VN August 2023

Vetnuus | August 2023 14 I have wanted to be a vet ever since I can remember. When someone told me that required hard work, I worked harder. I yearned and planned and strived. I never even considered anything else. As motivation, I told myself I needed to be able to do something about it if an animal was sick or injured. I couldn’t just be a bystander. So, I did everything I needed to do to get there with the help and loving support of my parents. What I never planned for was what I was going to do when I actually qualified, but God always has a plan. I loved livestock and farming, but I had studiedon a government bursary I had to work back and there were only 2 positions available in the Mpumalanga Veterinary Services when I qualified. One position was in Nelspruit in the Animal Health division, the other was in Witbank in Veterinary Public Health (VPH). And this is probably the point at which I was to change my future career, quite drastically, without realizing it. I made this decision with my heart; considering my fiancé was in Witbank. I had very little knowledge of what the VPH role entailed so it was a steep learning curve, and I learnt the most from the VPH officials in the district who were very experienced. I am so grateful they were there to teach me. I became intimately familiar with Red Meat Regulations and I learnt to audit effectively, mostly through practical experience. I also learnt some unexpected aspects of VPH including in-depth details on Sterilizing plants and Dairy processing facilities. I spent most of my time at poultry abattoirs which was completely out of my comfort zone. Keeping large-scale export facilities on track in terms of the regulations was a big responsibility which intimidated me initially, but I grew to enjoy it. On weekends I did some locum work at a local mixed practice, assisting mainly with companion animal consults. I enjoyed the little bit of extra income and the break from State Vet work but I was more and more convinced that small animal practicewas not forme and I gave it up completelywhenmy first child was born. There just wasn’t time for anything extra then. I fulfilled the role of VPH State Vet for 6 years. By then I had hit a ceiling in terms of furthering my career. The only way up was a job involving more red tape administration. I had enjoyed the comfort of maternity leave on a government salary twice by that time and I had worked back the years that I owed for my bursary. During my State Vet career, I wanted to investigate how SAVA could support me as a VPH veterinarian. I knew there were not many of us, but I never imagined there was so little cohesion. There had been no chairperson for some time and the group was almost non-existent. I started working with Dr Lwanga-Iga to piece the group back together. I went to chat with the previous chairperson, and I made some progress but the group needs more dedicated energy to push it further. In 2021 I saw a very interesting job advert in the SAVA newsletter. South African Pork Producers Organisation was hiring. I had been impressed by SAPPO’s involvement in an ASF outbreak some 2 years previously, so I gave it a second glance. The advert was quite cryptic and listed a very strange skill set without even mentioning where the job was based. I was curious so I worked through the strange list of skills they were looking for. I found that I ticked all the boxes…. Except for the, seemingly important, pig experience requirement. I was on maternity leave at the time, so I sent through a truly skeletal CV and gave the process no further thought. Next, I saw I had an interview for the position of Program Manager: One Health Consumer Assurance. I started the position in July 2021 just 3 months after my little boy was born. The management was very accommodating and so I started with just half day, extended it to a three-quarter day and eventually to a full day at the start of 2022. I am grateful to our CEO and the other management for allowing me that special time with my son. What I love about working for SAPPO is being at the heart of the pig industry. I truly believe that SAPPO is doing the best for the pork producers. The Pork360 auditing scheme is an amazing tool and SAPPO is leading the way in terms of standards development and partnership with DALRRD. Being involved in the Research Committee has also opened up some amazing partnership opportunities and we aim to work more closely with universities and researchers to further the scientific progress. A younger me never imagined I would be spending quite so much time at a desk or that I would enjoy writing SOPs quite as much as I do. I imagined myself more as the great James Herriot, roughing it from farm to farm as many young aspiring vets do. My grandfather still asks me if I didn’t want to be a“real vet”and many still ask me if I wouldn’t rather be in private practice. The truth is that no, I don’t wish for a more typical veterinary job. I like being unconventional and I like being home every evening for my family. And let nobody judge a vet in“industry”for wanting to have a more balanced life. v Dr Thandi Chiaperro When I enquired about theVPH group within SAVA I was almost immediately identified as a potential convenor of the group. But I realized that different brands of veterinary are not lesser. Female Vets in Practice