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WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
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LIVESTOCK MATTERS
About me
I am a veterinary student in my third year
at the Royal Veterinary College. I grew
up mostly in South East London spending
every moment I could further south east
in Kent, working on farms and stable
yards. Having escaped living in London
to enjoy the fresh air of Hertfordshire with
the husband, dogs, cats, small furries,
reptiles, horses and my own small herd
of dairy goats.
Starting out
The first few weeks of starting as a new graduate vet is a very daunting
experience. I definitely underestimated how tiring upping my life and
moving to a completely different part of the country without knowing
anybody would be, and that's before I even started a day’s clinical work.
But after four months I have really started to find my feet and I’m now
getting into the swing of things.
GRADUATE DIARY
Emily Francis,
BSc MRCVS BVM&S
Torch Farm Vets
My day-to-day work is really varied and
I’m making the most of not having routine
fertility visits as I get out and about with
emergency work. I love getting into the
practice every morning not knowing what
cases may be thrown at me. My confidence
is improving daily in being able to clinically
assess sick animals and make the best
possible treatment plan, even if I am unsure
of the cause. One thing I have learnt is to
ask questions. Despite feeling like a
reoccurring nightmare, everyone is so
helpful and you can gain so much
information from going back to the practice
and discussing cases to gain a bit more
of a detailed picture about what you have
seen. I always try to follow up the cases
with farmers to keep building on the
experience bank and it's so rewarding when
a sick animal you have seen has improved.
With lambing season well underway my
days are getting busier and I managed to
get my first caesar under my belt before
Christmas; there were some very lively Dorset
lambs up and about before I left the farm.
As a student, TB testing is always quite a
laborious task but I underestimated how
useful it would be for a new graduate in
getting out on farm and meeting farmers. It’s
also an opportunity to see every animal go
through the crush, it sparks up conversations
on how things are going and I very rarely
do a test without seeing a clinical case.
However, they can be stressful days for all
involved and they really teach you empathy
for the situation that the farmers are currently
in, especially in the south west. A clear test
makes my day just as much as finding a
reactor can really dampen it, but these highs
and lows are part and parcel of the job.
I have got heavily involved in the XLVets Calf
Tracker scheme which our practice started
running with our dairy farms a few months
ago. The scheme aims to get farmers to
look at their heifer rearing by measuring
colostrum transfer, growth rates and disease
incidence. Calf health is one of my key
interests and my Calf Tracker visits are
giving me an invaluable opportunity to get
on farm and see how different farmers raise
their heifers, and how this translates onto
paper. One thing is for sure, I have become
pretty quick at taking blood samples from
small, wriggly calves! The mild wet weather
is contributing to the increasing numbers of
calf pneumonia cases this winter, some days
it feels like a pneumonia hotline in the
office! But it has meant my knowledge was
quickly brushed up in order to help each
individual with the situation on their
particular farm.
As my year progresses I’m sure I will have
lots of clinical achievements, and just as
many failures to share with you. My biggest
advice for other farm vet new graduates is:
make road maps your best friend, get
involved with everything you possibly can
and make sure you give yourself enough
time to enjoy it!
I graduated from the University of
Edinburgh in Summer 2015 and started
my farm vet internship programme at Torch
Farm Vets the following October. I am part
of a large team of 17 dedicated farm
vets, four TB testers and a whole host of
invaluable support staff based over five
sites covering North Devon.
My interest in pro uction a imal medicine
was well cemented before starting
university and I have not once looked
back on my decision to go straight into
purely farm animal practice. Even on rainy
days, which are a very common
occurrence in Devon, I can’t imagine
doing anything else.
I took part in the XLVets farm graduate
programme in late 2015 and it’s really
helped me get off the ground with clinical
decision making by refreshing my
knowledge and asking all those stupid
new graduate questions! I met a great
bunch of people and it’s a great way to
reach out to the wider XLVets community.
I have a particular interest in calf health,
youngstock management and the
prevention of perinatal lamb losses, I
hope to learn a huge amount more in
these areas in the following months.
Outside of work I have just joined a local
cricket club to continue my keen interest in
playing and coaching when I am not out
walking my new Springer Spaniel ‘Ted’.