Managing a family and a veterinary career is unquestionably a challenge. New parents must juggle domestic responsibilities and childcare arrangements with the unpredictable hours and demanding workload of veterinary practice. As well as dealing with the practicalities, new parents may also be getting to grips with the dynamic changes to their relationships, emotions and self-identity that welcoming a new member of the family can bring.
According to a 2020 AVMA survey, about 30 percent of companion animal vets said they wanted to work fewer hours to improve their work–life balance and mental health. In the RCVS 2019 Survey of the Veterinary Profession, 23.4 percent of veterinary surgeons were working part-time, and almost half of the veterinary surgeons taking a career break were on parental leave or looking after children – for female vets, this is the main reason for taking a career break.
Twenty-three point four percent of veterinary surgeons were working part-time, and almost half of the veterinary surgeons taking a career break were on parental leave or looking after children
The rapid pace of change in the veterinary sector, with workforce shortages, changing client expectations, evolving practices and technologies, increasing workloads and squeezed finances makes for a testing time for many practices. For new parents, these factors increase the challenge of working out what is manageable around childcare and finding sufficient flexibility in their roles.
The concern of return
Returning to work after maternity leave can present some complexities to iron out. Concerns surrounding the need for flexible hours, feeling out of practice in the profession after a period of leave, new protocols or changes to veterinary regulations mean that for many it’s a daunting time. The prospect of returning to a familiar practice when people, procedures and drugs may have changed may also feel intimidating at first.
New mothers may still be breastfeeding and experiencing new circumstances in their home lives, and may also feel they have changed substantially as a person. “I feel constantly guilty that I’m compromising either my job or my children. It feels awful if I’m leaving earlier than the rest of the team, but equally awful if I don’t see my kids because of a long shift,” says Fiona, an equine vet with two young children.
As children get older, the pressures on vet parents can be different with school and extracurricular and social activities to work around, and the ever-present problem of finding suitable – and affordable – childcare for both term-time and school holidays.
So, what can help to ease the pressure?
Solutions for new parents
Individual employers can play a significant role in finding solutions to ensure vet parents can enjoy a rewarding work and family life. Practices that embrace a positive culture and value their employees highly are often willing to offer flexibility that allows new parents to thrive in practice and continue to develop their veterinary career – and be more likely to stay at the practice. Options like part-time hours, shorter shifts, reduction of out-of-hours expectations or term-time contracts can help vet parents to continue to work in practice as well as doing what they need to care for their family.
Options like part-time hours, shorter shifts, reduction of out-of-hours expectations or term-time contracts can help vet parents to continue to work in practice as well as doing what they need to care for their family
“My practice was really accommodating when my children were small. They allowed me to work flexibly, doing blocks of consults in the middle of the day,” says Katy, a small animal vet from East Anglia. “That was balanced by me being as flexible as possible and offering to cover whenever I could. My practice manager made it clear that making temporary accommodations while children were small was worth it to keep valued staff.”
Many CPD providers and organisations now offer training specifically tailored towards vets and vet nurses returning after maternity leave or a career break. Return-to-work courses help refresh clinical knowledge and skills in key areas and provide an update on changes in practice. They can help vet mums feel more confident about returning to their veterinary career alongside managing a family.
As well as courses from commercial CPD providers, the RCVS Academy offers a free digital “Nurse Return” course for people who work in the veterinary field, helping to enable vet nurses to refresh their clinical skills and knowledge. Recognising the need to support those returning after leave, BEVA recently launched its first “Back in the Saddle” coaching programme, and the BVA provides a return-to-work resource for members designed to support returning team members.
A circle of support
Good support is essential to a new parent returning to a veterinary career, whether that is practical or emotional support from family and friends, developing strong and mutually supportive relationships with colleagues, or finding the right childcare. “Covering evening surgery was a big issue,” says Katy. “I was lucky to find an accommodating childminder who was able to work in the evenings and didn’t mind if I was late.”
Support is not just about the practicalities of ensuring that children are safe and well cared for. It is also about having assistance with the mental load of family life, which often falls disproportionately on mothers, to avoid overwhelm by the whole gamut of domestic and social organisation. It is important that personal time to maintain health and well-being is available to new vet parents, that they can find emotional support when needed and that couples can make the time and headspace to maintain their relationship through a time when much is changing.
Practices can help to support new parents – and indeed the whole vet team – by cultivating a positive culture of inclusivity and curiosity, actively listening to each other and working to really understand others’ needs
Practices can help to support new parents – and indeed the whole vet team – by cultivating a positive culture of inclusivity and curiosity, actively listening to each other and working to really understand others’ needs and points of view.
“It’s also really important that practices respect that work is work, and home is home,” says Fiona. “Managers can help by ensuring that everyone is aware of staff’s working hours and needs.”
Katy sums up: “In our practice, there was a real atmosphere of teamwork so that we all supported each other and worked together to cover the workload. It’s so important to have that attitude that we can make it work for everyone.”
