Vet Ruth Stevens returned to veterinary practice after 14 years away raising her family.
Now, she’s helping to mentor other vets considering a return to the profession and ensuring they feel supported every step of the way.
Here, five years on from her return to Minster Vets in York, Ruth shares her inspirational career journey….
SITTING in the waiting room of The Minster Veterinary Practice in York with my new Labrador puppy was not a place I wanted to be. It was not because he was unwell, he was a healthy, bouncy eight-week-old bundle of fun, attracting smiles and compliments from the receptionist and fellow pet owners.
I surveyed the stand of familiar pet food, the posters on the walls recommending preventative care products that sounded vaguely familiar, I overheard the telephone advice from a veterinary nurse to an obviously distressed client and wondered if I had subconsciously nodded as I agreed with her.
The place was clean and bright, comfortable and welcoming, but I definitely didn’t want to be there.
I never wanted to be sitting on this side of the door. I had always wanted to be on the other side, never sitting as a client in the waiting room, but working as a vet in the consulting room.
This image had been the driving factor that propelled me through university applications, A-levels and eventually up those iconic Summerhall steps to the large imposing front doors of the Royal (Dick)Vet School. Fulfilling the dream I had held since I was seven years old.
But here I was, a pet owner now. I no longer called myself a vet. Having spent 10 happy years in small animal practice, I left to have a family and loved being a full-time mum.
Years of volunteering in pre-school, junior then senior school and juggling swimming, ballet, music, scuba diving, horse riding lessons, rolled one after another, until 14 years later I found myself still waiting expectantly at the school gates whilst my children walked past with their friends and waved, happily getting on with their lives.
I didn’t regret one second of the time I had spent with my children, but I was no longer needed 24 hours a day, I knew I had to step back and give them space to grow.
So, who was I now? I’d been out of practice longer than I had been in, felt fraudulent even referring to myself as a vet, it was something I used to be.
And then there I was, in the consulting room, greeted by an old uni friend and work colleague, catching up on family and practice news.
“Would you ever consider coming back?” he asked. Panic! I had never imagined that I would, or that I could. Where would I even start? I brushed it off, sadly thinking this familiar room would never be part of my world again. But as I left the surgery, the seed was sown.
I thought about all my concerns – I couldn’t possibly do this, I had forgotten everything, I hadn’t kept up with clinical practice.
But, after further discussions with my former colleagues, all my objections were countered – information was easily accessible online, CPD was readily available, colleagues were there to support me. They offered solutions to all worries. I found myself setting up a meeting to discuss a possible return. They had total faith that I could do this, I however, did not!
From there things moved quickly. I was asked what days and hours I thought I could do. I was able to suggest whatever felt comfortable. Everything was entirely flexible. We agreed a three-month period of ‘seeing practice’ and a starting date. Family and friends were thrilled to hear my plan, whilst I remained sceptical and terrified.
Going back for those first few weeks of seeing practice was an emotional roller-coaster. I stood in the pharmacy, in tears, scanning the shelves for anything other than Synulox, prednisolone and furosemide that I might recognise.
I tried reading data sheets and filled notebooks with pages of frantic scribblings. I watched surgeries that felt wholly familiar, some long forgotten muscle memory awakening.
My work colleagues were incredible. The biggest factor in all of this was that wanted me there. They wanted me to succeed and they were prepared to help.
And then the word got out to some of my former clients. Within 24 hrs I was presented with an elderly Jack Russell I had helped to save as a very poorly pup 14 years earlier. Here she was, carried in on her cosy bed, nearing the end of her journey, just to be reunited. For anyone who knows me, there were obviously more tears!
Three months later, and with a ‘little black book’ full of vaccines protocols and sedation regimes, I started back………MRCVS.
I started slowly, I asked a million questions and then asked them over again. I struggled with the computer system and remembering all the practice protocols. I consulted my little black book, and my colleagues all the time. I was slow, I was really slow. Desperate not to be letting everyone down, I set my phone to vibrate in my pocket five minutes before the end of each consult to try to stay on time!
Gradually I built my confidence and picked up my pace.
So here I am, more than five years down the line. I have negotiated a divorce and a house move and become a single parent.
My children are doing A levels and at University. I now work full-time and have taken on a role within VetPartners as their Talent Mentor on my day off from clinics.
The aim is to support vets considering a return to the profession after time away, whether through raising a family, taking a career break or ill health.
We provide flexible working opportunities, support on returning to practice, and a culture of learning with fantastic CPD to fill any knowledge gaps.
The life experience of vets who have had time away means we can bring a wider breadth of communication skills to consultations. We can fulfil a valuable role within the practice team. It’s also great to be using my knowledge again, and especially realising how much I had actually retained.
Every day I feel a sense of pride and fulfilment when pulling on my consult top and grabbing my stethoscope. Sure, I have imposter syndrome every day, but I’m working on that!
I was lucky, I was given unending support and encouragement from an entire practice team. Being a vet is what I am and who I am, and so is being a mum. They co-exist.
- Are you a vet who is interested in a return to the profession after a break? We’d love to hear from you and pledge to support you make a happy and successful return to practice. If you’d like a confidential chat, please email us at careers@vetpartners.co.uk