Maciej Ligus has seen his career take him from the Polish countryside to the fast-paced world of a Vets Now clinic. And he insists he couldn’t have made the switch from looking after farm animals to caring for sick pets without Cutting Edge. But the renowned 10-week paid induction programme to help vets thrive in ECC medicine has done more than give him a new direction and huge job satisfaction. He tells us how making the move to Vets Now’s Gillingham clinic has at last given him the work-life balance that lets him be a better dad to his two children.
How did you get into the veterinary world?
My best friend’s father is a vet and as a child I clearly remember peering through the window of his practice, seeing him do operations. I was an empathetic little boy and I always wanted to help animals, so I think I held on to the interest that started. I went to study at Wroclaw University of Life Sciences, spending my final year in an exchange programme in Munich, and graduating in 2016.
And what were your first steps after that?
My main interest was farm animals, mostly cattle, so I worked for a few years as a farm vet in Poland. I enjoyed it at first and learned a lot, but it was tough and there was no work-life balance. I was doing 15 hours a day, with long journeys between farms and barely seeing my wife. I needed something to change and, as I speak two foreign languages, I decided to finally take advantage of that. So, I looked abroad and took a job at a farm practice in Northern Ireland. I was there for a couple of years, but I was seeing the same type of cases and now had two young children, so I needed flexibility to travel back home to see them. That’s when I became aware of ECC and how the Vets Now night shift patterns – and I was well used to nights on call on farms!
Apart from the flexibility, what was it about ECC that attracted you?
Like a lot of vets, I guess I liked the thought of dealing with emergencies and not knowing what you are going to see. I love medicine and after what I’d been doing with farm animals, this seemed to offer a real taste of that. I was looking for the challenge with cases, to develop as a vet and be excited again about what I’d be doing.
How did things progress from there?
I looked into Cutting Edge and found out that I needed at least a year working with small animals, which I obviously didn’t have. So, I took a job at a day practice in Cumbria specifically to get the necessary experience and then applied to Vets Now and started in March of last year. I knew that I needed an introduction and a pathway into ECC, so Cutting Edge was a must, it was my ticket in.
Tell us about your Cutting Edge course.
There were lots of things during the course that were very helpful for me, especially the practical elements of the in-clinic block in the clinics where I could work under supervision. I even went in for a few extra nights just to learn as much as possible. I think the biggest concern for many vets are the surgical cases coming through the door, so the wet lab surgical training sessions were excellent. They gave me a confidence in how to approach surgeries that I didn’t have before.
How did you feel at the end of the 10 weeks?
Even an intense course like that can never prepare you 100% for what you’ll see as you need time and experience. But I definitely felt ready. I had the foundations, and I knew that wouldn’t have been the case without Edge. I couldn’t imagine starting ECC without it.
And what has it been like since?
It’s been more than a year now and it’s passed so quickly. Starting something new totally from scratch was outside of my comfort zone, but I’ve really enjoyed it and I feel I’ve learned so much and progressed such a lot. I have succeeded in the challenge I took on and that gives me a feeling of accomplishment.
Finally, what difference has coming to Vets Now made for the work-life balance you spoke about?
It’s been huge. I come here, do my shifts and then I have plenty of time to go home and be with my family. I can focus on spending time with my wife and my two boys, Konrad, who’s six, and Wiktor, who’s four. If you can’t be with your family, what’s the point?
