BEVA Council Member Gemma Dransfield shares her experiences as part of our celebration of women in the equine veterinary profession for International Women's Day 2023.
My desire to become a veterinary surgeon began at a young age. Initially it was driven by the love of being around animals, particularly horses, but as I progressed through school it was combined with my interest in science. I was over the moon when I got a place at Vet School.
I have been working in equine clinical practice since graduating from Cambridge 18 years ago. I have spent 15 of these years working at the Minster Equine Clinic in Yorkshire. Equine practice has changed a lot in this time. When I first graduated, I had all the challenges related to gender discrimination within the industry. Male equine vets were favoured by clients and were therefore favoured within clinical practice. The expectation of on call and working hours was also huge. Now women are over represented in the profession and this has brought new challenges and great change! I became a Mum in 2015, initially I was worried that I would struggle to work through pregnancy and that my desire to progress in my career would fall behind. This has not been the case at all, and with the right support I worked to 38 weeks in both pregnancies. Since my return to work I have been able to maintain a stud work case load, I manage the practice and our small team, I serve on the VetPartners Equine Board and I joined BEVA council in 2021. Keeping all the plates spinning is not an easy task but as my girls are growing and changing, I am too. I have constantly evolved how I work to ensure that I can be there for them and be satisfied as a vet.
My advice to other women in our profession in similar circumstances is to always take opportunities and challenges that are given to you, even if you don’t feel like you are experienced to do so. Clinical practice can be monotonous when you have been doing it for a long time, taking on new roles and challenges from different aspects of the profession definitely keep it interesting. Also ensure that you have the right team of like-minded people around you. It is so much easier to achieve everything you want to, with the right team and support. When times are tough, which is common in clinical practice and in parenting, it is a little bit easier knowing that you are valued and appreciated by those you are working for.