Interview with Toby Gemmill

Employment after graduation

Following graduation I worked in mixed practice for a number of years. Whilst the practice was in a rural area and I enjoyed seeing my share of farm animals, horses, wildlife and other assorted creatures, the bulk of my caseload involved cats and dogs. I was always primarily interested in surgery, and obtained the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Surgery in 2000.

I then spent some time travelling and working in small animal practice before starting a Residency in Small Animal Surgery at the University of Glasgow in 2001. I remained at Glasgow for a year following the Residency as a staff clinician, and passed the ECVS Diploma in Small Animal Surgery and the RCVS Diploma in Small Animal Surgery (Orthopaedics) in 2005. I was also awarded an MVM for research into canine elbow dysplasia in the same year.

I joined Willows Referral Service as an orthopaedic and spinal surgeon in the autumn of 2005 and have worked there ever since.

What or who stimulated your desire to become a veterinarian?

I grew up on a diary farm in southeast England and always enjoyed helping the vets when they visited the farm. As a teenager I actually planned to be a dairy farmer, but when I left school I realized I was more interested in the anatomy and physiology of the cattle rather than selling their milk. Luckily I had always been interested in science subjects at school and had achieved some reasonable A-level grades, so I was able to secure a place at Vet School. 

Throughout most of my time at Vet School I planned to be a cattle vet. However I had managed to fracture my own legs just prior to starting at Vet School, which stimulated an interest in orthopaedics. Towards the end of the vet course I was lucky enough to be taught small animal orthopaedics by Steve Butterworth. The heroic nature of some of the surgery I saw appealed to the ‘alpha’ part of my personality, and by the time I graduated I was determined to become a surgeon.

What do you see as the future of veterinary orthopaedics? There is a suggestion that it is at a crossroads because of decreased clientele and the financial problems now facing owners.

I see the future being relatively healthy. From a clinical perspective I think all of us recognise the challenges faced treated some conditions, especially chronic joint diseases such as cranial cruciate ligament deficiency and medial compartment disease of the elbow. Although revolutions in treatment are rare, I am optimistic that we will continue to gradually improve our understanding of these conditions, and then through application of evidence based medicine develop more effective means of treatment.

From a business perspective I think in Western Europe and North America our total caseload is likely to plateau rather than fall. As well as clients being more demanding of Specialist services, the attitude of younger vets in primary care practices seems to be less ‘gung ho’ than when I first graduated, and therefore it is likely that there will always be a significant referral caseload. Some clients will demand to be seen by Specialists; others, due to financial concerns amongst other reasons, will prefer to be seen by less experiences practitioners such as the ‘middle tier’ groups that are being developed in the UK.

Looking outside Western countries, economic growth and burgeoning middle classes in many countries are leading to an increased demand for small animal veterinary services, including orthopaedics. This is reflected in the huge demand for small animal orthopaedic education by vets in countries such as China and Brazil, as well as Eastern Europe. I think a big challenge over the next few decades will be provision of relevant, high quality education in these different countries.