Guide to Veterinary Locum Work

There are a lot of advantages to working as a locum, and in recent years, more and more veterinary professionals are taking on the challenge.

So what is a locum vet or locum vet nurse?

A locum is a person who temporarily fills in for a member for the same profession, particularly in the medical professions. ‘Locum’ is the most common way to refer to these professionals in the UK and Australia, but in other countries they may be referred to as a ‘releif vet’ or ‘temp vet’.

I fell into locum work quite unexpected. I ran into the manager of my old clinic at a conference, and he asked if I’d like to take on some short-term work. I said yes.

Having never been anything but an employee in the past, figuring out how to essentially work for myself proved to be a steep learning curve. But it actually turned out to be the best career move that I’ve made so far.

So I’ve written this guide so others know that starting out as a veterinary locum in the UK doesn’t have to be as daunting as it was for me! This guide is all based on my experiences, including my successes and frustrations, from when I began locuming in mid-2018.

There is a lot that could be said on this topic. To make it easy to access, I’ve broken down the info into the following posts:

There will be more locum content coming soon, but if you have any questions in the meantime feel free to get in touch.

If you’d like to read more about work in different countries around the world, check out the Working Overseas page.