ULVAA Committee Spotlight: James Taylor
James Taylor (BVSc 2019) joined the ULVAA Committee in 2023. In this ULVAA Committee Spotlight, James shares some vet school memories, tells us about his career so far and his experience volunteering with both ULVAA and the British Veterinary Association (BVA).
Could you share some highlights from your student experience at Liverpool?
My biggest highlights were completing rotations, specifically my first week in the Small Animal Teaching Hospital (SATH) and then my elective in anaesthesia. It really ignited a passion for anaesthesia and analgesia in small animals and it was amazing to work so closely with accomplished, friendly members of not only the anaesthetic team but all the other specialities within the SATH.
In the pre-clinical years, I really enjoyed exploring Liverpool and spending as much time as possible in the city. I stayed in private accommodation near the centre for my second and third years, close to the centre of all the action. Having come from quite a rural upbringing, it was a big change for me, but absolutely kindled a lifelong love for the city we’ve all come to adopt as our own.
Did anyone inspire you as a student?
Now this list is honestly too long to try to condense down, but I will do my best! My biggest inspirations were Briony Alderson, Alison Reid and Rob Pettit for both their knowledge and approach to working compassionately and empathetically with the students.
The winner of our final year student award, Joe Simon, was an ongoing inspiration. I am honoured to have helped him to found the LUVS LGBT+ society, which will remain an ongoing legacy that truly exemplifies the difference he made to his peers.
Could you provide an overview of your career since graduating?
I went straight into small animal first opinion clinical practice in September 2019 – which probably rings alarm bells for many of you straight away! I had around 6 months of normal new graduate development before the world turned upside down and I had to help my clinic navigate COVID, with rolling furlough, skeleton shifts, remote consulting, and limited support making day to day practice a challenge to say the least. Once COVID had settled down, I reflected on my clinical journey so far and made the difficult decision to step back from clinical practice in 2022.
At this point, I had a strong desire to make a difference for upcoming vets of the future and took on a role with a not-for-profit. I mentored student applicants, helping them apply for veterinary school, as well as heading up a scholarship programme for current veterinary students. After a year in the role, the organisation I was working for changed direction to focus more on the human medical field and I was left to search for my next adventure.
The search didn’t last long, as I quickly found my place with Medivet in late 2023, taking on an evolution of my previous role in the mentoring of new graduate vets to try and provide them with the best start to their career possible!
What has your experience been like as a member of the University of Liverpool Veterinary Alumni Association (ULVAA) committee?
I have found the experience of being on the committee insightful, giving me the chance to see how passionate my fellow alumni of various graduating classes are. It is wonderful to feel part of the university community once more, after somewhat closing myself off to this in the first couple of years of my career. I am excited to see what the future holds with this.
You're actively involved in volunteering with the British Veterinary Association (BVA). Can you share insights into this experience?
Around a similar time as wanting to get more involved with the university alumni committee and helping upcoming veterinary students, I responded to an email asking for applications for a regional representative with the BVA. Having only a cursory knowledge of the association from university meant that I didn’t know too much about what the role involved, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey thus far. I have represented the views of Welsh vets at multiple regional and national meetings, where policies deciding the path that the BVA will take have been made, met with high-ranking members of Welsh government and even had advanced media training with BBC journalists. Not only this, but I’ve forged connections with vets across Wales and the UK as a whole and I truly feel more in tune with my peers than at any other point in my career so far.
What advice would you offer to current veterinary students?
Again, I’ll struggle to keep this short (I like to chat if you couldn’t tell)! I think my biggest piece of advice would be to make informed decisions rather than purely emotive ones. It’s a massive decision to become a vet and an even bigger one to admit that maybe the path you envisioned from the start is no longer the one for you. Many of my friends started out wanting to go into farm practice and ended up falling in love with equine or smallies and vice versa, and that flexibility is key to making sure you’re happy where you end up. Similarly, when deciding between a clinical or non-clinical role. When it comes to choosing your first job, consider shift patterns, salary, location etc. but above all go to the clinic, meet the team and make sure that you feel that there is a supportive environment you can see yourself working in. The team around you is the most important factor to early success in your veterinary career.
You can learn more about ULVAA by exploring their webpages, which include details of volunteering opportunities with with the School of Veterinary Science.