One of the rewarding and self-fulfilling tasks of the president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) is that of contributing a regular feature to The Canadian Veterinary Journal. The president is provided with an opportunity to bestow a 1000 or so words of wisdom on fellow veterinarians on a recurring basis. My first thought was that this would be a simple task. The CVMA is involved in so many activities, I was certain there would be no shortage of material. Truly there is not. The problem is that when I sat down and closely considered the variety of involvement I have had with the profession, I realized that the issues are so large, so complex, and so important — that a mere 1000 words can only be an introduction.
I would like to use this introductory article to share some of my views on the life of a veterinarian. Hopefully, this will provide a springboard for future submissions. I have promised myself not to preach about “apathy” within the profession, and to preach only a little bit about other issues I am passionate about. There are many trite expressions that relay the message of finding the silver lining, and I hope this column can remind us to focus on the positive.
Veterinary medicine is a great career, yet it receives a lot of image abuse. I will not be surprised if the future generation considers other career paths before veterinary medicine. For the last 25 years, we have collectively been telling those considering the profession as a career how awful it is. Today's youth are very intelligent and have access to virtually unlimited information. They are unlikely to choose a career that is populated by dissatisfied professionals.
Wouldn't it be nice if, rather than feeling that we veterinarians have no life or an inadequate lifestyle, we could accept that we truly do have a life and the tools to make it whatever we want. Some say that veterinarians are not adequately remunerated, yet veterinary medicine offers complete control over earnings. Veterinarians can be paid as much as they are willing to work for. Saying that they work too many hours is not the same as discovering that the job actually offers the flexibility to choose a wide variety of creative shifts. They can work as many or as few hours as they wish. Finding the work difficult might actually mean it is challenging, both physically and mentally. Perhaps this is better than finding it dull or boring. It might even help avoid the high fees of health club memberships!
What other profession allows members the opportunity to live virtually wherever they please in Canada — urban, rural or remote — and still command a professional income and the respect that goes along with it? Rural practice has been much maligned lately, but try and look at it from a positive viewpoint. Usually, you have a reasonably modern or even new vehicle in which to drive around the countryside, while you watch the seasons change in our beautiful land. If you are lucky, you might even get an emergency call in the middle of the night and have a chance to watch the aurora borealis or the passing of some new comet! This is an opportunity your daytime working friends will miss.
Mandatory continuing education might be a burden, or it might be an opportunity for personal growth. It is also a valid excuse to travel across Canada to attend an annual convention or afar to sessions in foreign countries.
Having spent over 25 years in rural, mixed practice, I am not the one to make light of the difficulties faced on a day-to-day basis. I am suggesting that all the rewards not be missed because of what have become commonplace complaints about this truly wonderful line of work.
Veterinary medicine is a service profession and, generally, veterinarians are highly respected by the public. This respect does not come from how much money they make or how wonderful their lifestyle is. It comes from their contribution to society and their ability to provide society with things it needs and cannot provide for itself. Veterinarians are seen as the guardians of the health and welfare of the animal kingdom. It is recognized that this guardianship extends also in an important way to the human members of the animal kingdom. The veterinary profession is essential in assuring food safety and quality. It plays a role in the prevention of many zoonotic diseases. Keeping Canadian borders safe from the incursion of disease or other threats, accidental or intentional, is well within its scope of responsibility. By maintaining excellence in the delivery of these services, veterinarians are allowed by society to continue to do so. As a consequence, they can continue to reap the rewards available to them in Canada.
I am excited about being given the opportunity to represent the CVMA as its president. I hope that I can live up to your expectations and help the profession to expand and move forward. The upcoming year will allow me to meet many more CVMA members. It's a welcome prospect to learn more great things about the wonderful people who make up Canada's veterinary profession. Thank you for the opportunity.
