VN August 2023

Vetnuus | August 2023 12 I entered the veterinary field as an enthusiastic youngster, and after having spent two years in mixed animal practice and completing a master’s degree in Infectious Diseases with a focus on African horse sickness, I was hoping to progress in a career as an equine General Practitioner. However, as happens so often in life the Universe had different plans. In 2012 I had just started a part- timejobinKyalami,whilealsostartingaPhDinmoleculardiagnostictechniques for the African horse sickness virus when I found out that I was pregnant. I can remember at the time being devastated as I had no intention to be a parent ever, and I had a very clear idea of where I was going career-wise. However, at that time, I decided to move to Cape Town and move into the regulatory and surveillance focussed job that I currently do in African horse sickness control and management of the AHS-controlled area. I decided that although it wasn’t part of the original plan, now that being a parent was going to be in my future, I was going to find a way to make it work. I managed to continue my studies part-time and to finishmy PhD eventually in 2016 after havingmy second child. Either the“mom”role takes aback seatwhile I focus on someor otherwork crisis, or workmust take a back seat while one of the kids has extra needs for a period. I am fortunate to have a supportive husband and best friend in Omar, who is a small animal veterinarian. Many people often ask if both being in the same field is not a disadvantage as in some ways, we never get away from the vet life, but we have found that having someone that understands what you are going through completely has been a big support. I do not know how I would cope if I couldn’t come back and offload all my frustrations to someone who understands what I am talking about 100%. We have, however, both found it important to have interests outside of the work environment so that when we are not at work, we can forget about it completely. Before I qualified my main passion and interest was in horses and horse riding. Riding, stable management and all things horse related was really an all-consuming part of my life. In later years I have found that this is just too close to the job and does not allow me to switch off completely from work, which has been a sad development. In some ways, I find that I have lost one of mymajor passions, but inother ways, it has allowedme tobranchout intoother areas. I love being on stage singing, mostly as a backup to others in a band, but I have even done the occasional song and dance performance. I love hikingwith my family. Omar is very into cooking asmany of our colleagues know, and I have become more and more interested in gardening to grow the foods that can support his passion and more recently small-scale free-range chicken farming! It is becoming a bit of an obsession to seewhat different kinds of laying chicken breeds we canmanage. Being aworkingmother has absolutely had its challenges as I alluded to before, and I think this has still been the most challenging thing I have done in my life. The pressure that mothers are put under by society, other parents, the schools, and even other family members to produce the best behaved, best achieved, and all- rounded children sometimes feels to be a crushing sort of weight that never goes away . I have found the pressure from family, especially older family members, not understanding the fact that a woman can still have a career while still being an effective, competent mother, has been a constant struggle.The old idea that a woman should be at home with the children has not fully gone away. Society still seems to expect all women to want to be a mother, and once they are one, they should happily be home with the kids. While on the other hand, as a professional, you are expected to never let home life get in the way of your job, and be available at all hours of the day, 7 days aweek, without complaining. Funnily enough, as a very involved father, my husband finds it extremely annoying to always be told how amazing it is that he is “babysitting” his own children, he is such a hands-on dad, or that he does domestic-type functions such as cooking.We find it so funny thatwill all theprogress that has beenmade in equality in theworkplace andhome, there are some stereotypedperceptions that society just cannot move on from. That said the social and community aspect of the Veterinary Profession is somethingweoftenoverlookandasImentionedbefore,noonecanunderstand what we go through as veterinarians better than other veterinarians. I must say that the South African Equine Veterinary Association (SAEVA), and the parent group of SAVA have really helpedme over the last few years to branch into that aspect. The added benefit of networking, and the inspiration that comes from the interactions with different veterinary professionals at the various meetings, congresses andevents is invaluable. I amcurrently theoutgoingChairperson for SAEVA andwill continue as the State Liaison and Disease Reporting Committee Chair for SAEVA, as well as the branch secretary for the Western Cape SAVA branch. I can only emphasise to all the up-and-coming younger generation, which I still think of myself as being part of, but I guess that I am slowly (very slowly) moving into the older bunch, now is the time to get involved. The sooner the better! Even if you just start small by helping with branch meetings, social events, or even something small like submitting comments when requested on documents sent out by SAVA or SAVC, your contribution can make a difference and is appreciated. Then of course, make sure to get involved in the social and supportive side as well. I hope that over the next few years, we can increase the level of support, and a nurturing environment that will allow veterinarians to thrive with good mental health and intellectual growth in an inclusive community. Being a professional woman in today’s world is often challenging, but setting clear boundaries with yourself and others helps me to balance my life and determine which hat I have on that day! Being the high-functioning, academic and often overachieving group of individuals that we are as veterinarians, we often struggle to pace ourselves, recognise our limits and put ourmental health over the needs of our profession and clients. If I can give one piece of advice to up-and-coming veterinarians it is that while you should always give everything in terms of effort and your best in terms of ability, your life is not, and should never be all about work. Give yourself a break, be kind to yourself and be kind to others. Know when to ask for help and try to recognise when others need your help. v Dr CamillaWeyers Female Vets in Practice I cannot emphasise enough the benefit that has come from these involvements, which often seem like an added commitment on top of an already impossibly busy list of responsibilities, but honestly, there are only benefits to be had. The most challenging thing I have found is trying to balance work and home life. One always seems to suffer at different times.