Break with tradition? Changing perspectives on a professional life

THE traditional career path for veterinary surgeons tended to involve an initial period in (usually) mixed practice before they concentrated on a specific area of veterinary work. Inevitably, most people found their niche practice and settled, eventually becoming a partner. In more recent years, there has been a shift in expectations as the attitudes of new graduates towards this traditional view of practice have changed. In this article, Joe O'Kane explores these changing attitudes and suggests some possible reasons for them.