A young vet's passion for sustainability

I have to admit I was extremely shocked when I found out I had been nominated for BVA Young Vet of the Year. My colleagues had secretly nominated me and I was absolutely none the wiser until I found out I was a finalist. I am very grateful that they took the time to nominate me and I am very humbled knowing that I have such a supportive and caring team. I work with and know so many amazing young vets and it feels a bit surreal to be a finalist.

Hard but rewarding

Having qualified in 2019 from the University of Liverpool, after initially completing a BSc in bio veterinary science in 2014, I was eager to finally be a part of a profession I have fought so hard for! I was extremely lucky in my first job with a dedicated and caring mentorship which really helped me find my feet in those first few months. It’s safe to say the first few years in practice were a bit of a whirlwind, with Covid hitting after just six months of being a vet and having to learn a lot of new skills at the same time.

After finishing the graduate scheme in September 2021, my last year in practice has been juggling clinical work and trying to continue to develop my skills, while also focusing on my passion for sustainability. I will be the first to admit this last year in practice has been filled with highs and lows: I have definitely struggled with my confidence and a degree of perfectionism has sometimes affected my ability to enjoy the privileged position we are in as vets.

A passion for sustainability

When starting in my practice I was encouraged to share new ideas with the team. While on EMS at the practice I had noticed a few things which felt very unsustainable, for example, plastic shoe covers in theatre. After a few weeks in practice, I shared my ideas, which then snowballed into creating a green team who could make small “green” changes. Following on from this, our practice made significant changes to achieve an Investor in the Environment silver award in 2021 and then the Green award in 2022. During this process I have developed a better understanding of our carbon footprint and the different areas in which we can make appropriate changes to reduce this and reduce waste and anaesthetic gas usage.

I never thought I’d be spending my days off completing courses on understanding scope three admission, or trying to determine the impact of different waste streams, but I have relished the opportunity to make a difference for our practice.

Grab all opportunities

Based on what I have learned my advice to young vets would be to share opinions and take opportunities. You never know what you will be able to achieve and the area you will end up working in. I never thought a practice would let a new graduate re-write their anaesthetic protocols and procedures in an attempt to reduce anaesthetic gas, but here we are!

I have found myself in an extremely privileged position with a team and practice that has allowed me to develop and grow not only professionally but personally and I’m so excited for what the future may bring.