8 ways to use your postgraduate certificate to change your career
Obtaining a postgraduate certificate requires a lot of dedication and commitment. When completed, it’s a massive achievement. It can also be a catalyst for change, helping you carve a veterinary career that you love.
In this article, we’ll explore ways to use your postgraduate certificate as the key to unlocking new career options. Whether you want to add more variety to your workload, change your working hours, improve your work-life balance, or focus on a single field that you’re passionate about, we’ve got loads of ideas to help you use your further qualifications to be the vet you want to be.
1. Set up a peripatetic veterinary service doing what you love
If you’re finding general practice a bit monotonous and crave seeing more interesting cases that allow you to apply your newly acquired knowledge and skills, you could consider setting up your own peripatetic veterinary service and visiting multiple practices in the local area. Not only does this mean that you’ll get the caseload you want, but you’ll also have more control over your hours and work-life balance.
If you’re an ophthalmology certificate holder, you might be a little tired of seeing mainly conjunctivitis, cherry eyes, and dry eye, so setting up your own peripatetic service could give you more of the challenging cases you crave. Similarly, if you have a dermatology certificate, general practice can be frustrating, with clients wanting a quick fix and declining the full work-up. So, if you set up a dedicated dermatology service, you know that the clients are invested in trying to fix their pet’s problem, and you’re less likely to face resistance to doing the necessary tests.
Read more about setting up a peripatetic veterinary dermatology service.
2. Accept internal or external referrals to change your caseload
If you want to follow your interests and passion, but don’t want to leave your current practice, you can let your team know that you’d be happy to accept internal referrals for relevant cases. Not only does this allow you to have a more fulfilling caseload, but it also gives your colleagues more control over their caseloads and gives your patients better care. You can also let neighbouring practices know if you’d be willing to accept external referrals or second opinions, which is a great step to building your reputation in the area.
3. Use your postgraduate certificate to build your confidence
Many people study for a postgraduate certificate in a subject that they’re skilled and passionate about. However, that’s not the only reason to do a further qualification. Instead, you might have chosen an area where you feel underconfident or doubt your skills. The great news is, if you’ve chosen to do a certificate in one of your weaker subjects, you don’t need to move jobs or make any other changes to see a positive impact. Your newly acquired knowledge and skills will make you feel more confident, and help to keep any ‘imposter’ thoughts at bay.
4. Apply for new positions that feel aligned with where you want to be
When you pictured yourself as a vet or vet nurse before you finished your studies, what did you see? Were you in general practice? Were you a specialist? No matter your intentions when going into a veterinary career, your goals, wants, and needs might have changed since you started practicing. Your postgraduate certificate could help you make your new vision a reality. For example, an Emergency and Critical Care certificate or Small Animal Medicine certificate could be a great asset if you want to change your shift patterns to work evenings, nights, or weekends.
5. Mentor your colleagues
What do you enjoy about your current role? If you’re at your best guiding less experienced team members, then why not discuss developing a formal mentoring role with your employer? If you’re approachable, patient, and passionate, being a mentor for your team could add more variety to your workload and help you feel more fulfilled. What’s more, if you find yourself enjoying mentorship, you could consider a future role in teaching.
6. Look out for speaker opportunities
If you’re happy with your current clinical workload, but you’d like to add more variety to your working life, you might want to consider speaking opportunities. It’s much easier to get speaker opportunities with a postgraduate certificate. Speaking at conferences is a great way to connect with people, build your reputation, and develop non-clinical skills. While you won’t be able to walk straight into a main conference stream at one of the major veterinary conferences, if you’re keen you can start small and work your way up. Not sure where to start? Creating a podcast to share insights from your chosen subject could be a great way to get noticed.
7. Contribute to journals as an expert in the field
If you’re an eloquent and engaging scientific writer, you could enquire to journals about providing short communications or opinion pieces. Just like speaking, once you have written a few articles and made a name for yourself, you’re more likely to be approached with further opportunities. You don’t have to restrict yourself to journals either, other veterinary communications may also have opportunities to contribute. If you’d like to publish a piece about your subject on our content hub, we’d love to hear from you!
8. Continue your learning
For many, obtaining a postgraduate certificate is the end goal that allows them to reach their career goals. However, it might be that you don’t feel ‘done’ after completing your certificate. In fact, it might spark your passion and spur you on to learn even more. If this is the case, you might want to look at taking an advanced veterinary certificate, a professional Master’s or Postgraduate Diploma, or consider a role at a veterinary teaching hospital that allows you to study alongside clinical work, teaching, and mentoring. You can schedule a meeting with our CPD Advisors to learn more about how to progress with further learning.
Summary
Everyone’s ideal veterinary career looks different, and a postgraduate certificate can give you the power to shape your workload and work-life balance so that you feel fulfilled and energised rather than burned out or stressed.
Make your career work for you with our veterinary postgraduate certificate programmes today!
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