How to Re-enter Veterinary Practice After Time Off

From the first day of veterinary school orientation, I had been plagued by the vague and insistent feeling that I was not going to be the right kind of veterinarian.

This diffuse and ill-defined perfect veterinarian, illustrated on the cover of all the James Herriot novels I was gifted upon news of my admission, had several attributes I lacked:

1. A desire to work with livestock

2. A willingness to trade services for canned goods

3. A selfless and good-natured devil-may-care attitude about being on call 24/7

4. A spouse to take care of things at home

Square Peg, Round Hole

I thought perhaps with time I could improve my lot by learning to be more like my esteemed predecessors, but with each passing day it became clear that this square peg was not going to fit into the round hole. Had I been paying more attention, I might have noticed I was far from alone in those doubts; all around me, my classmates were committing cardinal sins such as having babies, taking time off to care for family members, and pursuing interests outside of work. I did not notice, of course, but times were changing for all of us.

Modern practice is extremely stressful, especially for those of us who are terrible at setting and maintaining boundaries. One can only try to make 100 plus 100 equal 100 for so long—eventually, something has to give. For many veterinarians, especially young mothers who may not be the primary breadwinners, the path of least resistance may be leaving work for a time. Not by choice—by necessity. I started down that path when my kids were 1 and 3 years of age.

When my burnout reached its zenith, I quit, feeling both nauseated and relieved. In my head, quitting a veterinary job without another one lined up was like falling through a one-way trapdoor with no reentry. Once you are out, I had been told, you are out. You forget skills. You become obsolete faster than a 2-year-old iPhone. You are washed up for good. I was unhappy enough at the time that I was comfortable with that. I stayed home. People started to ask Are you still a veterinarian? as if my degree expired 90 days after my last ear infection appointment.

The Truth of the Matter

People who assumed I quit because I wanted to be a permanent full-time parent missed the truth of the matter—that was never my desire. After all, there was a reason I went to veterinary school to begin with. Although I could not figure out how to make it work in that one moment in my life, I had every desire and intention to get back to it. There was no confusion on my part that this was the goal.

Was it possible to come back after a break and step back into the veterinarian role on my own terms? That prospect was strange and exhilarating because it had never occurred to me it was an option. When I was ready to work again, I played job Tinder: swipe left; swipe left; swipe left again—this is hopeless—and then, there it was. My next job. They needed someone 3 days per week—no more, no less. The boss was a single mom and often worked around her child's soccer games and doctors appointments, as so many working parents do. She was fine if I did the same.

My first day, I sweated my way through prepping for a cat spay—it had been almost 2 years since I had done one. My boss gamely waited in the wings in case I needed rescue, but once I picked up the scalpel it was like no time had passed at all. Muscle memory is a beautiful thing. Game of Thrones fans, take note: Like the North, the brain remembers.

Always a Veterinarian

In retrospect, the idea of becoming obsolete after some time off is really silly. So what if I had not done a spay in 2 years? As a new graduate, I had only done one spay, total, ever. We dont need to do much to stay sharp: Keep the license renewed and take CE so we know about the new drugs everyone is asking for. Rusty skills can be honed through strong mentors or CE or programs like the World Vets training center. (See Resources.)

If we can get from zero to DVM in 4 years of veterinary school, plus whatever experience we pick up after that, do we really think it all goes down the drain after a few months or even a couple years? If the Titanic can sit at the bottom of the Atlantic for decades without rusting away into dust, our brains can handle a little time away from veterinary medicine.