Brigid's PS

At the core of veterinary medicine is having the initiative to diagnose patients who can't verbally express their ailments. From personal experience of being unable to communicate illness I endured, I feel a strong empathy towards animals and want to have the intelligence and expertise to determine sickness and alleviate suffering as quickly as possible.

To further understand the role of the vet I completed work experience at separate small, equine and large animal practices; a goat farm; a dairy farm; a pet hotel; and an abattoir. Since February I have volunteered at a farm and equine practice on Saturday mornings - during which time I saw many emergency cases, including caesareans performed on cows and sheep. These surgeries highlighted how individuals continue to learn after graduation, as the vets carrying out the procedures were under guidance from longer established veterinarians. At the small animal practice, I saw routine vaccinations and neuters, along a with keratotomy and an enucleation - learning that some brachycephalic dogs (such as boxers) are predisposed to conditions leading to these procedures. As these breeds are popular among the general population, it indicated a need to promote awareness of their extensive genetic health issues, which also include respiratory problems.

Vets need to have empathy when dealing with cases, and the confidence to deliver both bad and good prognoses to reassure the client the correct choice has been made in a tactful and respectful way. For example, I was on a call where a pedigree beef heifer had broken her tibia. Splinting the break would not be without large financial cost, which the owners considered too great. The decision was made to put her down, despite her being a healthy animal otherwise. Accepting not all patients can be saved and that some animals are bred only to enter the food chain is important, as it makes a vet's job of providing a good quality of life for the time they do have obligatory. Abattoirs deal with the end of animal lives, so I felt it was important to experience this environment to gain a rounded view on how livestock are treated once their purpose is fulfilled. I observed the resident vet assessing animal carcasses and learned how to identify and omit tuberculosis impacted lungs, so the affected tissue would not become available for public consumption. This showed me vets hold a prominent role in society that is not just central to animal welfare, but public health too.

For a decade I have played the Irish whistle, and last year I began to learn Japanese. In my school community, I greet prospective year 6 and sixth form students on open evenings and have won the local Rotary Young Speaker and Young Chef competitions, increasing my confidence and communication skills as presenting myself effectively to an audience was key. This was useful when I visited the USA and sought out local opinions following attendance at a rodeo. Articles from Farmers Weekly and online medical journals by the UK veterinary schools allow me to remain up to date with developments in the veterinary field, for example the strong public divide over the culling of badgers. Although art is not typically associated with the scientific requirements for veterinary medicine, I have focused almost exclusively on anatomy, developing an interest in the similarities between human and animal biology.

Having completed a week of work experience in a human hospital, my desire to be a vet has been solidified. Though the science behind medicine is similar, I found it less interesting as there was a lack of a challenge to diagnose the patients as opposed to veterinary medicine - which is what drives my ambition and makes me an ideal candidate for the veterinary course.