August 2002   VOLUME 55: Number 8 Veterinary Ireland Journal Page CONTENTS Peer review articles are available in full as  Acrobat PDF files You will need to download the Acrobat reader    which can be got free at this web site

EDITORIAL   

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State of the profession

A major survey of the veterinary profession in Ireland has been undertaken on behalf of Veterinary Ireland. Preliminary results have been received and provide some valuable insights. The eagerly awaited results of the survey will now be analysed by Veterinary Ireland’s Interest Groups: the Companion Animal Society (VICAS); the Equine Group; the State Sector Employees; the Food Animal Group; the Local Authority Veterinary Service (LAVS); and the Education, Research and Industry Group. The information will also be analysed by Veterinary Ireland’s Committees: the Business and Practice Development Committee; the Animal Remedies Committee; the Animal Health Committee; the Animal Welfare Committee; the Public Health Committee; and the Continuing Professional Development Committee who will determine how the research can be used to its full potential. In short, the findings will be used by Veterinary Ireland in developing its policies and programmes for the coming years.

The report of the survey summarises the views of 161 veterinary surgeons on different aspects of their work. Fieldwork was conducted in March 2002 by telephone interview: 109 practising vets and 52 non-practising vets employed by the State, Local Authorities, in education and in industry were interviewed. These are representative of a population of 1,763 working vets. The survey has come at an interesting time in the natural history of Veterinary Ireland. The organisation is now up and running for over a year. The survey will provide a useful marker as to where the profession is at the moment, how it has changed and what the trends are for the future.

The following are some of the findings of the survey:

•            Veterinary surgeons spend a considerable amount of time working or being available for work by being on call. On average vets work for 53.3 hours each week and are on call for a further 46.5 hours.

•            Practices tend to be quite small. 22% have one veterinary practitioner, 22% have two veterinary surgeons, a further 22% have three veterinary surgeons, 15% have four veterinary surgeons and only 18% have five or more veterinary surgeons.

•           An average of 1.3 veterinary nurses of all types, part-time and full-time, qualified and student nurses are employed per practice. The greatest number of nurses are employed in companion animal practices, an average of 4.59 vs. an average of 1.34 for equine practices and only 0.5 for large animal practices.

•           On average veterinary surgeons took 19 days holiday per year. Vets in practice took an average of 17.6 days vs. 23.1 days for vets working outside of practices.

•           75% of veterinary surgeons spent some time on CPD in the last 12 months. Position in practice is likely to affect the amount of time spent on CPD. Partners are more likely to attend CPD events than are sole principals. Full-time assistants are more likely to attend CPD events than are part-time assistants. Clinical society meetings are the most popular CPD events.

•           In the next five years large animal veterinary surgeons expect the volume of work devoted to companion animals, preventative herd health and animal health product sales to increase.

•            Respondents’ views were sought regarding the positive and negative aspects of having more female vets working in the profession. Five positive perceptions emerged, namely: that it is good to have a gender balance; that female vets are more caring and compassionate in their dealings with animals; they are seen as more conscientious and diligent; are better with small animals; and have better communication skills. Although 18% of respondents felt that there was nothing negative about having more women working in the profession, other respondents alluded to serveral negative perceptions, a number of which were interrelated. By far the greatest perceived problem is the physical nature of the work leading to disadvantages in large animal practice and to female vets opting out of the profession earlier. Other major problems are those of taking time off for the family and also for maternity leave and that long hours and weekend work don’t suit women. Related to these problems, it was felt that women don’t want to work full-time and, therefore, are not willing to accept senior positions in practice.

The above are just some of the many findings of this extensive survey. In future issues of the Irish Veterinary Journal further information will be reported in more detail. It is thought that the survey will go a long way towards providing direction for the profession at this crucial stage of its development n

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