Here’s What Life as a Relief Vet is Really Like
Between long work hours and a high workload, life as a full-time veterinarian — while fulfilling — may not be optimal for every stage in your life. As your personal commitments grow, you may start to reevaluate your work-life balance. Transitioning into relief veterinarian work offers the ideal solution.
A relief veterinarian fills open shifts or temporary positions at different practices. They make their own schedules and choose which shifts to fill, which is why it’s easier to maintain work-life balance while working in veterinary relief. Essentially, veterinary relief work is a way to become self-employed without all of the headaches of having to find work on your own or manage administrative tasks.
Considering making the transition? If you’re interested (or may later be interested) in becoming a relief veterinarian, below are some aspects to consider.
By working with the right practice owner, veterinarians in full-time positions can also achieve many of these benefits. However, the flexible lifestyle of veterinary relief work paired with these additional advantages makes it an ideal option for those seeking more control over their veterinary career.
Rapidly Growing Demand
The demand for relief veterinarians is growing, up 30% over 10 years from 2008 to 2018, and even expanding in 2020 during the pandemic. As more and more veterinary professionals turn to this kind of work for its flexibility, travel opportunities, and more, veterinary clinics and hospitals are relying on relief services to cover shifts and find long-term stand-ins for full-time veterinarians who are taking time off or out for continuing education.
It’s clear — this type of veterinary lifestyle choice is here to stay. It is mutually beneficial for veterinarians who need to take time off to reset and rejuvenate without feeling guilty and relief veterinarians who want the variety and flexibility of scheduling themselves and working in different practices. This makes veterinary relief work a win-win situation for both parties and means this type of work is likely to remain popular for a long time.
Flexible Scheduling
Perhaps the most obvious benefit of being a relief veterinarian is the option to make your own work schedule. It allows you to match your schedule to fit your life — only working where and when you want.
VetEvolve’s one-stop scheduling platform for our relief veterinarians makes this process painless. Our scheduling app helps relief veterinarians claim shifts easily, eliminating excessive emails and confusion. You can check your schedule and make any necessary changes anytime, anywhere.
This system of self-scheduling allows for better work-life balance. Want to travel? The ability to schedule yourself in other locations lets you travel more often. Want more time with family and loved ones? Schedule yourself around important events so you never miss out. Flexible work scheduling gives you more control over your career, so you can make better decisions for your day-to-day life.
Diverse Work Experiences
Veterinary relief work is also a great option for those who are unsure of their specific area of interest within veterinary medicine. It allows for diverse work opportunities in the veterinary field through scheduling yourself in different environments, especially with VetEvolve’s vast network of hospitals and practices.
See if you prefer general practice or emergency medicine, or even if you would like working with exotic patients. Find out what type of work environment and structure you thrive in. Work with different animals and explore different areas of interest to find out where your passion lies.
Gaining experience in multiple different areas will help you grow into a well-rounded veterinary professional. This will help you later on as you focus on what you’re truly passionate about.
Ongoing Learning and Growth
If you’re thinking of becoming a relief veterinarian, you’ll want to work with a company dedicated to your career development. Partner with veterinary practice owners that go above and beyond in providing career support and ongoing education and training opportunities, which take your personal areas of interest into consideration.
VetEvolve’s small but mighty team is always available to help answer questions and support veterinarians in our network of practices and our veterinary relief team members. Our team is known in the veterinary profession for its compassion and dedication to helping veterinary professionals achieve their goals.
VetEvolve’s Relief Veterinarian Transition Options
VetEvolve is a people-focused organization that owns a network of veterinary hospitals and practices in the Eastern United States. We focus on providing specific, actionable business management solutions unique to each practice we work with, allowing veterinary professionals to thrive by focusing on providing high-quality medicine.
We’re deeply invested in the growth and development of each veterinary professional and team we work with. Our leadership team works with individual veterinarians for career support and finding educational and work opportunities that help them achieve their potential.
We understand that as life changes, career changes are sometimes necessary. That’s why we provide a complete range of veterinarian positions, including full-time, part-time and relief positions. When you partner with VetEvolve, you’ll be able to transition your career seamlessly with support from our team as you experience life changes.
Contact us today to apply for full-time positions or our veterinary relief team.