Specialising in exotics practice: a bumpy road with great rewards

I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Except for a month or two in my childhood when I wanted to be a firefighter (until I found out the Dalmatian does not come with the job), it was always on the tip of my tongue – I was going to be a vet. We never had any conventional pets growing up, so my earliest experiences of going to the vets were with my mum for our rabbit’s annual vaccination. We were lucky enough to have a vet close by who did a large amount of exotics work. And so the fascination was born.

By the time I was 13, I had an after-school and weekend job at that very same vet, cleaning out cages and assisting around the clinic. The longer I worked there, the more I was allowed to do, and the more I knew I wasn’t just going to become a vet – I was going to become an exotics vet. But the challenge was never convincing myself; the challenge was always convincing other people.

A foot in the door

After I gained a place in veterinary school, we spent hours learning about dogs, cats, horses, cows and sheep, but never exotics. What we lacked in lectures and workshops I made up for by chairing the exotics interest group and attending conferences. When the time came to look for jobs in my final year of veterinary school, I was adamant that I would only take a job if it afforded me the opportunity to see exotics, but those jobs were few and far between. The two exotic clinics in my city weren’t hiring. I interviewed for an exotics internship in Sydney and made it to the final two but didn’t get the job. So, determined to follow my passion and one day become an exotics specialist, I started applying for jobs in the UK.

People always ask why I moved to the UK from Australia; in all honesty, I moved for the exotics. Exotic practice in Australia is mostly rabbits, with a few native Australian reptiles and birds thrown in. I had never touched a chinchilla; hamsters and gerbils were illegal where I grew up; and I had never even heard of a degu. In hindsight, the decision to move to the UK was the easiest part because then I had a whole host of new people to convince that I was going to be an exotics vet.

Trying to get a new graduate position is hard; trying to get a new graduate position working with exotics is even harder. And convincing people with an exotics practice to take you on because you know this is all you ever wanted to do is insurmountably hard. I ended up taking a position in the south-west that promised exotics, just to get my foot in the door.

Ultimately, that was not the job for me, and I kept looking and applying but no one wanted to take on a recent graduate. Finally, I was offered a job at a clinic that is well known for its exotics practice. Starting with majority dog and cat work and slowly transitioning over two years to 100 percent exotics practice was a hard process, but I was lucky enough to have two great mentors at that practice who taught me a lot. And so I turned to the next goal on the road to exotics practice: residency.

Residency

In all but a few circumstances, you must complete a three- or four-year residency under the supervision of a specialist to become an exotics specialist in Europe, and the competition is fierce. People are often surprised when I tell them that I applied for no fewer than five residency positions before I landed one. I was only invited to interview for two of them and was offered my residency two and a half years after my first application. I have friends and colleagues who have applied to even more than this; one colleague applied to 12 different residencies before gaining a position.

While these residencies are becoming more plentiful and more European College of Zoological Medicine (ECZM) residencies are opening up throughout the continent, positions are still few and far between.

The route to success

For those looking to break into exotics practice, whether this is on a first-opinion level or as a specialist, there is so much that you can use to enter the field.

• As is often the case, it can be about who you know
  • Attending meetings and conferences is a great way to make new friends and find mentors
  • Reaching out to an exotics clinic to see if you can spend some time shadowing or working as a locum is a great way for them to learn who you are, which means they will think of you when a job comes up
• Once you do see exotics as part of your workday, keep learning at every opportunity
  • Certificate programmes are a great way to gain further qualifications in exotics while still working in practice. For veterinarians, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice, through the University of Edinburgh, and Improve Veterinary Education’s Postgraduate Certificate in Exotic Animal Practice are a great place to start. For veterinary nurses, the Girling and Fraser ​Advanced Programme in Veterinary Nursing of Zoo and Exotic Species offers an equivalent postgraduate study

The route to specialisation is difficult, but there are several routes, so don’t be disheartened if, like me, you have your heart set on an exotics specialism.

1. The European College of Zoological Medicine (ECZM) provides residencies for those wanting to specialise in exotics in Europe. Its residencies are separated into avian, small mammal, herpetological, zoo health management, and wildlife population health. A residency under a specialist typically runs from three years full time to around five years part time. At the end of the residency, once the criteria for teaching, lecturing and publication are achieved, you have the credentials to sit examinations. Once these examinations are passed, you become a diplomat of the ECZM and a European Board of Veterinary Specialisation-registered specialist
2. The American College of Zoological Medicine (ACZM) is a similar college based in America. As with the ECZM, you complete a residency under the supervision of an ACZM specialist, fulfil the criteria for residency and sit examinations to become a diplomat. Alternatively, after you have worked for six years in 100 percent exotic veterinary practice, you can approach two ACZM diplomats. If they agree to mentor you, you can sit the same qualifying examinations after fulfilling the criteria for credentialling, which includes being an author of no fewer than three peer-reviewed papers. However, there is a caveat to this: to become a diplomat of the ACZM, you must either possess an Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates certificate or have graduated from a university that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association
3. The American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP) also offers the opportunity to become a specialist in either avian, reptile and amphibian, or exotic companion mammal practice. If pursuing this route, you enter into a two-year residency under an ABVP diplomat, after which you can sit your qualifying examinations, or gain credentials to sit examinations after four years in exotics practice. By passing these examinations, you become a diplomat of the ABVP in your chosen specialty

Breaking down the barriers

The long hours and often poor pay of a residency is seen by many as a barrier to becoming a specialist, but there are many routes and qualifications that a vet can take on their path to become an exotics specialist.

However, specialisation is not the only way to enjoy a long, varied and interesting career in exotics medicine and surgery, and it may not be for everyone. Certificate programmes also provide enhanced knowledge, and may allow you to apply for RCVS Advanced Practitioner Status in Zoological Medicine.

At the end of the day, breaking into exotics practice is difficult, but it makes for a fascinating career and is well worth considering.