After practising as an equine vet myself for 5 years, my colleagues and I came across a fair few near misses on a day-to-day basis with a smattering of actual injuries amongst them. When you're surrounded by a certain type of risk expectation and bravado associated with the job, it's hard to step back and look at it from outside the bubble. 

Is it right that we wear this danger as a badge of honour? Do we take for granted our physical health when we've got away with it so far? 

The danger that comes with being an equine vet is often shocking to people working in other professions when I reel off some stats.

From a study commissioned by the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) and performed by the Institute of Health and Wellbeing and the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow in 2013, the equine veterinarian has one of the highest risk occupations of all civilian jobs, including the construction industry, prison service and fire brigade. 

Nearly a fifth of vets that were injured in a 12-month period, had to take time off work due to their most severe injury.

620 vets took part in the survey and there are some pretty damning statistics that came out of it. 

The main takeaway was that an equine vet could expect to sustain seven or eight work-related injuries that impeded them from practising during a 30-year working life. 

The leading cause of injury was a kick with a hindlimb (49%), followed by a strike with a forelimb (11%), and then a crush injury (5%). Nearly a quarter of these injuries necessitated admission to hospital and, strikingly, 7% resulted in loss of consciousness.

In a similar survey performed by the BVA, 61% of farm vets reported getting injured in a 12-month period in 2018. During the same survey, 65% of equine vets reported injury, as well as 66% of mixed vet respondents. 

Disturbingly, nearly a fifth of the vets had to take time off work due to the injury they sustained, in only a 12-month period! The BEVA study did find that more injuries were sustained by vets who were less than 5 years graduated, but that does not mean that older vets are excluded from the risk!

Reading over the numbers, I find it almost chilling. The main issue here is, and as terrible as it is, you should expect to have to take time off at some point in your veterinary career due to an injury - and if you have to take time off work due to a major injury... would you be ok?

And I mean ok in a financial sense. 

Financial security, if anything happened to you at work that meant you had to take substantial time off, is really important for everyone. Whether you're the breadwinner for a young family, close to retiring or a single new grad... being able to safely say that you will be able to afford rent/mortgage payments, bills and food is crucial.

Once again, I'd really recommend having look on VetYou. They break down the type of financial services you might want for looking after your income, future and health. 

I can hold up my hand and say that I have only in the last few years sat myself down and sorted out the right insurance for me. The difficult thing is, is that no one has ever advised us as vets or vet students to do this. 

It's only through word of mouth, and reading around the topic that it's been brought to my attention how screwed you can really be in a situation that requires a substantial amount of time off. And with all types of insurance, you need to get it before you need it!

The real products you receive from these services are peace of mind and financial security.

The main two financial services that you might want to look into if you aren't already covered are: Income Protection Insurance and Critical Illness Cover. 

Income Protection Insurance means you pay a monthly fee. In the event of you getting injured or becoming ill with a long-term disease, the time you take off work is covered by a monthly income from the insurance company. This is usually a large % of what you earn at present and the monthly fee you pay for this insurance reflects your current salary and any underlying health issues, if you're a smoker etc. With some policies, these monthly payments you receive can continue until retirement age if you need it. 

Critical Illness Cover pays you a lump sum if you get injured or become ill suddenly. You also pay a monthly fee for this and in most cases, the premium should not go up through your life. This is to cover any costs associated with the injury as well as to help cover your monthly bills and outgoings. You need to check with your provider which accidents and diseases are covered. 

If you source a provider that is tuned into the needs of veterinary staff, they will know that it is crucial that serious injuries like fractures are covered under the policy. 

The real products that you receive if you take one or both of these policies out - are peace of mind and financial security. These are especially important if you don't have an emergency fund set up (find out more about emergency funds on my blog here)!

There are other services out there like Life Insurance or Private Healthcare Insurance which may become more relevant to you as you grow older and/or start to build a family but the 2 policies mentioned above are the ones that I'd recommend as a baseline. 

Conclusion

So, you now have a place to start looking - VetYou, and you have an idea of what sort of thing you need to look for when you start thinking about income insurance relating to injuries and illness. Remember, with most of these policies, you aren't just covered for work-related injuries. You can have an accident anywhere, doing anything and you will be financially safe. For me, this is totally worth it.