Eight vets work in a large and small-animal practice in Kinsale and Bandon, Co Cork. Within the partnership, vets specialise in different areas - one in equines, for example, another in surgery.
For Frank O'Keeffe, a typical day involves an 8.30am start, an hour's office work followed by rounds until 4pm. "I don't break for lunch," he says. "I then take a small-animal practice from 5pm to about 6.30pm and then I'd get on with administration work." The vets average 100 miles daily, he says - "this means that you have three hours of non-productive work every day."
The practice operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "We have a rota. I work every second weekend, day and night, and during the week I'm on call every second night."
The work is physically demanding, particularly in a dairy practice. "You need a lot of strength to be able to deliver a calf, which can weigh up to 60 kilos," he says.
Younger people coming into the profession can find it frustrating after a couple of years, he notes. "The biggest problem is the hours. You can't work in a practice and have the same amount of time off that people in other jobs have. People can find that difficult. Being a vet is a frame of mind. You have to have commitment. You need to like animals, the countryside and people."
