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As a city girl, I confess I was a little trepidatious about my first EMS placement in a mixed practice in Cumbria. Though I’d stayed on a couple of farms as part of my pre-clinical animal husbandry experience, I’d had limited experience with equine and farm clients. During those farm placements, I’d experienced a few subtle indicators of bias. Although they were extremely pleasant people, I remember having to ‘prove myself’ when compared to my male counterpart on one particular lambing placement: they always addressed him first when there was a new task to do, and only once I’d shown I was up to the job did they acknowledge us equally. This exhibition of unconscious bias initially made me feel uncomfortable and less valued, though thankfully it had reversed by the time I left.

Positive encouragement

When I first made the journey from my family home in suburban Surrey to rural Cumbria, I was delighted to find that the practice I was working with had a history of exceptional female vets who were well respected and liked by the clients. Consequently, the majority were fully accepting of me as a student. The practice team were also openly welcoming and, though the majority of the vets were male, they openly championed women as equally capable – if not more so – than men in all aspects of practice work and life.

Another key factor was the vets standing up for me in the face of any hint of discrimination. Any hint of a negative insinuation by a client about gender was quickly and firmly shut down, but with kindness and often humour. In addition, they also provided positive encouragement and mentorship, challenging me with clinical skills and critical thinking that hugely advanced my training and education.

Early career boosts

As a result of the fantastic EMS experience I had on my first visit, I kept returning to the same practice and was delighted when, two years later, they offered me a position as an assistant vet on graduation. My new graduate years with the practice were the highlight of my career. I felt I had the opportunity to use the vast majority of my degree, performing tasks that I would been reluctant to do had it not been for the encouragement and support I knew I could rely on from the whole team. This belief in me as a clinician fuelled a huge amount of confidence, skills development and job satisfaction.

Interestingly, while the majority of farm clients didn’t bat an eyelid when a female vet arrived, it was the equine clients who were less welcoming. Often, I was asked by a client to check with one of the senior vets (i.e. male) when I returned to the practice, before they would follow my recommendations. I duly did this, but the partners would stop me and ask if I personally had any doubts about my clinical judgement and wanted to discuss the case. If I was happy, they would tell me they trusted me and inform the client they were satisfied with my clinical judgement and to carry on as I had recommended. They would openly champion the clinical competence of female vets to horse owners who expressed any preference otherwise.

Championing young vets makes such a difference

In summary, my positive experiences of EMS and my early graduate career were enabled by a practice that provided me with excellent role models, openly championed female vets, challenged bias in clients, and gave strong encouragement and mentorship at a key point in my career journey. This not only made me a more capable and motivated clinician, it also provided a blueprint for how I supported students who subsequently saw EMS with me. I hope every practice that takes students for EMS can provide a similar supportive, positive experience.