Joining the Pennard Vets team is much more than just a career choice – it’s a move to become one of our employee owners. Everyone from our vets to our admin team is #ProudlyPennards, and we all work hard to help new starters to feel like part of the family. Here we’re asking our newest starters to share their experience of becoming an employee owner at Pennard Vets. This week we hear from Matthew Harden, who as our duty veterinary surgeon who wants to tell us all about his first 6 months as a new graduate vet in the duty vet programme!
What made you want to join the duty vet programme?
“After having had such a positive experience with Pennard Vets as part of my final year training at the University of Surrey in February 2023, I knew that I wanted to be part of the team.
The team at Sevenoaks was really nice and supportive with access to fantastic facilities and multiple certificate holders in a wide range of disciplines.
I was interested by their own out of hour service as my emergency case management was something I did not feel comfortable with. The support offered was fantastic. The introduction into practice was well tapered to how I was feeling with regards to my development which I was very happy about, leading to the progression of me becoming a well-rounded veterinary surgeon.”
How did you feel when you first started?
“I did find it a bit daunting and almost felt like a fraud calling myself a vet. Being surrounded by vets with so much more experience and confidence, I did start to feel a bit inadequate. However, I threw myself into the work and got involved where I could and exposing myself to both a wide variety of consults and surgeries to help build my confidence.”
How supported have you felt during your first 6 months?
“My mentor Chris has been fantastic by regularly checking in to see how I was getting on and always taking the time for me to discuss cases with him. The client care team have been a great support by ensuring that I feel comfortable with what is getting booked in and providing support where possible during some of those difficult discussions e.g euthanasia (especially Michelle Boyer – I cannot thank her enough for aiding in some very tricky euthanasia’s)!
Every 3 months, I get duty vet training days where my progress is highlighted along with workshops about key skills such as consult and communication, which is beneficial for me when improving patient and client care.
I have felt comfortable to discuss challenging cases with any of my work colleagues especially the nursing team and vets that help to ensure me that the treatment or diagnostic plans I choose are appropriate, especially in complex cases.”
What has been your favourite part of your rotations?
“The most enjoyable aspect rotations have been getting to know the wide variety of clients and pets whilst in a very supportive environment. This allows for good development of clinical reasoning skills based upon numerous client and patient factors and allows strong development of these skills.
Being able to see a wide variety of cases also with support always being present allows for strong development of the skills acquired from university and putting them into practice.”
How are you finding life a vet at Pennards after your first 6 months?
“I am so much more settled now in my position and I really enjoy coming into work each day with a wide variety of cases that come through the door, getting to know the clients more and working as part of a fantastic team.
Of course, there are still cases that stump me where I ask my more senior colleagues for assistance, but I feel capable to see most of the cases that come through the door at work and how best to manage them.
I really enjoy the out of hours component of the duty vet programme because it introduces in-patient care and provides a supportive framework in becoming more confident with stabilising patients and creating diagnostic and treatment plans.
Having just switched from working between Tonbridge and Maidstone branches to now just at Sevenoaks, it felt odd to start with as I felt very settled and had my typical clients that I would see regularly (especially on a Saturday!). However, I now feel very settled at Sevenoaks with a supportive team and getting to know the clients very well.
I am excited to see what the future holds for my six months at the Sevenoaks branch.”
Would you recommend the duty vet programme at Pennards to others?
“Yes! If you are looking for a really supportive practice, including its own out of hours, then I could not recommend Pennard Vets enough!”
Are you interested in excelling your career? Check out our careers page (careers.pennardvets.com or send us an email for more information about the duty vet programme at careers@pennardvets.com where we are more than happy to chat with you.
