to help you if I can!

Ali h

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Sal the 1st — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:29:46 GMT

[quote user="Elerrina"]

But now i have heard that the vets aren't to "train me" as i am just an assistant and its taking me away from my other jobs (which i didn't feel it was as i only did it when it was quiet and higher staff it was ok for me to do so)

[/quote]

dont worry too much - maybe the vets are a bit stretched for time? But you could always do the VCA as a correspondence and maybe you can learn a lot without involving the vets if there is a nurse there that will help you

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Sarahbeeee — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 21:06:56 GMT

Hallo,

What about trying to get on one of the veterinary nursing courses at uni? There are foundation degrees, such as the one I did at the RVC, which don't require as high grades and are shorter than degree courses. Did you do A'levels or BTecs at school? If not there are evening classes for them. It's a long route but jobs at vet surgeries are so hard to find it would be worth it in the end. If I were you and I maybe wrong, just keep your solid job at the vets (which are like golddust) and be cooperative with what they want and try to get qualifications and apply for uni in your own time. Obviously it depends on your circumstances - if you live at home etc and how old you are to entitle you to study for a'levels free and student loans etc.

Take care.

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Alison Clare Hickman — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:23:08 GMT

Second to that Celine! (Five stars!)

Agree with job description - check out what it details and clarify it with your boss. But mostly, try to relax over the weekend and be very kind to yourself sweetie.

Ali h x x x x

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Celine — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:10:37 GMT

Oh, but this may not be able to happen until monday - so try not to stew too much about it over the weekend :(

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Celine — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 18:08:41 GMT

If you are being told that your job description has changed by anyone other than your manager then you need to go directly to the manager and ask if this is the case - it may not be!

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Alison Clare Hickman — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:53:04 GMT

Dear Elerrina,

I am so sad to hear your woes. Hugs from me too.

It sounds a familiar tale though, if I am honest... I work with a lovely girl who is employed as an assistant to the nurse/vet team to primarily clean up after us (kits, restocking, ironing, theatre maintenance, kennel cleaning and rabbit food preparation etc etc). She so desperately wants to train as an Animal Nursing Assistant or Animal Care Assistant but has been told that this is not on offer and she needs to concentrate on her core, cleaning, activities. She does occasionally help out by taking out kennel patients for toilet breaks or syringe feeding our rabbit patients and does get some practical experience with animals - but really only gets to do it when asked to, certainly not as a regular feature of her job.

She is currently looking to do Animal Care Assistant studies in her own time, at her own cost and under distance learning conditions. I guess she will move on to another job when she feels ready to spread her wings coz, realistically, she ain't gonna be allowed to do it where she is at the moment....

However, as the previous poster said, I'd agree with trying to chat with your boss and find out more. You never know, it mightn't be as gloomy as you think it is! Hope so, hope so, hope so.

Good luck and my very best wishes for your future.

Ali h

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Elerrina — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:14:46 GMT

We only have yearly appraisals and there is a kind of list of jobs im expected to do, but i only go and do the lets say extra curricular stuff when its quiet and in my lunch break too. It frustrates me that i'm not told this either, i mean how am i supposed to know im doing something wrong if im not told, that plus the fact the small animal manager said it was fine for me to do.

Re: Completely disillusioned =(

Celine — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 16:02:10 GMT

You poor thing, hugs.

How did you "hear" this? Do you actually have a manager who communicates directly with you? Do you have appraisals at work where you can outline your goals and management can give you direction as to what they actually want you to be doing? If not maybe you could request this from them? Unfortunately it is often the case in vet practices that vets buy a practice and then have no idea how to manage their staff and generally do a pretty s***ty job of running a team.

If you do have a job outline and it is clear that these are not tasks you are expected to do, then you can ask to do them but your employers obviously aren't beholden to you to let you do so. They have hired someone with the expectation of particular tasks being done. However it doesn't hurt to ask.

Beware of the catty atmosphere that can pervade some vet practices too. Some people (and I'm not soley pointing the finger at SVNs but it is pretty prevalent!!) can feel threatened by someone "subordinate" doing a good job and like to try to assert their superiority. It stems from insecurity and is to be pitied but in the meantime can sometimes spill over into bullying and I have observed this countless times between nurses and "kennel girls".

Hopefully if you approach someone senior with a request for an appraisal, and go into it with a list of ideas that you might be able to better yourself (and contribute more to their practice!) your initiative will be rewarded. Just don't make it sound like a list of demands!! Put it to them that these are ways you thought you could be more helpful, and hopefully the fact that you have done it will filter down to the vets and nurses and they will see how dedicated you are.

Good luck x