Lynne Gaskarth BVSc CertSAM MRCVS is a practising veterinary surgeon, practice owner and director at the Drove Veterinary Hospital in Swindon and is an advanced practitioner in small animal medicine.
Whilst Lynne is still very much still present ‘at the coal face’ she is has a business orientated role and is keen to promote flexible new ways of working to allow people to thrive and enjoy a career in first opinion practice. She is also a member of the Veterinary Woman editorial board, and is passionate about supporting women as leaders and role models within our profession.
Lynne talks to us about maintaining contentment with a veterinary career and how we can support our teams to thrive in practice.
Lynne, thanks for agreeing to share your thoughts with the readers of Veterinary Woman. Please could you give us an overview of your career story so far?
The story is not a brief one, and several parts are stories in themselves! I graduated from Liverpool in 1999 and started my career in rural North Yorkshire in a truly mixed practice role. I have to say that I loved it, and I look back on those days with very fond memories of the people, communities and experiences I encountered. The foot-and-mouth outbreak was perhaps one of the experiences however, that tipped my interest into predominantly small animal work.
I moved south to be with my now husband in 2002 and started at Drove in a hospital-based position – it was a bit of a culture shock! I was invited to join to the then partnership in 2005 and completed my certificate in Small Animal Medicine in 2007. After that, two children followed and with a huge change in the dynamics of the partnership and a near sale situation, by 2011 my younger partner Kate and I were dealing with four toddlers between us and holding the reins of a large, multi-site practice.
“I realised very quickly that running a practice was a job of its own and was something that needed time, skills and learning, with the most important of these skills being good leadership.”
At this point I had to quickly develop a skill set in business management and leadership while my day-to-day job remained clinical. I learnt a lot from other independent practices in the XLVets community, plus some more formal learning, and I look back on that stage of my career and motherhood and think, “How did I do that?!” But again, I have fond memories of shaping and moulding the practice to what it is today and I would easily say that I would do it again given the choice. I have been driven by the vision of creating a practice where people enjoy being part of clinical practice and can offer the best care possible to people and their pets.
In 2018 I became a Director at XLVets with the aim of helping support other independent practices and their teams. Since then, the practice has grown (as have the children!) and it now exists as two related businesses: Drove Vet Hospital and Drove Farm Vets. I am immensely proud of my team at Drove and the care we provide – business ownership has been a great path for me.
What are some of the challenges you’ve encountered in your career, and how have you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was undoubtedly the sudden switch from junior partner to full business owner while juggling a young family. I realised very quickly that running a practice was a job of its own and was something that needed time, skills and learning, with the most important of these skills being good leadership. I think there were a couple of years where the practice initially drifted, rather than sailed with a purpose, but ‘look in the right place for help and support’ would be my advice around overcoming challenges, whether this be professional or personal.
What is it about being a vet that enthuses you and brings you satisfaction?
I still get satisfaction from treating pets and dealing with their owners. There is a lot of social media coverage about how stressful the veterinary profession is. It is – but is it more stressful than medicine or teaching, for example? I genuinely would not have done anything else, and I think we need to hear more from those who enjoy the profession to balance the negativity. I have absolutely had times when I’ve thought “Why am I doing this?”, but being rooted to WHY I am doing it has helped me. I still enjoy being in first opinion practice and working with my team to deliver the best animal care we can, and I am determined to create a working environment where others can feel this.
What motivated you to become a practice owner and director?
If I’m honest, I fell into it! I was very clinically focussed when I became a junior partner, thinking “I’ll give it a go,” but I started to enjoy the difference I could make to people by supporting, encouraging and showing that I care about them. That may sound a little soft – a lot of practice ownership is hard decisions and difficult situations – but again, being rooted in WHY I was doing it really made a difference to me. So, although I was originally focussed on animal care, it was the people in the practice that motivated me to become and owner and director.
What are the most important ways practice leaders can support their teams to ensure they thrive and maintain their passion for the role?
My advice would be that stepping from a clinical role into leadership involves learning a new skill set, but it always involves being your genuine self. You cannot lead if you do not totally believe in what you’re doing, where you’re headed and – again – why! A practice leader with vision will help everyone understand their role and maintain a passion for it – I’m not suggesting this is an easy thing to do however. Being genuine is very important to me and I’d be the first to admit that leaders need their own support – a sense of humour, good friends and wine have helped! 😉
“Perfectionism is dangerous and the development of resilience and an open mindset through our mentoring and coaching is – I believe – the cornerstone of wellbeing.“
What do you feel would most benefit wellbeing in the profession, and how could we work towards implementing this?
How long have we got?! This is a subject I am very passionate about. I’ve seen many vets break and I’ve been very close to being there myself. I could talk for ages about the changes I would like to see in the profession, but one of the biggest changes needs to be our own mindsets.
I am almost dogmatic in the pursuit of teaching our younger vets the art of veterinary medicine. Perfectionism is dangerous and the development of resilience and an open mindset through our mentoring and coaching is – I believe – the cornerstone of wellbeing.
Having said that, realistic working hours and expectations are what we should all be providing. You can do all the yoga you want, but it’s of very little use if you’re working 50 hours a week in a business with a negative culture… Good leaders who care about their people, actively listen and make the change are what the profession needs.
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