Farmers are now reaching out to vets for preventative herd/flock health advice, rather than just calling them out for ‘fire fighting’ emergency work, according to the new president of Veterinary Ireland, Hazell Mullins.
“I have seen our role change on farms over the past 10 years since qualifying as a vet. As a new grad, the ‘fire fighting’ emergency work was the majority of my workload, which meant I was usually on the farm when stress levels were high,” said the large animal vet, who is from a dairy farm in Carrignavar, Co. Cork.
“I find in recent years, farmers are reaching out to their vet for preventative herd/flock health advice, and we are now speaking with farmers on a regular basis, not just when a crisis hits the farm. My hope for the future of vets on farm, is that we are seen as an extension of the farm team who can play a vital role, in not just disease prevention, but overall herd/flock performance,” she said.
Farming in partnership with her dad, Anthony, she said it has been a great year, aside from the weather. She has been immersed in farming since childhood: “I think I was raised outside on the farm to be honest. I am now inherently bad at housework, and feel very enclosed when I have to spend the day inside.
“I loved to help dad on the farm from milking the cows, to walking the dogs and I also had a pony, ‘Misty’, that like most little girls I was obsessed with all things ponies.
“It has been a pleasure to officially join forces with my dad, and I am very excited about the future of the farm. We have made a few improvements lately.
“My husband, Jonathan, is my rock. He is not from a farming background, however it has never stopped him from helping out when needed,” Hazell said.
With her whole life centred around animals, a career as a vet was the dream: “I also loved science and nature. I always knew that University College Dublin (UCD) was perhaps out of my grasp due to the CAO points, my language grades let me down. I applied to the University of Nottingham and secured my place on their new veterinary medicine course.
“I loved the course and I was determined to succeed in getting my degree. My mum, Mari, played a pivotal role in encouraging me to become a vet, always on the other end of the phone with advice, and still today, she loves to stock my jeep with snacks to keep me going while on call,” said Hazell.
“In 2017 I moved home to my local practice, Abbeyville Veterinary Hospital, where I spent a wonderful four years doing mainly dairy practice and where I completed my post-grad certificate in cattle practice in Edinburgh. The vets in Abbeyville were my inspiration in becoming a vet,” she added.
She then got the opportunity to work for Highfield Veterinary in Naas, where she took up a management and mentorship role as a large animal director: “My love of Cork was so strong that I returned to work on the farm last spring, and I started up a large animal locum business which has allowed me to balance my two passions of farming and large animal vetting,” said Hazell.
Large animal veterinary, she acknowledged, is very physical, not just for female large animal vets, but for male large animal vets also. “It is important to look after yourself physically, to eat well and to stay fit. Spring is a marathon. A plan needs to be in place to get to the end. Some nights you may lose the race with lots of calls but you need to rest and get back into action again,” she said.
“I love that every day is different, you never know what the day ahead will be like, and you get to be a midwife for lots of different species. It never gets old bringing new life into the world. The most difficult part is planning your week around on-call duties, and perhaps having to miss out on going to events or spending time with friends and family. Saying this, you do get used to it,” she said.
Hazell stressed that it is “so important to stay vigilant on the farm. We can become complacent with experience. I try and plan my escape route if I know there is a dangerous animal in the yard, inject over the bars not though, and try to focus on one job at a time.”
The Cork woman has lots of ambitions for her year as Veterinary Ireland president: “One is to focus on communication, to make the wider public aware of the role of Veterinary Ireland, and showcase the hard work that is done behind the scenes day in and day out.
“A personal goal is also to encourage younger vets to actively participate in Veterinary Ireland to exercise their voice and to help support their progression into leadership roles within the organisation.
“Retention and recruitment of vets in Ireland is an unquestionable issue currently in the profession. It is a priority to support the newly set up ‘working conditions’ working group and also to support the establishment of a second vet school in Ireland,” said Hazell.
Hazell is also keen to show her continued support to the Medicines Working Group in Veterinary Ireland, to ensure fair veterinary representation regarding changing medicine regulations: “I am looking forward to a positive year as Veterinary Ireland president. It won’t be without challenges, however I am determined to represent the organisation and our members to the best of my ability,” she continued.