Our series on “Champions for Change” features people of any gender in any role who are making a difference and creating positive change for women in the veterinary sector – enabling aspirations, inspiring and supporting others to grow and follow their passions, and empowering our community.

Ami Sawran is Clinical Director at Westpoint Farm Vets in Chelmsford, a member of the Clinical and Farm Executive boards at VetPartners and SPVS Junior Vice President. Ami is actively changemaking in the areas of improving practice culture, raising the profile of farm practice and empowering vets to improve the welfare of camelids. Find out more about how Ami Sawran is working to make a difference: 

Ami Sawran

Please provide a brief bio/summary of your career story:

  • I graduated into a farm internship at the RVC and felt a little lost afterwards, so decided to stay in academia, pursuing a PhD in Dairy Cattle Mobility while keeping my hand in with teaching and locum charity work at the RSPCA.
  • I moved to 100% farm practice in the South East where I’ve been ever since, save for a brief stint in mixed practice in Cumbria.
  • I became a clinical director of Westpoint Farm Vets in Chelmsford in 2018, and later joined the VetPartners Clinical and Farm Executive boards.
  • I am very invested in camelid medicine, and obtained a Certificate in Advanced Camelid Practice.
  • My career is around 50% clinical and 50% focused on leadership and management. I am currently completing a Masters in Marketing.
  • I’m enjoying pursuing my diverse interests within my career in farm practice. I want others to be able to do the same, so I joined the board at SPVS to help others realise their goals. I am the current Junior Vice President, and really enjoying my varied roles in day-to-day life.

Please summarise how you are working towards change in the veterinary professions and why do you feel this is important?

As you might have gathered, I struggle to keep single focus. I have a few priorities for changemaking!

I do a lot of camelid work that has historically not been standard fare in farm practice. I think this is partly because university teaching in these areas has been limited, making for underconfident vets handling unfamiliar species, and perhaps not understanding the commercial benefit of extending care outside of traditional livestock. This means camelid care can be shunted around, making it stressful for new vets trying to handle owner expectations and nuanced medicine. My aim is to empower vets to use their transferrable skills – to elevate their confidence alongside the welfare of camelids. I do this through providing CPD, second opinion services and running the Camelid Clinical Interest Group for VetPartners. I believe in sharing knowledge that will better for the welfare of our patients, so developed a comprehensive open access formulary.

The next is improving practice culture – arguably more challenging in ambulatory practice (which can often be underrepresented in soft-skill CPD). Like many, I’ve experienced how poor leadership and little emphasis on positive regard in practice can demoralise. I don’t want that for anyone, so I share real-life examples and tools that colleagues can use to explore and elevate their culture. This is something that has been championed by BVA and BCVA, and I’m grateful for that. 

Ami Sawran

When I joined SPVS, I said it was because I want to leave the profession better than I found it, but I’ve realised that I don’t – I want to live the profession better than I found it – to enjoy the more positive experiences and work life that comes from fighting for inclusivity and psychological safety at work. SPVS have recognised how important this is, and through being on the board, I have chaired sessions with Affinity Futures – who brilliantly promote and facilitate workplace inclusivity.

Thirdly, I feel strongly about raising the profile of farm practice. It can be overlooked and under-represented in high level discussions, and we are still fighting damaging misinformation that prevents students entering this rewarding field. I still receive queries from students who are told that farm practice is not for women. We can acknowledge that there are real barriers to entering farm practice including EMS accessibility and discrimination, given the AVS report – but there are opportunities in farm for those that break traditional moulds, and colleagues to welcome you.

How do you feel this is making a difference?

I felt a tangible shift in the atmosphere and attitudes within my practice. Knowing the benefit that my leadership style, and that of my boss had, it was only right that it be shared, even if that meant having difficult discussions with audiences that didn’t want to hear it.  Attitudes are changing, but it takes time to turn a tide. The main thing that I want to emphasise is that being inclusive and focused on the needs of our colleagues is not to the detriment of people who have already benefited from ‘the old’ system. If we had difficulty getting somewhere, we should be making it simpler for those who come after us – not making the struggle a rite of passage. The proof of this work is in the improved retention and satisfaction scores in teams that have adopted this way of working.

As for my clinical focus, I see the benefit in sharing knowledge in a relatable and accessible way. BCVA have been great in putting ‘Camelids for Cattle Vets’ into their programme to enable reach of vets that might not get to camelid focused CPD otherwise. Feedback has been positive, so that’s some progress – it’s always ongoing.

What motivated you to want to change things?

I think realising that moving around for a better work life wasn’t serving me (and was costing me more money than I had).  If I wanted an ideal job and career, I needed to find somewhere that was open to changing for the better, where I could fulfil various ambitions in one place. Luckily, Westpoint in Chelmsford gave me that space, flexibility and support. Now I am fulfilled in practice, I felt sure footed enough to try to make that happen for other people.

I think being misunderstood or underestimated is a good motivator for wanting to change. I’m a determined person, so if something isn’t working for me, or others, like it should, I naturally want to have a go at forging other paths. It doesn’t always work out, and you definitely need support along the way, but I think gradually I just started believing the people that suggested I was capable of it. That wasn’t easy and it wasn’t sudden. And the job’s not done yet.

Ami Sawran

How have you encouraged other people to get on board with your ideas?

Being persistently irritating? I don’t know.

I don’t have a lived experience other than my own to talk about – I have to recognise that where I might have sailed through things, others might not have had the same support systems. But equally, I have had (probably relatable) difficulties. I have failed A LOT, and I think talking about those hard times and failures resonates with people that can feel outpaced and out of place. I think just being honest is all I have got, really.

Not everyone is on board with my ideas, but if you can get a small number of people to consider a concept, then the benefits of working differently should start speaking for themselves. It depends on what motivates people – if it’s not losing money through having to plug gaps and recruit endlessly, let it be that. If it’s because people genuinely want to evolve and be inclusive because it’s morally right, then great. If it’s genuinely caring about animal welfare – brilliant. If it’s wanting to avoid a complaint and a stressed colleague – okay. I don’t mind how or why people get on board as long as they’re open – the benefits will still come.

What are the biggest challenges you have encountered in this journey and how have you overcome them?

I have spent a lot of time in a lot of spaces being laughed at for the things I enjoy, or think are important. 

It’s natural that self-doubt can creep in when you’re chipped away at like that. 

There have been secretly satisfying times when people who have mocked my interests suddenly need help with something, but honestly, I just have to let it go, and carry on with some strength of conviction.

Ami Sawran

I have been forced to consider that not everything I want to do is commercially viable, or at least, doable within my ideal internal timeline. I have learned patience (to a degree), and I have also been challenged to think about alternative perspectives. I am very quick to admit to my own ignorance in certain areas, and to ask for help – I think knowing my limitations and which ones I can push has been helpful.

What has most helped and motivated you along the way?

There have been different people and systems of support that I have leaned on at different times of my career. The influence of my mentors, the support of my peers and the unwavering cheerleading of my mum cannot be overstated! My motivation to ‘just get things done’ has meant that I have grasped many opportunities, and leaned into situations even when I wasn’t certain that I was experienced or clever enough to be in the room. I am buoyed when I hear that something that I have implemented or said has helped someone. That keeps me going.

What is the best advice you’ve been given, or that you would give to someone else, about driving positive change?

I can’t honestly say that I have a real mantra or Instagram sunset quote that keeps me going. Other people’s quiet expressions of belief in me or my capabilities are things that I can so easily dismiss in my head as ‘people being nice’. I think I should resolve to just listen to them.

What are your next steps to continue creating change for the better?

I don’t take a lot of time to relax and enjoy the benefit of a finished project, so I’ll probably just crack on with whatever hits my inbox next. With SPVS, I am working on efforts to help employers facilitate reasonable adjustments for all team members, and that will be a rewarding project. In my JVP year I expect to be attending a lot of conferences and meeting with members to see how we can better serve them and help solve persistent issues in practice. I have also recently taken up the post of Secretary of the British Veterinary Camelid Society, so I’m hoping to widen our reach and help facilitate welfare improvements for camelids in the UK. I’m also working on a couple of welfare focused clinical research projects that keep me busy.

SPVS Congress 2025

As SPVS JVP, Ami would love to connect with you at SPVS Congress, Hilton Birmingham Metropole, Thursday 30th January to Saturday 1st February 2025. Built to inspire the whole practice team, the SPVS Congress theme for 2025 is “connect, collaborate, progress” – how focusing on building quality networks and embracing collaboration enables you to make positive changes in your professional and personal lives. The non-clinical leadership and management programme offers a combination of lectures, panel sessions and interactive workshops providing in-practice case studies, high levels of audience participation and practical steps to implement on your return to practice. Session topics include recruitment and retention; practical menopause support; empowering nurse teams, entrepreneurial skills for women and embracing neurodiversity in the workplace.

Tickets are available from just £395 for the 3 days – with added discounts on group tickets for the whole team. Full details on the programme, fun-packed social events and focused exhibition can be found at: https://spvs-congress.co.uk/


In honour of International Women’s Day on March 8th, 2024, we assembled a collection of ‘Champions for Change’ profiles into a free eBook. Explore exclusive stories highlighting inspirational figures driving positive change for women in veterinary.


Our thanks to Ami for sharing her inspiring story of how she is championing change. If you would like to nominate a Champion for Change or share your story, please let us know.


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