Becoming a vet is tough. Being a vet is probably even tougher. But none of that has stopped this month’s featured vet, Emma Hall of The Wild Vet in Glebe, NSW. We caught up with her in a rare moment of free time to hear her story.
How did you become a vet?
I’ve always wanted to be a vet, ever since I was a little girl. My passion has always been (and still is!) looking after wildlife. I volunteered at Taronga Zoo and became a wildlife carer, plus I did work experience as a vet.
Before vet school, I studied Marine Biology and Zoology, with honours in Palaeontology. After all that, I switched to the University of Sydney to study Veterinary Science. It took 9 years, but I finally graduated as a vet in 2016!
What happened between graduating and starting your own practice?
I started out in a really busy clinic, and while I loved the team, the workload quickly led to burnout. I moved to another practice and worked as a locum for a while, which was great because I got to care for so many wonderful pets. But as much as I loved treating all the pets that came through the doors, I realised I was missing the chance to provide high-quality care to the beautiful wildlife we have here in Australia.
Eventually, I understood that to truly focus on both pets and wildlife, I needed to start my own practice. So, I did just that—I organised a business loan, found a premises, and on Valentine’s Day 2020, I opened The Wild Vet.
And just as I was getting started, the COVID pandemic hit.
What was it like having a new practice during COVID?
It was definitely a challenge. The regulations allowed me to drive to work, but there were all sorts of complications. We spent a few weeks doing outdoor consultations at the kerbside by the practice, but the customers weren’t too thrilled with it. We also did video consultations whenever possible.
The practice was meant to focus on exotic pets just as much as on the more traditional cats and dogs. But with many exotic pet owners living more than 5km away, even though they were technically allowed to travel to see a vet, they were often hesitant. They worried they wouldn’t be able to justify traveling the extra distance to visit us instead of their local dog and cat vet.
And to top it off, the business was only one month old. I didn’t have a lot of regular clients, and without figures from previous quarters, we didn’t qualify for government assistance either.
We advertised everywhere—pet shops, Google, social media, and even did local letterbox drops. Somehow, we made it through and kept the business going.
Tell us about your practice now
We’ve got a great team – there are three other vets besides myself – one full-time, one part-time, and a locum who does regular shifts with us. We’re supported by two fantastic practice managers, a team of vet nurses, and our friendly receptionist. And of course, there’s Apollo, our resident macaw! I co-parent him with my parents because my one-bedroom apartment isn’t really big enough for him.
Our patients are evenly split between cats and dogs on one side and exotics on the other. We started with mostly birds and rabbits, but now we see a growing number of guinea pigs, ferrets, rats, snakes, lizards, and more.
I’ve noticed that with the current economy, people are a bit more cautious about spending, but even with that, the practice has come a long way in the last four years.
What’s the most unusual case you’ve treated?
There have been so many! Rectal surgery on an inland taipan, reproductive ultrasounds on a sea turtle, x-rays on a sea eagle, a penguin which was believed to have swallowed a permanent marker, a quokka, a carpet python which swallowed BBQ tongs!
I could go on for days – the dynamic nature of the work and the interesting cases keeps it fresh.
One heartwarming case which stands out recently is a guinea pig who came in paralysed due to a broken spine. It’s taken almost two months of physio, rehab and strength exercises to get him back to running around normally, but it’s great to see him recover.
Probably the most heartbreaking has been the number of rabbits I’ve seen with calicivirus. There’s nothing I can do to help them, and it would be so easy to prevent with vaccination.
What do you do outside work?
I try to make sure I get at least one weekend away every month. I go camping and hiking, exploring waterfalls and taking photographs. Also, I used to paint – I had to drop Art in Year 12 so I could keep doing the subjects required to become a vet, and I carried on for a while, but I don’t have the time now.
How long have you known the Radincon team?
I’ve known about Radincon since I was a locum. I used a lot of different equipment at different practices – I remember a Radincon x-ray system at Somersby Vet and a couple of places which used the GE Logiq e ultrasound. It just stood out in terms of quality. It still does at The Wild Vet.
The only equipment change I’m making is that I’m planning to upgrade to RocketPACS for our digital imaging storage. At the moment we use e-film, which means we have to download manually to the practice management software, and we can’t check images easily from home or other locations.
What about more general plans for the future?
I’d love to keep expanding the work we do for wildlife – but I have to remind myself to balance that with making things work financially so we can stay in business. I’ve been a volunteer carer for Sydney Wildlife Rescue for years. I’ve always wanted to treat wildlife free of charge, however this soon became unsustainable as we were inundated with cases.
I’d like to expand our wildlife hospital ward, either at the current premises or elsewhere. Plus it would be great to establish a registered charity to raise funds for the cost of treatment. Then we could go back to treating patients from wildlife carers free of charge.
Something else I’d like to do more of is zoo work. I currently work with several zoos and wildlife parks, and (in addition to treating wildlife) it is one of my favourite aspects of being a veterinarian.
Finally, do you have any advice for young vets entering the profession?
When you’re studying and starting out:
- Veterinary nursing throughout vet school is a great way to prepare yourself for the transition from being a student to a fully-fledged vet.
- For aspiring exotic pet and/or wildlife vet, a strong foundation in small animal medicine and surgery is infinitely useful. Being a competent, efficient surgeon means better patient outcomes when dealing with exotic pets and wildlife. Looking back, I’m glad I started out in a busy dog and cat clinic.
- Ensure your employer provides a supportive work environment. Starting out as a new graduate can be stressful enough without adding abusive clients or an unrealistic workload to the mix. Luckily I’ve had some great bosses, but I know of others who weren’t so lucky
If your career goals include running your own practice:
- Get some management experience before you do that. I went through a seriously steep learning curve!
- Listen to other people’s advice about starting small. I had big visions and took out a lease on a large premises. That was tough financially.
- Get a good practice manager. The first practice manager I hired, who’s still with me, had experience as a vet nurse already, which really helped. She knows all about patient care and what to expect – I’d be lost without her! Having someone with experience is invaluable when you want to share the load.