Romanian-born Monica Borta wasn’t even sure she wanted to be a vet when she was at school. A career as a lawyer beckoned, but she now heads up a team as Principal Vet at Vets Now’s busy Coventry clinic. Monica tells us how her career has blossomed, and the key role Vets Now’s successful AdvantEdge programme played along the way.
So, legal not veterinary matters were originally on your mind?
I grew up in Bucharest and my family always had cats and dogs, so there was definitely an appeal with working with animals. But I actually thought about being a lawyer – until I saw how scary the studies looked! I went to vet school instead and graduated in 2015. There is a module on emergency medicine now, but there wasn’t at the time, so I didn’t have much exposure to ECC.
And what did you do after graduation?
I was working in a clinic, but I knew I wanted to learn and do more and that meant working abroad. I chose the UK after speaking to a friend who came to England. I spent my first couple of years working as a vet at a meat production facility, but I really didn’t enjoy it and, when I got a chance, I took a job at Vets4Pets in Sutton Coldfield. That took me back to being in a clinic, which is what I liked, but the hours started to take their toll and I just didn’t have the quality of life I wanted. I was finishing late most nights and that was putting a pressure on my family. My son, who was only four or five at the time, was telling my partner how much he was missing me because I wasn’t there for bedtimes. I was missing out on the important moments of being a mum and the work-life balance just wasn’t right.