This month and next, I am excited to be featuring two Irish women whom share the same passion for animals as I do. Today, I am psyched to introduce you to the first of these badass women. I had the honor of meeting her at a veterinary conference last year, after she shared some of her experiences working as a new graduate veterinarian. Since then, she has been an inspiration to me – and I know I’m not the only one inspired by her! She is a fabulous, intelligent and beautiful woman inside & out, and truly so genuine.
Hazell Mullins is a 30-year-old veterinarian originally from County Cork. She graduated in July 2013 from Nottingham University with a degree in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVMBVS). She first worked in mixed practice for 18 months at Killarney Veterinary Clinic, then worked at Glasslyn Veterianry Clinic Bandon for 2.5 years. Currently, she is working as a farm animal vet in Cork at Abbeyville Veterinary Hospital.
Hazell has always loved animals, and grew up immersed farming, greyhounds and horses. Due to this upbringing, she rarely experienced a day that didn’t involve animals. So naturally, this ignited her passion for veterinary medicine. “In school I was a science buff which probably helped to steer me towards veterinary medicine.”
Though females typically predominate the field of veterinary medicine, working as a large animal vet can bring its own discrimination amongst male farmers. I asked Hazell if she experienced many challenges like this as a female vet: “I certainly did at the beginning as the area I was in wasn’t used to female large animal vets, but it was never in nasty way but more a concern for my safety. To be honest being a new grad of either sex is very daunting and some farmers can be skeptics. I feel farmers are very accepting once you try your best, offer to research any information, know your limitations and when to call for help. Today I still get the very rare sexist comment and I usually respond very diplomatically and that feeling of proving them wrong is very satisfying. I owe my female large animal vet predecessors for laying the foundations of acceptance.”
Hazell’s favorite part of being a veterinarian is bringing new life into the world. “A twin calving is the best,” she says. It’s so true – there’s definitely something so beautiful about experiencing a calving, lambing, whelping, etc!
Welcoming baby animals into the world is simply a glimpse into veterinary medicine. It is an extremely time demanding career, with unpredictable hours. This is Hazell’s least favourite part of the job: “Having to say no to social things or missing out on important occasions due to being on call. Also, the feeling of not knowing how long you have in bed before the phone rings.” Although she says you get used to a crazy schedule like this, it still doesn’t make the job any easier.
With such a busy lifestyle, it is definitely hard to balance work and personal life. However, I think Hazell does this so well, which is one reason why I admire her so much.
“I try to make the most of everyday, whether it is having a nice breakfast, grabbing a posh coffee on the road, or taking in the nature around you.” She always tries have something nice to look forward to on her weekends off: “I find it hard to relax and switch off so I try my best to have an evening where I set aside time to just watch TV, walk the dogs and do very little.” This is truly something all vets and vet students can benefit from (so go re-read that and put it into practice!).
If you want to be a veterinarian, Hazell’s advice to you is to get out and see practice. “See practice and see more practice. Make sure to have realistic expectations. It’s not all puppies and baby lambs; and make sure you’re ok with long working hours.”
In the past, Hazell found that she would put a lot of pressure on herself by basing her entire year around goals. Instead, she now chooses to focus on daily goals. For example, ringing her friends from university, reading a journal paper, booking appointments, writing an Instagram post and/or aiming to make the gym. “I always like to attend interesting CPD [continuing professional development] so that’s usually a big goal of mine – to find something different and maybe abroad.” So, this year she went to the Netherlands for the European Bovine Congress. How fun!!
Hazell is really enjoying her strength and conditioning training at the moment, and loves to see her progress with it. She says she is like any other girl and always has the typical goal of wanting a “holiday bod”, but this is of course always ongoing. “I’ll get there some day (my coffee and scones don’t help this). My main goal is to be happy and enjoy the little things that make each day different.” A goal I think we all should have!
Hazell is obsessed with finding a good coffee. “I will drive out of my way to get one,” she says. She also says that Kildare Village is her happy place, and she loves Kooples dresses, Jack Wills shirts and Rituals cosmetics. She also loves a good burger, so her treat meal would be a visit to Bunsen or Sun of a Bun in Cork.
During hard times in work, Hazell will usually look for help and advice of from her colleagues and other vets she knows. “More than likely they have experienced the same issues or feelings as me so it’s good talk things out. I try to focus on my successful cases instead on dwelling on my failures but its so difficult. I feel Instagram is good for focusing on the positives (perhaps a little one sided sometimes), but it is a good space to document my cases that I may otherwise forget.”
When life gets her down in general, Hazell says her friends keep her motivated. “I don’t think anyone of us hasn’t experienced hard times, and we are always there for each other. With friends it’s not about quantity, its quality. True friends are worth their weight in gold.” There couldn’t be truer advice than that!
To be inspired by Hazell daily and receive some great vet tidbits, follow her on instagram: @hazellmullins