advice needed

Re: advice needed

Louise B — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:35:55 GMT

Hi Kaz84 - good luck and fingers crossed for you.

Re: advice needed

kaz84 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 11:11:35 GMT

thanks so much for all your responses. i had a bad day on thursday and that was enough... after a few wines/light headness I applied for the job. I have spoken to a few other vets and family members and they all say go for it. Im aware of what is expected of the job, my partner is an RA in a lab and works very closes with lab techs so he has fully informed me about what may be ahead. I have mixed emotions... excitement/nerves but it is a field im willing to get into and i support animal research to an extent if in the good will and advancement of medicine. so i am prepared to face the challenges aheah and except the difference between the veterinary/human medical fields.

Re: advice needed

Sarah Nicholas — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:10:55 GMT

I am right there with you. Following a let down re my prospects in my practice I feel totally despondent, jaded and have lost all enthusiasm =(

Re: advice needed

les punton — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:54:46 GMT

im right with you on this one!

I love the nursing side but its all the crap that goes with it! owners expectations and all the lack of recognition, crap pay (although if everything was hunky dorey the pay wouldnt bother me) but the more crap I put up with the more I want paid!!!!

Im begining to believe that nursing is not the be all and end all......tho I wouldnt like to stray away from it completely if I was brave enough to try something else I would. Reading the comments Im pleased Im not alone.

Sorry this is no help kaz, hope you sort things out xx

Re: advice needed

Louise B — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:39:53 GMT

Hi,

I work in animal research as well as in veterinary nursing and there is a big difference. The main one that you need to be aware of is that in animal research, most laboratories are going to put the animals to sleep either as part of a scientific procedure or at the end of experiment (the home office discourages use of the same animal for repeat experiments so the numbers of animals involved can be very large). Very often these are going to be fit healthy animals that could be rehomed (including animals that have been bred but not used) and it is likely to be one of your jobs to euthanase these. Some methods of euthanasia (while certified humane) you may feel uncomfortable with e.g. cervical dislocation, guilotene method but are used if tissues need to be harvested afterwards. This may make you feel very uncomfortable. In my lab I personally euthanase all my birds at the end of the study rather than allow anyone else to do it as I feel it is better for the welfare of my birds to be handled by someone that they know/feel comfortable being handled by than by a stranger but it is VERY difficult when you have personally cared for these birds for several months and know them all individually.

The focus in labs is very different as the emphasis is on 'for the greater good' rather than 'each individual as worthy in their own right' and this bit I found most difficult in moving between the two fields.

The career opportunities/pay/prospects are very good. There is always a threat from animal rights activists but, to be honest, it is minimal. I have only ever experienced leaflets being handed out in public that 'named and shamed' one of the organisations I work for.

You will need to hold a personal license (Home Office Approval) to do anything to the animals and I am sure that the university will put you through this course. Anything you can do via schedule 3 you cannot do to a lab animal without first having this license and the procedures that you can do and which species you can do it to stated on this license so it is much more tightly regulated than in vet practice (which I agree with). The first time I injected a bird I had to be supervised by an experienced license-holder as my vet nurse qualification was not 'proof' of competancy even though I had been injecting for longer than my supervisor.

Check out the home office website for the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act for more info. You are welcome to PM me if you would like to know offline.

Re: advice needed

Sal the 1st — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:06:26 GMT

I did the crash and burn thing a year ago as of last week. My advice is if you can see this coming do anything you can to stop it happening , whatever it takes- it takes so much effort to drag yourself out of it once it has happened, I'm only just getting a handle on this a year on

Re: advice needed

Mac Feather — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:16:03 GMT

I think I burnt out/had enough- infact it was around this time last year I just decided I couldnt carry on where I was. There are no other practices near me so I had to look at other things- I worked in a cafe very briefly, it was an eye opener, there were some seriously rude people there too! (not just the customers either!) It wasnt for me so for the first time in my life I decided I had to call that a day and left without having another job to go to.

I looked at other jobs in my local area- not alot to be had and of course others had more experience.

Anyway I now have a part time job with vetfone so I still use my V.N qualification, keeps my brain cell active and I enjoy it.

Your health and wellbeing are very important so all I can say is dont make yourself ill over the job ( I was in tears every morning before work and thats just not good). I think it isnt an easy decision as I had been there a long time and knew alot of clients and their pets over the years. I was sad to leave as well as relieved.

Re: advice needed

Kerry Spain — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 10:04:31 GMT

I'm deffo getting to the burn out stage, for one second its not the animals, its always the idiots which come along with the animals. I'm getting devoid of emotion now when I try to communicate with them. I get bombarded with rudeness, agression, idiocy and other behaviour which I can not describe with words. I think I've had enough.

I thought I had the chance of a new job but I don't think much will come of it. I thought a change would do me the world of good.

Oh well failing that I can just get a job stacking shelves at a local supermarket at least I will be on more money!!!

Re: advice needed

Dodo bird — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:37:36 GMT

Hi ive just read your post and felt i had to reply to it. Im sorry that you feel so down and even having that break hasnt helped. I have never changed out of nursing ( getting older,kids,i like the people i work with etc) but i do agree with you that sometimes the public can be very rude and occasionally bullying and intimidating!! (own experiences). However i feel that if they are really getting to you that much it will eventually become too much for you and i think you should try a change ,even though its a big step.My mother in law was a carer to downs syndrome adults for over 20yrs and walked in one day and felt irritated by something one of them did, she called it "burn out" and knew it was time for her to leave and move on , i hope if i get into that situation i will know its time to do the same thing, perhaps this is your time?. I hope whatever decision you make ,makes you happy because work is one of those activities that we spend alot of our time doing and so we should enjoy it.

best wishes for the future

kathy