Hi everybody, and thank you for joining us for another episode of Vet Chat. Today we are gonna be discussing hybrid veterinary roles with the webinar vet's good friend, Sylvia Janska. Sylvia took her time becoming a vet, and her portfolio lifestyle has continued since she qualified as a vet from the RVC in 2014.

Prior to this, she received a bachelor's degree in veterinary science and a master's in wild animal biology. Throughout her eight year education at the RVC she also worked in the e-media department on various projects that help to enhance student learning, including the Wiki Vett project, which is now part of the webinar vet family. After graduating, Sylvia completed an equine internship and obtained a certificate in veterinary Business Management.

And she continues to be extremely passionate about exploring ways in which she can help to improve the veterinary profession. In more recent years, she found a Flexi, a flexible working initiative. She works as a consultant for animal health businesses where she combines her expertise in scientific methodology, veterinary medicine, and business development, and she still finds time to do some clinical equine work too.

Finally, Sylvia also volunteers as a board member at SIVs and is a member of the Green Veterinary practise Working group for Vets team. So welcome Sylvia, thanks so much for joining me today. Thank you very much for having me.

So we've just touched upon in your intro, that you've been working in a variety of roles over the last 8 to 10 years, since you graduated. So when you graduated, was it always your intent to do that, or did you think that you would, remain in practising medicine? Yeah, no, I mean, I always wanted to be an equine vet, initially I wanted to specialise in equine surgeon.

Specifically do soft tissue surgery, and, so yeah, no, I've always thought I'd be sort of full time in clinical equine role, but I've always liked doing other things on the side. I, I like to have a variety in my life, and I guess life just turned out this way that I do quite a portfolio of things now rather than, 100% clinics. Mhm.

Brill, so tell us a little bit about your jobs that you do at the moment. Sure, yeah, so, I'm an equine vet and I still do some, equine ambulate free work. I, I love it.

What I have done, in the past couple of years together with Jessica May, we've set up Flexy, which is looking at improving work-life balance for vets and vet nurses, and we keep hearing that having a bit more flexibility to fit work inside their life is the number one thing that they want, so this is the space that we're exploring and wanting to help and consultant. And then I also consult for animal health companies. So I guess just as an example, you've mentioned sort of my trio combination of expertise or the the research bit, the fact that I'm clinically qualified and commercially minded sort of business development side of things, so I try and combine those three things, and so I consult for, for example, I'm doing, animal health market sizing, work for one Swiss animal health consultancy as an external consultant, that's just an example.

And I work with animal health startups as an advisor, whether that's negotiating a professional partnerships or advising them on their sort of commercialization of their products because obviously I understand the consumer, the pet parent, the horse parent, etc. So yeah, that's kind of what I do. That really is a large variety.

It's, are your days completely varied then the no two days look the same. It's, it's what I make it, you know, it's, it's how, how I like to, how I like to work, I suppose. So yeah, no, there's hardly two days the same.

I guess what the days largely consist of is, either me doing the, the work or doing a lot of meetings, so sort of if you had to compartmentalise it a bit, that's, that's sort of what the . Of the consultancy work is, is, is having those conversations but doing a lot of work before and after those conversations. Yeah, sure, absolutely.

How did it all sort of come about and and grow? How did you get into such a variety of of roles? I guess, as I said already, I, I really like a variety.

I like change. I love to improve things, and I think that's sort of the The kind of personality that that school recruits for really, it's that kind of problem solving personality and and I hate it when people complain and don't do something about it. So I'm I'm I'm very action oriented person, so, so I've always sort of when there is something that's not working, I wanna try and find a way to to make it work.

And to help. So I guess that's how, how it's come about and as, as, as you kind of mentioned in, in, in introducing me, I've done that also as a student, you know, when we wanted to have our lectures recording, recorded, I, I went to media and art, can we have our lectures recorded and suddenly I had a whole project and it took me a few years, but, you know, from very, very a mechanical trialling things to fully automated system, right? So, so that was, that was something, and, and I guess the variety also comes from having the basic understanding through my degrees in those different areas, so the research, the, the clinical veterinary medicine and and and the business side of things, and all I try and do is actually utilise all of them, .

And, and, and work for, you know, companies that might need me to have the understanding and the network in all these three areas. Yeah. Brilliant, sounds good.

So we hear the phrase quite a lot now in the vet space hybrid, veterinary jobs. What does it mean to you? Do we hear it a lot of hybrid veterinary jobs?

What I've heard a lot is having side hustles. That's what I hear a lot. Well, what does hybrid veterinary job mean to me?

I suppose, it, it just means having a number of different, sort of roles and responsibilities within the veterinary profession, I guess, you know, whether that's you being 100% in clinics and . Dedicating some of your time, say, you know, 80% to clinical work and 20% to help develop the business, right? So that might be in a way a hybrid role because you're doing a few different things or being a board member on the different organisations that we have an associations.

So, I mean, I think I can answer that question in a number of different ways, but I, I hope this suffices. Yeah. Absolutely, thank you.

So, you touched upon earlier, you were an equine vet, so you did spend 100% of your time being an equine vet up until around about a year ago. And then what made you, or motivated you to then take on more of a hybrid approach to your working life? Absolutely, so, .

As I said, I've always had my fingers in many pies just because I love connecting with people and helping out and and I guess I have a curious mind. I want to know how things work and how can they work better. As I said at the very, very beginning, I never planned not to be 100% in clinical practise.

It wasn't, you know, I didn't consciously live, leave my clinical kind of role or or that type of lifestyle. It was just that I guess life happened, and it was around the COVID time, but, yeah, I found myself. leaving my last clinical role, and I started looking for another one, about a year ago.

And, and then I thought, well, it's second lockdown, Christmas is coming. I can't sustain myself for, you know, financially without a job for 1 or 2 months, if, if I do do something, if I, if I don't do a clinical role immediately, now is the time. And so I just kinda slowed down for a bit.

And that's unusual for me, but that was, I suppose, a conscious decision to like, OK, let's let's see what what else life has to offer and what's, you know, and, and then other projects started coming my way and I managed to sustain myself, as I am self-employed for the past year. Brill. Oh, well done you.

It's a great achievement. I, I bet you can't believe how quickly it's gone. Yeah.

Yes. So it's very much a combination of timing with the pandemic, etc. But then also so many great opportunities kept coming your way.

Absolutely, and I think that's, that's a key word you said, opportunities and you know, people say, oh, you have to learn how to say no and I kind of disagree with that. I don't sort of say no, but it's like, OK, how can I help or redirect and still be either involved or in a smaller capacity to help out if that's what is needed, and as long as it's something fun and I'm interested in it and it's aligned with my values, then I want to be involved. So I think, you know.

Opportunities always present themselves. It's just half the time we don't see them or don't grab them. Mhm.

Absolutely. So how on earth do you manage everything? How do, how do you have time to keep everything sort of coordinated and, you know, check you're not dropping any balls and things like that?

Yeah, very good question, and I think it's a learning process, and I think we learn as we go through life, whether you're in my kind of position or or or any position really, but I think you have to know your limits, you have to know what you can manage, and what fulfils you, you know, even though I like what I do and I sort of integrate my work in my life, it's just, you know, how I live, of course I do have my boundaries and I need to be able to fully switch off if I, you know, need to, but I think sort of to summarise it though, how I managed it, and you mentioned time there, but I guess three things I'd say is a, self-discipline, so I, I was never a big planner, but I now do plan for things and I hold myself accountable and if if I Feel I can't, I give that power to something else, my schedule, so the schedule is holding me accountable, so self-discipline definitely, priority management, absolutely, it's, for me it's become much more about priority management rather than time management, because although I do plan, sometimes things pop up that are a higher priority and I do need to refocus. So just a very good example. Yesterday I received an email in sort of the late afternoon.

I knew it would take me about an hour to do that task, but it needed to be done by today, ready for a meeting for next Monday, so that could have been delayed. And what I was doing at that time, yes, needed to be done, but I don't mind doing that for an extra hour tomorrow, right? Because I can choose to work Saturday, Sunday, and not on a Friday if I want to, right?

So, so for me that's the kind of jiggling, of priorities that I do, and then thirdly is having focused attention. Because, with so many things that I am involved in, and so many projects, so many people, so many conversations, and I do think very fast and I can sometimes hold a lot in my head. But I've learned to detach myself from that kind of mind and be very focused, and what I mean by that is literally on the day to day basis, if, today I'm spending working on Flexy, then I will only focus on that, for 34 hours or for the whole day or whatever that is.

So I do need to be really focused and then once that's completed, you can refocus your attention. But it can be, I think that is a learning sort of a learned skill because, you know, it was tougher at the beginning. I was like, oh, but I have this and I shouldn't be spending too much time on this because I have that, so, but you're much more productive if you can just, separate separate yourself from that kind of mind and learn to be more focused.

Brilliant. Yeah, I think those are the three. Yeah, self-discipline, priorities and focused attention and, and I guess knowing your limits.

Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant.

That's great. And knowing your limits is a, is a good point, cause I guess with this sort of career, I guess there is always that risk that you can get a bit overwhelmed, a little bit burnt out. So do you find that those points that you've just touched upon helped you, help that to not happen to you yourself?

Yes, absolutely, and it's a great question, I guess very, a key topic in the in the vet profession, the whole area around burnout and overwork, and, actually I have experienced that, while I was in my full-time clinical role where I got a panic attack once, which I had no clue what it was. And I'm just about OK to talk about it. I mentioned it, but it took me a while to sort of understand what happened and I thought I knew my limits, but now I really do know my limits, .

And you know, it's, it's happened to me, it's, it's been and gone and it's all fine now, but so I guess that is something that is helping me now to be like, OK, no, no, this is, this is it. I, you know, I, I can't take on another bit, you know, another job or another role, or I just learn how to, as I said before, either redirected to somebody else that might be better suited for that. Job or, or give them a, a, a, you know, match expectation with timelines.

I guess the other thing with, burnout, as I said, it is about being self-aware and knowing what, what you need. In your life holistically. So for me, I love to to work.

I'm very passionate and I put a lot of energy into the jobs that I do. It, it really fulfils me to be productive in this manner. But I also know, for example, for me, I need to have a sports.

So, you know, I ride my horse, I go to the gym, I go to do classes, etc. And I also know what relaxes me if I can't switch off or suddenly I have a stream of, you know, bad sleep. I can't fall asleep because maybe I, I am starting to feel that there is actually that hasn't happened for a while, but I know what works for me, and that's going to be different for everybody, but for example, for me, you know, you give me sunshine and see and I'll be fine.

And if I can't replicate it in the UK, I go to a spa. But for me, you know, it might sound like a luxury, but for me that's actually a very, I just need warmth and that's what really, really helps me, whether that's a sauna or a hot tub or whatever, I just need warmth, right? And that's just a very, very personal thing that I'm well, I'm happy to share here on this podcast with you, but, it's just really being self-aware of at what point you need what.

Yeah, no, that's great advice. I think we've touched upon it in a couple of the other podcasts that we've done, and as part of the, the series, you know, self-awareness and mental health and wellbeing, and yeah, it's so, so important that people understand what that looks like to them and how they can ensure that they have that in their lives. So yeah, thank you for sharing that.

So back to the kind of hybrid vet, roles, if people are listening in now, and they're quite excited by what you're saying, they'd quite like to give it a go, where should they start? Any tips? Yeah, many tips, I suppose.

I, I think first of all, if, if you wanna try something different or new, it's worth under again self awareness thing, it's worth understanding, is it because you're being pulled towards something exciting. That you think will fulfil you, make you happier, and energise you, or is it because you're feeling, feeling that you're being pushed? So, you know, are you stressing in your current job?

Are you feeling burned out, etc. Right? And the grass is not always greener on the other side.

So it self awareness about what energises you and what drains you is really, really useful, and I've actually done a few personalities. It has that, you know, I, I thought I knew, but it's quite nice to also sort of have it checked by whether it's that, or I've spoken to a couple of coaches just that come my way. And I'm like, yeah, OK, sure.

I'll, I'll do a coaching session, you know. So it's just quite nice to either, you know, it by yourself or get help, sort of drawing it out from you. And then, after that, if, if you, if you know what it is that, you're good at, what, what you really enjoy.

Then really just connecting with people and building relationships as my number one thing, and I've done that. I mean, I've done that throughout my life, but when I was consciously looking to go into animal health, business consulting, LinkedIn has become a big playing ground for me and if I like somebody's profile, I would literally reach out to them and ask, can I have a 10 minute chat? I really, really like your profile.

And your career journey, I'd love to hear more. And that was it. I wasn't asking them for anything.

I just wanted to know their story. So connecting with people and offering to help is a second one. I've never started a relationship by asking for help because I almost didn't know what help I need.

So it was kind of like, is there any, I, I'm really interested in what you're doing. Can I help you somehow? You know, so be a be a giver and you're getting something out of it anyway, I suppose.

But just, just volunteer, most of my, maybe not now, but, earlier on, a lot of my jobs started just by volunteering and volunteering to help, because I was interesting in interested in the subject. And the other thing actually a year ago that helped me specifically to set up my consultancy, I actually did, a course, the, the portfolio collective catapult course to be exact, and I I'm, I'm sure it's developed, since then, but it was really, really good about, . Exactly that sort of niching yourself, knowing where your expertise lie, and knowing how to communicate it to the public and whether it's through LinkedIn or your website or something else.

So they, they were actually that that community was really, really helpful as well. So I think to sum it up, be self aware and know what you're good at, what energises you, connect with people. Offered to help out and just start somewhere whether it's a course or or or something else.

Brilliant, that's great, thank you. Do you think, obviously it feels at the moment like there is a lot of kind of change going on in the veterinary profession. I'm simply vets who are payroll and recruitment, you know, they've never been busier, it seems like there's a lot of movement.

Oh, you know, in that space, do you think that times are changing a little bit? What's your personal thoughts on that? Do you think veterinary medicine will move towards this type of hybrid role?

Yeah, it's a, it's an interesting question and I think it's multifactorial really and it starts from the kind of personality. We recruit to become a bats, right, because there will, there will always be some people who are, fulfilled and energised by having one job role starting at a specific time in the day, finishing, maybe not doing out of hours, going home and having a quiet evening, right? So so it's a type of personality then you have the kind of people who who will want more variety within a, a purely clinical role, and then you will have, people that, will want a variety within the whole profession, say our animal health industry is even bigger, sort of like what I'm doing, so.

I think. Yeah, I, I, as I said, I think vets and professionals, want more diversity will go out and seek it and, and, and it depends who the students are and who we're recruiting into universities and then into jobs. I think we're sort of on a larger scale, not necessarily, you know, our industry, our profession, the vet profession isn't different in this respect from the other professions.

We are seeing a lot of people having some sort of, you called it hybrid working, I call it a portfolio career, . But, but some, some sort of mainstream of income that they can feel secure about, but then they're doing some side hustles, and we've seen a lot of side hustles or whatever we want to call it that profession as well. So we're kind of seeing that shift overall, and, I think it's coming from people feeling that they have a bit more autonomy and flexibility.

Around their life. So, OK, now I have something concrete that gives me my mainstream income and sustains me and hopefully it is a job I love job in our case. But to supplement that core, I will do something else on the side that I, you know, I have more of a control over, maybe I can do, I don't have to do.

I can charge, I don't have to charge, etc. So yeah, I think, I think it, I don't, I don't know what the future holds, but I, I, I think there is a bit of a shift happening, but it's not purely, in the vet profession. I think it's it's a global thing.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think all the work that you're doing with Flexy as well is, is brilliant and really will support the profession as well as things develop in the coming years. So, I hope so.

Oh, well, we're out of time, Sylvia. Thank you so much. It's, it's flown by and as always, with our podcast, when they go live, we'll publish a blog with any points that you've mentioned, and we'll put a link to the portfolio collective as well.

. Oh, that's great. Thanks so much, Sylvia. Thank you as well.

Take care. Bye. Bye.