Paeroa graduate vet recipient of career-boosting scheme

Melissa says VBS for Veterinarians is important because it encourages graduates to look further than the main cities for work.

Waikato-based veterinary graduate Melissa Veltman is to receive $55,000 over five years through a scheme developed to kick-start young vets’ careers and to help combat the shortage of animal health specialists in New Zealand.

32 graduate vets will begin their careers in rural New Zealand, with a financial boost from the Government’s Voluntary Bonding Scheme for Veterinarians (VBS), Acting Agriculture and Rural Communities Minister Meka Whaitiri announced on November 18.

“The Voluntary Bonding Scheme incentivises vets to take up positions in our more remote regions,” Meka Whaitiri said. “Since its inception in 2009, the VBS has supported 416 graduate vets from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South, providing certainty for students and vital skills for our rural communities. We need these vets to provide the best care for production animals, such as cows, sheep and pigs, and working dogs that are so essential in our food and fibre sector.”

The programme is delivered by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Eight of this year’s recipients will be placed in the Waikato, while Canterbury, Manawatū-Whanganui, Southland, Taranaki, Otago, Auckland, the Bay of Plenty and Hawke’s Bay will also benefit from an influx of graduates.

“Vets are vital members of our rural communities, and many graduates who have taken up the scheme enjoy the lifestyle these locations offer. From Waimauku, north of Auckland, to Winton in the deep south, this year’s graduates will play a crucial role in helping our farmers with production and animal welfare. The VBS is just one of the programmes the Government is investing in to ensure our farmers have access to high-quality, professional veterinary services and help rural communities to continue to thrive,” said Whaitiri.

Melissa is originally from the Bay of Plenty; “I originally grew up on a dairy farm near Whakatane, but when I was 16 my parents moved to a larger dairy farm in Rotorua.”

She adds that becoming a vet was not originally a career at the top of her list when she left school, and some parental encouragement steered her towards working with animals.

“My father always said that I would be a good vet, but I never considered vet school until my last year in high school. Prior to Year 13, I wanted to become a doctor, but decided that I didn’t want to lose my connection to the farming industry and be confined to four walls and an office all day. I always loved to help the vet when they visited our farm and was fascinated with what they could do with all their fancy tools. I also wanted to have a career where you are continuously learning and problem-solving. Becoming a veterinarian also enables me to help people and animals and make a difference at a herd level.”

The path to becoming a vet is not without its challenges, and according to Melissa, starting out can be intense.

“People say that getting into vet school is the hardest part - I would disagree and say it was the most stressful part. The hardest part is the first year out of vet school, which is such a critical period for new graduate veterinarians and is when you need the most support. It is well-known that there is a shortage of veterinarians, and therefore finding a role where you are supported and mentored is so important for retaining veterinarians within the industry. It can be difficult to leave a support network of friends and lecturers at Massey University to jump into your career, and unfortunately, I already know some classmates who have left their jobs within the first six months due to burnout and lack of support.”

“There have been so many challenges this year for me. However, the biggest challenge I have found is having to deal with the euthanasia of animals regularly. It can be especially difficult on a patient when you have developed your emotional connection to them. However, people are usually very grateful that vets can help them peacefully put their animals to sleep, and even though it’s sad, I see it as an act of service to the community.”

Melissa says she loves the diversity of the job: “One day I’ll be out on a farm treating cattle, and the next I can be at the clinic stitching up a pigdog.” She is working in Paeroa, which she loves because “you always bump into somebody you know when shopping in town”.

Melissa says VBS for Veterinarians is important because it encourages graduates to look further than the main cities for work. It also helps those “coming out of vet school with a massive student loan”.

“It’s reassuring to know that VBS can help ease that financial pressure.”