RGS Careers: Routes to Careers in Veterinary Science

RGS CAREERS

ROUTES TO CAREERS IN VETERINARY SCIENCE

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CONTENTS A Level requirements by university Person specification Application advice from universities Additional Entry Requirements Advice from former students Advice from RGS Useful websites

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The information in this guide is based 10 years’ experience over which RGS has a very successful record of getting students into university to study Veterinary Medicine. Individual universities however have very different requirements and the best way to be certain of making the right choices is to research individual universities and refer to their websites.

A LEVEL REQUIREMENTS BY UNIVERSITY Bristol: Veterinary Science: AAA/*AB including Chemistry and one from Maths, Physics and Biology Cambridge: Veterinary Medicine: *AA including Chemistry and one from Maths, Physics and Biology. Some colleges require three science/Maths subjects though Edinburgh: Veterinary Medicine: AAA including Chemistry and Biology Glasgow: Veterinary Medicine: AAA including Chemistry and Biology. Glasgow prefer a third science subject, and they will not accept Music, Drama, Art or PE as the third subject Harper and Keele: Veterinary Medicine and Surgery: AAB including A in Chemistry or Biology and A in a second science or Maths Liverpool: Veterinary Science: AAA including Biology and Chemistry Royal Veterinary College (RVC): Veterinary Medicine: AAA including Chemistry and Biology Surrey: Veterinary Medicine and Science: AAB including A in Chemistry and Biology

A LEVEL CHOICES • Looking at this list, it would seem that, if you do not take Chemistry at A Level, you can only apply for Harper and Keele, and if you do not take Biology you can only apply to Bristol, Cambridge and Harper and Keele. Thus, while you should always choose the A Level subjects that you enjoy and will do best at, if you do not take Chemistry and Biology you are limiting your chances of studying Veterinary Medicine at undergraduate level.

• Choose a subject that you enjoy and will do well at for your third A Level. Glasgow places some limitations on the third A Level and Cambridge suggest that some colleges ask for three sciences, but other universities do not stipulate and you must remember that you are going to require a B as an absolute minimum, so you must choose a subject that you are likely to achieve this in.

• Look closely at the GCSE requirements on www.ucas.com. Some universities will have minimum GCSE requirements. Most notably, some may have specific requirements for English Language and Maths. You really need to take Chemistry and Biology. If you do not want to do this then Veterinary Medicine at undergraduate level may not be the right course for you. This does not necessarily mean that you could not study it as a postgraduate after a first degree. Your third A Level should be one that you are likely to enjoy and achieve a very strong grade in.

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PERSON SPECIFICATION What characteristics are needed to be a good Veterinarian?

• You need to be hard-working, resilient and have the capacity to absorb large amounts of technical information • You need excellent communication skills • Manual dexterity, practical skills and an interest in science are all important • You need empathy. You will be dealing with a wide range of people. You need to be able to help people to relax. Remember that you are dealing with much-loved pets. The person whose pet you are looking after may well be very upset • The ability to make difficult decisions • You must be able to work well within a team • Others need to be able to trust you • If you are looking to run your own practice then you will need management and business skills

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ADVICE FROM UNIVERSITIES You can only make four choices for Veterinary Medicine; your fifth choice must be for another subject (you should choose a subject that you view as an alternative that you would like to study. Maybe a related degree such as, Veterinary Nursing, Veterinary Biosciences or Biological Sciences etc). All universities have different requirements in terms of what they expect academically and how much work experience they require. It is very important to refer to individual university websites. However, some general advice would be that the universities are looking for students to show the following alongside academic excellence: • Evidence of your understanding of the role of the vet • Examples of a commitment to the career through work experience/shadowing placements.

Check with individual university websites how much work experience is required. Some set a specific amount, but they generally like to see a variety of types of experience. Some of this should be at vet practices, but you can gain experience in all sorts of ways: see if you can get work with larger animals on farms; try to gain experience in a pet shop; look for work in a cattery or kennel; volunteer in a rescue centre; just look after other people’s pets. It is very hard to get, but experience in an abattoir is also valued, as students need to learn to deal with animals dying • Volunteer placements: a commitment to the community through regular, long term volunteering is hugely valued (i.e. that the student has worked in the same place regularly rather than simply done the odd week here and there) • The ability to reflect on what you have learnt from your experiences • Initiative • Good communication skills • Team-working skills You demonstrate all of this through your Personal Statement, which is part of your university (UCAS) application. This is limited to 4000 characters including spaces, and goes to all your chosen universities.

Tip: It is very important that you ask for references from any work experience/shadowing/ volunteering placements that you undertake. Some universities will require evidence. Check university websites for advice on the format that these references ought to take. It is also important that you keep a diary so that you can look back and remember what you witnessed and learnt.

THE PERSONAL STATEMENT You need to provide evidence that you possess the characteristics to be a successful trainee vet It is no good to simply tell the university what you believe yourself to be good at, or what characteristics you believe that you have; everything MUST be backed up with evidence. Space is limited, so it is advisable to focus on the following: 05

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Motivation and commitment to a career in veterinary medicine In your opening paragraph you should clearly state what you have done to help you understand the role of a vet and what motivates you to do it. For example, what have you learnt from shadowing or talking to vets, as well as from your own or relatives’ experiences of taking animals to vets? Use these experiences to explain why you want to be a vet. You ought to express a really positive motivation for becoming a vet (better for this to relate to the impact that you can have on society rather than earning potential!). You also need to demonstrate in your personal statement that you have a realistic appreciation of the mental and physical demands of the career.

The rest of the personal statement should provide evidence that you possess the attributes to be a successful vet and should cover: Work and Voluntary experience It is important to state how long you have been involved in the activity, why you chose to undertake it, what your responsibilities were and, crucially, what you have learned from it. It is very important to reflect upon your experiences. It is important to be positive, but at the same time to show that you recognise that the role of a vet is a challenging one. If you can demonstrate that your contribution to the organisation or individual was positive, that is excellent.

Tip: If you regularly attend Medical Discussion Group, you should be able to chat to students in the Upper Sixth Form and find out how they went about finding enough work experience.

Interests and Extra-curricular activities Check individual websites, but, on the whole, vet schools are interested to see that you have a healthy work-life balance. They want to see that students can cope with multiple, and often conflicting, demands on their time. It is helpful if you can demonstrate that you have gained/shown skills from your activities, such as communication skills, leadership, teamwork, responsibility and initiative. It is particularly useful if you can talk about a club that you have set up or fund raising that you have organised or any community activities that you have had a role in. Evidence of success is important e.g. have you won prizes or can you say that the club that you set up is now thriving? Don’t just list activities, explain how much time and effort you spend on them and what skills you have gained.

Communication and team work Evidence of communicating with a range of groups of people is useful; it is particularly useful to show ability to communicate with those with significant communication barriers, e.g. English not being their first language or those with significant learning difficulties. It is crucial to give examples. Try to provide evidence that your communication was effective, such as feedback received or an outcome that resulted from your communication. Remember that, while vets work with animals, they need to be able to communicate exceptionally well with humans, who are often stressed and upset.

Evidence of teamwork is also very important. Examples must be given and it is a good idea to stress what effect your contribution to the team had.

Additional entry requirements NB: These are likely to change from year to year, so it is very important that you make yourselves aware of any particular entry requirements that exist. The following is true as of 2020: Cambridge: You will need to complete the Supplementary Application Questionnaire, as you would for all subjects at Cambridge. You will also need to sit the Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment. You will register for this through the school. In 2020 the test takes place on 4 November in school. This test 06

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involves 60 minutes of multiple choice questions on Maths and a science subject of your choice, and then 60 minutes of extended multiple choice questions on Biology, Chemistry or Physics. Past papers are available online.

Edinburgh: You will need to complete a Work Experience Summary form by 22 October: ed.ac.uk/vet/studying/wes-form Harper and Keele: You will need to complete a Work Experience Reflection form, which can be downloaded from the university website.

Nottingham: Nottingham has its own online test. You will be emailed details of this after you apply, and you will have two weeks to complete it. This test is in two sections: • Situational Judgement Test: This tests your empathy and ability to build client relationships, professional integrity and trust, resilience and teamwork.

• Personal qualities review: This assesses your motivation, abilities and attributes for a career in Vet Medicine.

The highest ranked students on these assessments will then be invited to an assessment day. Details of this day are here: nottingham.ac.uk/vet/study-with-us/undergraduate/how-to-apply Emily White (RGS 2018) who is now studying Veterinary Medicine at Nottingham, has the following to say about the Situational Judgement Test and the Personal Qualities Review: Personal Qualities Review The Personal Qualities Review allows you to squeeze all of your best qualities into one form! I would definitely read up on the RCVS day one competencies booklet that you can download from their website or from this link: rcvs.org.uk/document-library/day-one-competences.This is one of the first things we are given to read and refer back to on the course and gives a really good insight into the kinds of skills and attributes they are looking for in applicants.

• When completing the Personal Qualities Review, refer back to this as many of the questions are based around the day one competencies, so this should help guide you towards what they are looking for • It asks about your strengths and weaknesses • Some of the pages were quite easy e.g. asking abut your work experience, previous work, volunteering and questions about your hobbies • Others were more challenging. They asked me for a quality that I believed would be useful in my career as a veterinary surgeon, and then followed this with a question about where I had shown or proven this quality. Therefore, be prepared to back up your answers! I was asked about some of the qualities that I mentioned in this document at interview, so screenshot your answers before submitting them and save them onto your laptop or phone so you can look back at them before interview • Try to big yourself up a bit, but make sure you are honest!! There is nothing worse than being asked about something at interview that you have no idea about!

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SJT (Situational Judgement Test) • This was extremely challenging for me as I had never encountered anything like it before. The medics have to do something similar as part of their application, so I asked some of my friends who had completed one for some help beforehand • Most of the questions gave you a situation in practice or in the community (normally vet related) • The SJT took quite a considerable amount of time and prep • Remember, they are looking for someone who is a team player. So, in any questions where you have concerns about a colleague, there is normally an option to speak to the person first before taking it to your boss or the vet school. This is normally the correct answer. However, the safety of patients and themselves is paramount, so if the person is putting themselves or a patient in immediate danger you should take this into account (speaking to the person first is not always an option) • The RCVS code of conduct for veterinary surgeons (rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/advice-andguidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-surgeons) is a great resource to read before taking this test, as it included things you must do as a vet surgeon RVC A supplementary form that you need to complete by the UCAS deadline of 15 October. This form requires you to show evidence that you meet their work experience requirements.

The Interview If you get to interview you are doing well. A great proportion of the candidates will have already been rejected by this point, so feel proud of yourself and go in with confidence!

Interviews take various different formats; e.g. one-to-one or group interviews. The most common type of interview for Veterinary Medicine, though, seems to be the MMI (Multiple Mini Interview), where you move quickly from one post to another undertaking short tasks or answering questions. Make sure that you are aware of what kind of interview to expect; there should be details on the university website.

Tip: If you regularly attend Medical Discussion Group, you should be able to liaise with candidates from the Upper Sixth Form and get feedback on their interviews.

Tip: Whatever the type of interview, you are sure to need to have excellent answers to: • Why do you want to study Veterinary Medicine?

• Why do you want to study at ‘x’ university?

• You are also sure to be asked to reflect in some way upon your work experience • You are sure to be asked to show that you have excellent empathy and communication skills • You are sure to be asked about current issues in Vet Medicine Areas that you ought to be up to date on in preparation for interview are given on this website: medapplications.com/preparation-mmi-interviews-veterinary-medicine There are lots of companies, who will offer help with preparation for these interviews for a fee. Make sure that you speak to students at Medical Discussion Group to see if they feel that any of these were worthwhile. The school will run a practice MMI interview, as well as practice 1-1 interviews.

Tip: Do seek Mr Buzzacott, Dr Lawson or Dr Gompels for further help with interviews and these tests.

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ADVICE FROM FORMER STUDENTS EMMA FOSTER (RGS 2015) RVC Why you chose the four universities that you did?

I chose Liverpool, RVC, Nottingham and Edinburgh. Liverpool and RVC were my absolute favourites – I really liked the cities and the campuses, and the social side seemed really good for both. I’d heard from other vets that those two vet schools were doing really well, particularly Liverpool at the time (2015) and had really enjoyed the open days. I think Nottingham seemed the next best to me and Edinburgh just had the best scenery and was a bit of a last-minute choice to be honest! I was never really interested in Cambridge as it sounded as though they prioritised the academic above the practical aspects of the job, which did not appeal to me.

Why did you make the final choice that you did?

I was very fortunate to get an offer from Liverpool and RVC. It was a really close call between the two but I chose the RVC as it meant I was away from home but not so far that I couldn’t still see friends from home every now and then, and invite them to the capital to hang out! I really like the campus, the anatomy museum and the QMH (the animal hospital on campus in Potters Bar) are really impressive; it’s the largest small animal hospital in Europe! I also really like going to gigs and events and knew that London has the most going on with loads to see and do, and I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to have that on my doorstep. I also really liked Camden and visited it often in my teens, so thought it would be nice to have that sense of familiarity to make the transition to uni life less daunting.

What you have particularly enjoyed/not enjoyed about your course?

I have really enjoyed my course and can’t wait to start rotations next year. I intercalated in Pathology, which means that I added a year in the middle in order to gain a BSc in Pathology. Thus my course is six years. I think I actually enjoyed that year the most so far – I found the teaching so intriguing, and in the third term, for my five month research project, I studied Quantitative Histopathology of the RVC’s Beagle models of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: the most fatal genetic disease in human boys. Their research is looking really promising with hope of finding a transferrable therapy, and I felt extremely honoured to be able to help the researchers with their remarkable work. I think the least enjoyable aspect is having to undergo the trial and error that is learning how best to memorise the immense amount of information that you are inundated with and expected to know and remember; it can be really overwhelming at times. You’ll learn quickly that your method of revising must be quite quick as each day you can expect to have between one and four information-packed lectures, so your revision needs to be quite snappy but also thorough. Also, the problem with studying at RVC is that you don’t really get much opportunity to socialise with students from other courses, so you don’t really get the ‘university experience’ that I got when I visited friends studying other degrees at other universities; the RVC has quite a small and unique student population and there won’t be quite the same campus community you have at other universities. I have still made amazing friends and unforgettable 09

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memories though– you just might have to go out of your way more and push yourself into achieving that as it might not all be on your doorstep!

Do you think that Vet science requires specific personal qualities?

Absolutely – to put it bluntly the veterinary profession can be very tough and has quite a high prevalence of associated mental health struggles and an alarmingly low rate of job retention.

Additionally, you’ll be doing lots of work experience, rotations and placements, which, for me, amounted to two years of unpaid full time work in total including pre-vet school work experience, studying for at least five years and dedicating a lot of your free time, effort and finances to the degree and career. That’s not to put anyone off, but you do need to be honest with yourself and ask if you really think you’re right for the job and that it is what you want to do. You need to be very hardworking, self-sufficient, organised, scientific, empathetic, have good communication skills and, above all, be prepared to work closely with people. This forms a much larger chunk of the job than most people think; it’s the nurses that actually spend most time with the animals! You need to be analytical, able to debate and discuss ethical issues and have good reasoning skills. Veterinary attracts a wide array of personality types and everyone has their own way of working, but you do need to be prepared to spend a lot of your time communicating with clients who can be in quite an emotional state. You’ll be doing a lot of unpaid work and the salary is relatively low for the amount of time you put in and the level of expertise you attain, so if you’re solely motivated by finance then veterinary may not be for you. It is important to remember though that there are a huge variety of jobs you can go into with a veterinary degree besides just working in clinical practice: you can, for example, also work for the government, in research, in a diagnostics lab or as a pathologist, so there are alternatives if you’re not that interested in clinical practice or you really don’t want to work with the general public. Your life will also be a lot easier if you can work effectively within a team and recognise the strengths of everyone in that team (hint: respect and value your nurses!). Not being too squeamish and being able to see blood and not faint is also pretty vital! I know vets that are scared of needles and started off squeamish, so if you’re determined enough you can overcome these things though!

What would you recommend school students do to help them to be sure that this is the right course, and also to make themselves good candidates?

WORK EXPERIENCE! You have to do lots of work experience to gain a place at vet school anyway aim for more than the target set out by the universities to stand out: I’d personally recommend aiming for at least 10 weeks with some variety: farm, equine, small animal and anything else you’re interested in. I did 28 weeks which was helped by volunteering at charities such as Riding for the Disabled and Wildlife Aid on a weekly basis, which really built up the hours as well as giving me a really good work ethic. Work experience is a fantastic way of seeing what clinical practice is like and will give you loads to talk about at interview. It really changed my idea of what a career in veterinary medicine actually meant and exposed me to some of the main struggles you will encounter as a veterinarian. To be a good candidate you need a really good and varied CV that demonstrates multiple attributes: hard work, an interest in science, team work and empathy, helping the community, hobbies and other interests, and a good knowledge of the profession. Making sure you have experience working with people is also key: voluntary work or part-time jobs (particularly those involving customer service) can be a really good place to start. Be enthusiastic and polite on your placements – there may be a lot of times where you’re just standing in a corner pretending to be really interested in the posters on the wall but try to involve yourself, ask lots of questions and offer to help the nurses. Get written feedback from your work experience placements; you will need these for your application. On your actual application ask a vet to review your personal statement before sending it.

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Keep up to date on topical issues within veterinary medicine – read journals and magazines if there are any on your work experience placements (such as the Vet Times) or look on sites such as these: animalwelfarefoundation.org.uk bva.co.uk rcvs.org.uk/news-and-views Have you any interview tips?

Ask your tutor or relevant members of staff at school, or even vets you meet on work experience, to help you arrange some practice interviews. The structure of the interviews can vary and may have changed since my interviews, but I had to do MMIs. These involve spending about five minutes at a few stations with an individual assessor at each to test you on things like your communication skills, work experience and what you’ve learned from it, anatomy, evaluation of scientific data, logistical thinking and ethics and reasoning. I also had a group interview at RVC. My top tips would be to make sure you make notes from your work experience placements as you go along and revise these as they like to test you on anything you mention! For example, when I mentioned a surgery I’d seen I was then grilled on what anaesthetic agent had been used during that surgery and exactly what everything looked like.

It’s also really good to be quite knowledgeable on contentious issues such as intensive farming, horse racing, badger culling and animal testing.

Anything else at all that you would like to say about your course or any particular advice that is worth giving?

Firstly, you can do it. Yes, it is hard to get in, and there are a lot of hoops you have to jump through, but as long as you are bright, determined, hard-working, committed to helping animals and are scientifically minded you should be fine. I can’t emphasise enough: work experience, work experience, work experience! I didn’t actually get the grades (my offer was AAA and I got AAB) but I miraculously got two offers which is practically unheard of, and I think that that is because I had done a lot of work experience, and I had a part-time job, which meant I was confident in my communication skills and had a well-rounded CV. If you do decide to pursue veterinary medicine, you need to be aware of the issues that I have mentioned in this piece, firstly so that you won’t be disappointed when you get to your dream job and secondly because the vet schools will want to know that you have really thought this through. On the other side, you can expect to make people cry with relief on a daily basis through saving a member of the family or even just reassuring them that their pet is not a sick as they think! You could be the first to spot patterns of abuse and possibly even be needed in court as a professional witness in cases of animal abuse, which has quite strong links to domestic abuse. You’ll be a respected figure in the community and well regarded by society. You could be on the frontline in surveillance of infectious diseases, which can have a huge impact on public health (one of my lecturers has even helped in the fight against Covid-19 using his expertise in the field of canine coronavirus!). You could conduct ground-breaking research which can be of benefit to people as well as animals (take for example my research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy using Beagle models of the disease). You’ll be constantly challenged and stimulated to continually develop and learn, meaning that you’ll hardly ever be bored! But mostly you could provide the best insight and understanding of animal health in order to ensure that those without a voice get the care and the welfare that they deserve.

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LUKE GREENLAND (RGS 2019) EDINBURGH: Before you start make sure it is the degree for you!

Working as a vet will be a very rewarding job with many upsides alongside some downsides. Pick a career you love and you will never have to work a day in your life is a motto I try to live by, but before you do that you need to know what the job is. Unfortunately, being a vet is not what it is often perceived to be. Make sure that you fully research the career so you know what to expect. Two things to note: you must be good with people; pretty much all animals come with one financially and/ or emotionally attached to it! You must be prepared to have long conversations with them. The worst part of the job comes with putting animals down. You will do it; it’s unavoidable; you need to realise this happens and you will be seeing a lot of it in your career.

I am going to say the degree is not plain sailing. It is hard work. Expect to work nine to five and consolidate after lectures and practicals. I love most of the content and so I really enjoy the studying (something I never thought I would say). Depending on the school there are usually a large number of practicals, which are excellent and something which breaks up the large amount of theory. Although it is more intense than a lot of other degrees, there is always time to party (or chill if you prefer) and vets always say ‘work hard, party harder’. Getting into vet school is no easy task, but start by getting stuck in: apply to shadow vets, work on farms and other animal units.

In the first two years of the degree you will be required to get twelve weeks’ worth of animal husbandry experience (Extra Mural Studies) prior to entering the clinical years. This means you need to be happy getting down and dirty on farms, kennels and many other places. You will be asked to work long hours for no pay. Getting this experience before application is required but the larger the bank of experience the more you stand out as a candidate (also creating a network of contacts helps when you need to find placements on the degree).

Personal qualities: Passion is the main thing required to pursue veterinary medicine. If you love working with animals and want to make a difference you can succeed at becoming a vet.

It is helpful to have some of the following traits, but you don’t need to be good at them all now: you will need to be hard working both academically and physically: the desire to work must come from you as nobody will push you academically and working hard is fundamental on placements. There will be lots of times where you encounter setbacks or failure, so you need to be able to think positively, learn from them and improve as you move forwards. Sometimes it is left up to you; you need to trust yourself and be able to work alone but never forget that, if you are out of your depth, ask for help!

Becoming a strong Candidate: Start early, you have to achieve a lot before you apply!

Getting as much animal experience as you can is essential. Try to get more than is required (look up requirements for the universities you wish to apply to), seek out experiences that are hard for people to obtain and those some candidates won’t. For example, I gained experience at an abattoir. It wasn’t my favourite (!) but it is a fundamental part of animal production and an experience that vet schools value. When you are on the experience ask questions and try to form a solid working relationship with the staff (it looks great if they say they would happily have you back in a reference). Think outside the box, research current veterinary news and ask questions about it on your placement. Ask how vets are involved if you are on farms and kennels. Most importantly, keep a record of everything you do (a 12

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diary) and what you discuss. It will be helpful for interviews and for more formal application forms; e.g.

RVC require detailed work experience reports.

Interviews There is a large bank of interview questions and descriptions of what interviews have been like from past applicants. Make sure you read and practice your interview technique: Dr Lawson was very helpful. You need to have good answers to the common questions; for example, why do you want to become a vet? or what makes you think you will be a good vet? These responses need to be carefully thought out and you should be able to back up your reasoning if pushed; i.e “I have always wanted to be a vet since I was little” really doesn’t work. Having a good knowledge of the RCVS, their regulations and Day one Competencies is often helpful. Learn about animal welfare and the five Freedoms.

Think about food production and welfare whilst contrasting farmers’ perspectives from your own work experience. At interview they like to see you link all aspects of your application together so, if your work experience relates to what they are asking, briefly mention it. Most universities use a MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) system. If you struggle at any one section don’t worry, treat the next section as a new interview. It is hard to predict what questions will come up but try to link your knowledge together, answering their question whilst showing off your extensive knowledge. If an interviewer interrupts you, don’t worry; that is better than them prompting you for more.

Choosing the universities Look around online, visit as many different universities as you can on their open days. Try to visit on your own (no parents or friends); you are more likely to get to talk to the tour guides and lecturers and find out valuable information others may not have gained.

I looked at the rankings of the universities and what they specialised in. In reality this is of little importance as a degree in Veterinary Medicine across the UK is universal with very little emphasis placed upon the institution. The exception is Cambridge where, due to lack of practical experience, this is best for those who intend to enter research post-graduation. Since this played very little part in my decision I focussed mainly on the facilities (hospitals, farms, labs, dissection rooms, lecture halls). I also ranked them on the atmosphere and how I felt whilst I was there, in terms of both the vet campus and the surrounding city. These factors played the largest part of my choice, alongside discussions with the students.

I picked Edinburgh, RVC, Nottingham, Surrey.

Why I picked Edinburgh I received two offers from the four I applied to: RVC and Edinburgh, which were my two favourites.

This was a tough decision since both have very good resources and facilities and offer great student satisfaction. In the end what swayed me was a combination of the gut feeling I had when I visited the different schools (Edinburgh just made me feel happier) and the different course structures. In London the first two years are based in the Camden campus, offering very little hands on live animal time compared with Edinburgh, where the entire five years are based in the Easter Bush campus with access to animal handling literally from the first week (as I have come to know). I am a very practical learner and work best with access to practical classes from the get-go rather than trying to apply theory later on. Thus, Edinburgh was my best choice.

How the course is going for me I am absolutely loving the degree. It is incredibly hard work and I have to put in a large number of hours both during semester time and in the holidays with EMS (Extra Mural Studies); these are work 13

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placements. However, this is not a hardship at all since I have loved learning the course content and the holiday placements have been some of the most rewarding weeks of my life. The student life is incredible with loads of communities in sports and a whole plethora of other areas, both vet specific and for the entire university. The night life is also very good up here in Edinburgh, which is an added bonus. It was daunting moving 400+ miles away from home knowing nobody else going, but the veterinary community is excellent; I can say I have good friends in all five years, which is something you cannot get at some other universities especially on different courses.

EMILY WHITE (RGS 2018) NOTTINGHAM Why you chose the four universities that you did?

I applied to Nottingham, RVC, Liverpool and Bristol. I knew that I would not excel in MMI interviews as I found it difficult to get across my passion for the subject in such a short amount of time. Therefore, I chose just two with MMI style interviews (RVC and Liverpool). I chose these two as I liked the course structure and the fact that you lived in a busy city for the first few years, and then moved to the countryside for the last few years. I saw this as the best of both worlds. I then chose Bristol as they did not interview at all there. There was a very long questionnaire to fill in for the application. I was going to choose Edinburgh, as again I loved the city and university campus. However, I looked at the statistics, and the majority of students they take are international or Scottish students, and when I applied, only about 20 places per year went to students from England, Wales and Ireland. I thought the risk of this was not worth it, so I chose Nottingham instead. Originally I did not like the look of Nottingham, as the campus was very rural and small. However, when I visited again for interview I loved the community feel to the campus and was glad I chose it.

What you have particularly enjoyed/not enjoyed about your course?

I have loved how practical the course has been since day one. In the first week we had introductions to animal handling, and this continued weekly for the whole first year and second year. I have a friend at Cambridge on the vet course there, and she has said that they had not had contact with any animals until year two, which I think I would have hated! I like the way the course is delivered at my university. The first two years are by body system modules, where we learn the science of the systems and how it works. We are examined on two or three modules at once (Christmas and summer). Then, in the third year, we do our dissertation and learn some professional skills. In 4th year, we then return to the body system modules but learn what happens when things go wrong (more clinical). Halfway through the fourth year, you start rotations and these continue through until the end of the fifth year.

There have been a few extra compulsory modules that have been quite boring, but this is the only thing I could say I have not enjoyed! These were only short modules.

Do you think that Vet medicine requires specific personal qualities?

Definitely. Read up on the RCVS day one competencies and also google this; there are lots of online guides. In my view, key qualities are being an excellent team player, having good manual dexterity, being empathetic and a good listener, as well as a fast learner.

What would you recommend school students do to help them to be sure that this is the right course, and also to make themselves good candidates?

Although there is a minimum amount of work experience needed to apply for Vet Medicine courses in the UK, complete extra!! Try to get experience in all different areas and species, as you will have to learn about them all. There have been a few students on my course who have dropped out due to 14

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loving one part of the course (farming or domestic) and not enjoying learning about the other half. A wide range of work experience will also make you a better candidate and give you more to talk about.

Ensure you actually enjoy Biology and Chemistry to an extent. A lot of it comes up in the course, and even though a small minority of the universities do not ask for both Biology and Chemistry, I would have seriously struggled with the first two years of the course without prior knowledge. A lot of the Biology course comes up and it makes passing the exams a lot easier with this A Level. Chemistry and Maths come up a lot when learning dosages. There was also a small Biology, Chemistry and Maths assessment when we first arrived to track our prior knowledge.

Read up on current affairs in the veterinary world. Important ones at the moment are brachycephalic pets, bovine tuberculosis, fox hunting and vivisection. Having a good knowledge on these and the science behind them will make interviews a lot easier.

KNOW THE 5 FREEDOMS LIKE THE BACK OF YOUR HAND!!! You will be asked about ethics at each interview and knowing these will make answering the dilemmas given a lot easier.

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ADVICE FROM RGS • Only around a quarter of vet applications are successful. Remember also that you only get four choices. Therefore your main consideration should be ‘Which universities am I most likely to get into?’

• It is also important to consider how the course is taught, and whether it is likely to suit you. For example, do you want to study at a university that uses Problem Based Learning in all/some/none of its course (PBL is where students learn about a subject through problem-solving).

• Attend Medical Discussion Group as often as you can, and make sure that you learn from the Upper Sixth Form about their experiences and tips. It will be useful for vets as well as medics.

• Liaise with Dr Gompels, Dr Lawson and Mr Buzzacott. We have years of experience at considering what universities you are most likely to get into based upon e.g. your GCSE results, your predicted A Level grades and the amount of work experience that you have done. Take note of what we say.

• Make sure that you are well aware of what the individual university websites say in terms of what qualifications you need to get in, and take note of any advice that they offer to prospective candidates. Get prospectuses and alternative prospectuses (written by the students) and attend open days. Ask questions and contact previous students from RGS who are currently training at vet schools.

• It is a good idea to go on at least one course. Many are very cheap or even free, so don’t feel that you need to spend a lot of money on them. Make sure that Mr. Buzzacott and Dr. Gompels know early in the 6th form that you are interested in Vet Medicine, so that they can add you to email groups that will receive information on taster courses and other experiences.

• Do consider other options. There are other careers in animal health professions. For example, you could train as a zoologist, an animal care worker, a pet behaviour counsellor, a veterinary physiotherapist or a veterinary nurse.

WHAT IS RGS DOING TO HELP? • Dr Gompels is RGS’s contact for Veterinary Medicine. Please talk to her or the Head of Careers regarding your veterinary application. Dr Gompels will provide one-to-one help and advice.

• Mr Buzzacott scans every vet school website every year for all information that could help you with your applications. This enables him to know where you have the best chance of getting in and how to construct your application.

• Medical Discussion Group offers students the chance to find out more about current topics of interest within the fields of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science • We were very grateful to Lucy Hyams (OR) for coming in to talk to students this year about her career as a vet in both a presentation and at our careers convention. Emma Foster (OR) has also come in to talk to students about her university course in Vet Medicine. In addition, we have 16

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regularly had the help of Steve Brooks, who works as a vet with horses, to speak to students and to help them to prepare for interview.

• There was a Careers Convention in February, in which students had the opportunity to speak oneto-one with a vet about the career.

• The Higher Education Evening on next February will provide the opportunity to talk to representatives from a wide range of universities.

• We will run an MMI practice as well as offering one-to-one interview preparation.

CAREERS AND DEGREE COURSES LINKED TO VETERINARY MEDICINE Veterinary Nursing Provides care for sick or injured animals. Roles might include: Taking x-rays, taking blood and urine samples, preparing animals for treatment, talking to pet owners about how to best care for their animals, updating records and taking care of animals that are staying in the practice. You could potentially progress to being a practice manager.

You would need to have excellent communication skills and empathy, just as you would as a vet.

You would also need to be very calm in the way that you handle animals, and you would need good administration and IT skills.

In order to become a Veterinary Nurse, you would need Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing or a degree in Veterinary Nursing, and you would need to register with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. You could also qualify through an apprentice route (use the Unifrog Apprenticeships App to seek these out).

Veterinary Biosciences Degree Course This course looks at the biology that underpins the veterinary profession. This could be a pathway to a veterinary career. It could also lead to other careers in the field such as: vet nursing, nutritionist, animal health researcher or veterinary laboratory diagnostician.

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USEFUL WEBSITES ucas.com/explore provides details on veterinary school courses and links to university websites unifrog.org compares courses based on data such as student satisfaction, cost of living, contact time and employability prospects theguardian.com/education/universityguide provides league tables and course comparisons rcvs.org.uk/home Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons website bva.co.uk British Veterinary Association bvna.org.uk British Veterinary Nursing Association

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Reigate Grammar School, Reigate Road, Reigate, Surrey RH2 0QS 01737 222231 info@reigategrammar.org reigategrammar.org  @RGSCareers