Vets move into non-clinical roles after seven years
BVA senior vice president Gudrun Ravetz said the figures are a ‘wake-up call’ to employers.
Vets who make the switch to non-clinical work do so after seven years, according to research conducted by the British Veterinary Association (BVA).
Figures from the BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey show that 73 per cent of vets that had made the move worked in mixed practice at some point in their career. On average, these vets decided to move to non-clinical roles seven years after qualification.
BVA senior vice president Gudrun Ravetz said the figures are a ‘wake-up call’ to employers over the issue of retaining staff.
Searching for a new challenge or looking for a different type of work were the most common reasons cited by vets for making the move. Vets also based their decision on improving their work/life balance, with a quarter saying they wanted a role with no out-of-hours work and 14 per cent wanting more flexible working hours.
Other reasons giving for leaving a lack of career progression and a desire for less stress. The figures also show that women tended to leave earlier in their career, an average of 6.5 years after they qualified, compared to eight years for men.
“These figures show that there is a sizeable percentage of practising vets who are making the move into non-clinical roles and that there are a variety of reasons behind their decision,” said BVA senior vice president Gudrun Ravetz. “There is a huge diversity of career paths open to vets and it’s important both for those who are already in practice and for those considering a veterinary career to be aware of all the options available.
“I have had a portfolio career myself that involved clinical practice in all different business models including charity practice and industry and I know that the most important thing is for vets to feel fulfilled in their chosen roles and understand that there is a wide range of opportunity available to them.
“However, we also know that practices are seriously worried about being able to recruit and retain staff. Looking at the reasons for leaving – including a desire for more flexibility, a better work/life balance, and concerns about stress – this has to be a wake-up call to all employers to think about whether we can do things differently to support our colleagues.”
“BVA has a role to play too and many of the Vet Futures actions are designed to address these issues, including the workforce study commissioned by BVA, the development of a careers hub, and our support for the Mind Matters Initiative led by RCVS, amongst others. These are issues that the profession must tackle together.”
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
