What Needs to Change to Keep Equine Vets in Clinical Work?

The veterinary profession is increasingly unable to sustain itself and 37% of vets are actively thinking about leaving the profession [1]. There is also a mental ill-health crisis where 74% of vets are concerned about stress and burn-out in the profession [2]. This, coupled with the continual feminisation of the profession, indicates that changes in how the profession functions are necessary. There is a strong need to establish healthy working practices in veterinary clinics. When asked what one thing vets would change about their current job, working hours came in first place [3]. The RCVS Survey of the Profession highlights that while vets typically work over 40 hours a week, those in equine-only practices work notably higher average full-time hours of 50.5 [4]. So, what can be done about this? Increasing the flexibility of clinical veterinary practices is key to creating a more engaged and sustainable workforce. Personalised work flexibility helps workers to fulfil their individual responsibilities and may result in improved work–life balance [5]. There are many ways of working in a more flexible manner to benefit the individual, keep a unified team, sustain a profitable business, and ensure a happy patient. Flexible working denotes the ability of the practice team to collectively work in such a manner that allows individuals to vary where they work, when they work, how they work and what they work upon, for example:

• Where we work – doing paperwork from home, working from a different branch, teleconsulting
• When we work – working flexible full-time such as a 4-day compressed week, personalised start and finish times, or a combination of in-practice and remote
• What hours we work – some type of part-time working such as job sharing or working fewer days/hours per week
• What we work upon – personalising the roles and responsibilities to suit the individual’s career development to support both clinical and nonclinical skill sets.

While the above is not an exhaustive list, it may serve as a starting point for team conversations when they are ideating on what flexibility means to them and how they would like their practice to be more flexible. Flexible working is a team effort and needs to be approached proactively to ensure fairness for the team.

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