W
L
A VET'S REFLECTIONS
BY DUGIE GEMMILL, PARKSIDE VETS
They say life begins at forty, but as much as anything this
milestone is a point where we stop and reflect on our lives both
past and future.
Last week I was in Hexham, Northumberland spending a day
performing laparoscopic surgeries at the practice of one of my
oldest friends. Tim and I found ourselves sharing a glass of
wine in the evening before and indulged in reminiscence and
casting the magnifying glass over the previous thirty years of
our veterinary careers. We both commented that if someone had
suggested thirty years ago, what we are able to offer clients now,
we would have been incredulous. How our chosen profession has
changed over the last decades is little short of miraculous.
From its beginnings in 1979 in the dawn of modern small
animal veterinary practice, the early years were steered by
David Murdoch who had left a teaching post at the University
of Liverpool, to join Parkside Vets. David’s vision was to have
a practice that offered the best medicine and surgery possible
to the pet owning public. In those days the x-ray machine was
a huge valve powered monster that required its own three-
phase electrical supply (but it took amazing pictures!) and the
radiographs were wet-processed and developed in a brick-built,
lean-to dark room. Clinical notes were scribed onto record cards.
Laboratory analyses had to be posted to an external lab and a wait
of several days ensued for the results to return by post. Now we
have digital radiography, ultrasound, keyhole surgery and an in-
house laboratory capable of detailed blood analysis with results
almost immediately, and everything contains or is connected to
a computer chip!
I joined Parkside Vets in 1990, a year and a half after graduation.
I was happy to have found a job and was soon in awe of David
Murdoch’s clinical and surgical skill. I was convinced I only got
the job because I was a fellow Scot! David became my mentor
and honed my approach to our vocation, our profession. It is
because of his unwavering support, and his aspiration to provide
excellence in private practice that my skills developed; and that
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the practice can provide complex orthopaedic surgeries and
laparoscopic procedures today.
David’s support has always been mirrored by the nurses,
managers and receptionists, who are both the cogs that turn the
machine and the oil that allow the cogs to turn smoothly. We
work side by side in a profession that can be both rewarding and
stressful. Their dedication and humour make the days a pleasure.
Reflections can be rose-tinted, but every day I am reminded by
the tireless efforts of every member of staff, on behalf of our
patient’s and clients, how lucky I am to be part of the Parkside
family. My over-riding sense is that I am blessed to be a part of
a Veterinary Practice that can boast the longevity and pedigree
of Parkside Vets.
Being part of a long-lived, independent practice is a privilege.
I remember a consultation where a lady and her daughter had
brought in the family’s new puppy for vaccination. The puppy
was gorgeous of course, and the little girl delighted with her
new playmate. However, it sticks in my mind because Mum
commented that she remembered seeing me in a similar situation
many years before as a thirteen-year old girl accompanying her
own mother! We become vets and vet nurses with the goal of
healing animals and promoting animal welfare, but one of
the most rewarding aspects of being a member of this caring
profession is the opportunity to be a part of the lives of our
clients, hearing their stories and sharing in their humanity.
I believe every veterinary practice has a personality, like a living
animal itself. It is the sum of everyone who has ever worked
there, and the clients, and community that it serves. We have
good days and we have sad days, but we all work together for the
good of our patients. I have to say that I love veterinary practice. I
love my practice, Parkside, and everyone involved in it – on both
sides of the consulting table, and the patients on top! I have no
idea what the veterinary profession will have managed to achieve
in another four decades, but I hope that Parkside remains part of
the Wirral’s history.