Yasmin

My time at Surrey

I started vet school aged 32, with a professional background in law and social work. I was fortunate enough to have offers from other vet schools, but I chose Surrey because I found the staff incredibly helpful when I was making my initial enquiries about studying as a mature student. I was impressed with the course structure and how transparent the school was about the changes they were making to the course based on feedback from previous years.  

Leaving full-time work to go back to education was daunting and required a lot of sacrifice, but I gained a real sense of friendship and community – and a shared understanding of how challenging and enjoyable the course is.  

I also continued my role as a social worker throughout my time at Surrey, which allowed me to keep my registration and continue working in a field I loved. 

I loved my time at Surrey and sometimes wish I could go back and do it all again! 

"Make sure you like working with people. Being a vet is as much about working with people as it is about working with animals."

Life after Surrey

I'm currently a vet for the UK’s largest veterinary charity, the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).  I work at a busy hospital in south London where we see a high turnover of emergency medicine cases. My week is split between consulting, operating and the occasional remote tele-consult shift. My workplace is very flexible with regards to hours and I have recently shifted my contract to condensed hours, allowing for a better work–life balance. I love working in the charity sector because we get to make a real difference for animals and people.   

I also still take on some expert witness work as a social worker. 

My advice

Firstly, make sure you like working with people. Being a vet is as much about working with people as it is about working with animals; depending on what area of practice you go into, you will need to have the ability to communicate with a range of people and demonstrate compassion and understanding. 

I am also passionate about the veterinary profession becoming more diverse in terms of intake. As someone who completed the course as a mature student, there is a huge benefit to having had a career before vet school; I treated the interviews for entry like I would any other job interview. I felt much calmer and confident than my younger self would have done.  

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