'Makes me not want to come back': Low respect, limited prospects drive S'pore vets to places like UK, Australia
Dr Cathy Chan, veterinarian with The Animal Doctors, worked in Australia for two and a half years before opening her clinic in Singapore.
SINGAPORE — After diagnosing a dog with diabetes, Dr Cathy Chan, a general practice veterinarian, was met with blame from the pet’s owners.
The clients alleged that the results of their tests were due to the stress caused by the veterinary examination itself.
“They argued that our procedures and the stress of the visit were responsible for the diagnosis,” the 45-year-old told TODAY.
Dr Chan, co-founder of The Animal Doctors, said that this was a confronting yet common situation not just at her veterinary clinic but also among other veterinarians she knows.
“Vets are often blamed for the pet’s disease, especially when the diagnosis is unexpected, or the disease requires long-term management,” she added. In that specific case, the pet owners eventually agreed to diabetes treatment for the dog after multiple phone calls and consultations.
Dr Chan, who had worked in Australia for two-and-a-half years before opening her clinic in Singapore, said that the lack of trust shown by clients here makes the job more challenging than it is overseas.
Clients in some other countries tend to trust veterinary professionals more, leading to a more cooperative and effective treatment process, she added.
Clients' scepticism and mistrust are among several factors prompting Singaporean vets to pursue their careers in countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom, where the veterinary field is regarded as more established and respected.
Singaporean vets, from general practitioners to specialists, often move overseas to practise due to better work-life balance, higher client respect and veterinary industries with comprehensive facilities and specialisation, based on what 11 veterinarians told TODAY.
There are also more opportunities overseas for internships and residencies, along with supportive work environments, that also make it easier for vets to advance their careers and further their education.
MORE PETS, MORE VETS IN SINGAPORE
The National Parks Board said that there are about 590 licensed veterinarians in Singapore as of this May, an increase from 542 last year.
This could be due to a higher demand for veterinary services over the years, it added.
The number of licensed dogs has also gone up by about 29 per cent over the last five years, it said.
There are now about 90,000 licensed dogs in Singapore.
Pet imports into Singapore have risen significantly, with a more than 30 per cent increase over the past five years, likely driven by a growing demand for pets and increased pet relocation as more people move with their animals.
Dogs and cats make up the majority of imported pets, but other animals, including hamsters, rabbits, birds and guinea pigs, are also commonly brought into the country.
Dr Teo Boon Han, Singapore Veterinary Association's president, told TODAY that the number of licensed veterinarians here has risen, but this statistic does not fully capture the complexities affecting the availability of the services they provide.
Factors such as veterinarians shifting to part-time work, taking breaks from the industry or moving abroad are not reflected.
"Vets move abroad because the veterinary ecosystem is more mature in other countries such as Australia, the UK and the United States, where there are universities that offer internships and residency programmes."
Dr Teo described the situation as a vicious circle. As manpower becomes increasingly limited, the workload for the remaining veterinary personnel does not drop.
"To cover for this, the vets and vet nurses still in the industry would need to work longer hours, leading to more burnout and compassion fatigue, which would lead to more people leaving the industry."
HIGHER TRUST, RESPECT FOR VETS OVERSEAS
Echoing Dr Chan's sentiments, Dr Vanessa Lian, an emergency veterinarian at the Animal Emergency Centre in Brisbane, Australia, said she felt that Australian clients generally show more respect for veterinarians than those in Singapore.
“Australians are also more open to running tests for accurate diagnoses and are understanding if we explain things clearly,” the Singaporean told TODAY.
This presented a stark contrast to some clients in Singapore. Dr Lian could relate to Dr Chan’s story of the diabetes diagnosis, because the anecdote sounded similar to the experiences she had heard from her veterinarian friends working in Singapore.
It also lined up with what she had observed as a nurse and receptionist at a vet clinic in Marine Parade before she moved to Australia to get her degree in veterinary medicine.
This stark difference made Singapore seem like a daunting place to begin her career as a fresh graduate. After hearing of these experiences, Dr Lian said: “It makes me not want to come back.”
Likewise, Dr Jayson Tuan, who spent 12 years working in Australia and the UK before returning to Singapore in 2021, finds clients to be generally more appreciative and respectful in the UK than here. Given that he was in general practice in Australia and never did that in Singapore, he was unable to make a direct comparison.
"It is possible that the public in the UK is much more aware of the difficulty in getting into vet school and the sacrifice required to complete the course. It is well-known that the vet course is highly competitive and hard to get into," the 41-year-old said.
Dr Rina Maguire, who returned to Singapore in 2015 after six years working in the US, said that the ease of searching for information online could lead clients to question their vet’s advice.
This may be an issue if the information came from ill-informed sources or non-medical professionals, she added.
To tackle this, Dr Maguire from Beecroft Animal Specialist and Emergency Hospital in Bukit Merah found that taking an evidence-based approach to medicine and ensuring strong communication with clients are effective methods.
She is an exotics specialist who treats unusual pets such as reptiles.
“If clients are still indecisive after extensive counselling, referring them to a specialist can provide the authoritative guidance needed,” she added.
RESTRICTED GROWTH IN SINGAPORE
Currently, Singapore does not have veterinary medicine courses for students who wish to become veterinarians.
Diploma courses in veterinary bioscience and veterinary technology are available at Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic, but these are not enough, because being a full-fledged veterinarian requires a recognised veterinary degree.
Due to this, people seeking to become general practitioners or board-certified specialists in veterinary medicine generally need to train and obtain certification abroad.
CNA news channel reported in January that many veterinary students are looking to work overseas after graduating, because they will be able to specialise in areas not commonly offered in Singapore.
Dr Siak Meng Keet, 43, a veterinary dermatologist in Perth, Australia, said that his decision to pursue specialisation required him to work in a country with a robust training programme.
“When I graduated, there were zero specialists in Singapore in any field (of veterinary medicine).
"While the veterinary care in Singapore was good, the industry wasn’t as established or experienced as in countries like Australia.”
Dr Siak added that advanced diagnostics such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were not common in his field here then, limiting vets' ability to provide the best care for animals.
He now has a family in Australia and has considered moving back here to be closer to his parents and friends. However, he has chosen to remain in Perth, where career opportunities are stabler.
“I started my own clinic six years ago and it has been very busy. Moving back to Singapore would require re-establishing the business.”
Dr Aria Sim of Hillside Veterinary Surgery in Upper Serangoon said that beyond dogs, cats and small animals, Singapore's limited vet industry restricts growth opportunities for vets with particular interests.
"We don't have farms or stables, making it hard for new graduates to gain a foothold in large-animal work or non-clinical roles."
The 30-year-old also said that the vets' role here are "primarily" being the first point of contact for a pet owner and then doing "referral work", so opportunities and awareness of other roles are scarce in Singapore.
After graduating, Dr Sim worked for two years in Surrey, England, before moving back here early last year.
HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE OVERSEAS
On work-life balance, many vets agreed that the hours were generally better overseas.
Dr Teo Ee Fung, 37, an emergency and critical care veterinarian at Waves Hospital in Perth, feels that she enjoys a better balance at her workplace now after spending several years in general practice and emergency in Singapore.
“When I used to work in Singapore, the hours were extremely long and a typical work day may be 12 hours.
"If we were scheduled for the emergency shift, that day would end up being a 24-hour work day. It was usually hectic through the shift.
"In Perth, there is more space and time to breathe between shifts and it does not feel like life is all about work.”
Dr Charlotte Sim, 32, a general practitioner at Swan Veterinary Hospital in Perth, said that most clinics in Western Australia are efficient at scheduling the day.
“If the clinic closes at 6pm, the last consultation is at 5.30pm, which allows us time to finish our history-recording for patients and leave work on time.”
Dr Siak, the veterinary dermatologist, said that this efficient scheduling was possible due to Australia's culture of prioritising time off and family time, as well as the “luxury” of having many emergency hospitals, which reduces the workload of dealing with after-hours clients.
Dr Jolyn Lai, 31, a senior veterinary surgeon, finds it difficult for a young adult to break into Singapore's property market without financial support, unlike in Australia, where she enjoys a higher quality of life and more outdoor activities.
"I could enter the property market at a much younger age in Australia, with limited finances, without waiting until the age of 35 or balloting for a BTO (Built-to-Order) flat."
Singapore residents have to be 35 and older to buy a public housing unit on their own.
WHY SOME VETS CHOOSE TO RETURN
However, some veterinarians have decided to return after spending several years abroad because they appreciate certain aspects of Singaporean life.
Some of the most common reasons are to have more quality time with their loved ones and to start a family, especially if their significant others are Singaporeans.
Safety is another factor for some vets such as Dr Chan of The Animal Doctors and Dr Kelly Yeo, both of whom were victims of crime more than once during their time in Australia before returning here.
Dr Yeo's Melbourne home was robbed twice, while Dr Chan said that she fell victim to car theft and petty theft a few times in Sydney. "Back then, as a young female living there (navigating adulthood), I definitely had some safety concerns."
After returning home, some vets also came to appreciate the community spirit here, which was not as prevalent in the countries where they had worked.
Dr Maguire, who returned from the US, said that both Americans and Singaporeans work similarly long hours, but she feels a stronger sense of community and connection with her colleagues in Singapore.
Dr Yeo, co-founder of The Gentle Vet, said that she was glad Singapore has an active rescue and foster community. In Australia, many surrendered pets are routinely euthanised due to a lack of space in animal shelters and caretakers.
"In contrast, there is a groundswell of Singaporeans who make an effort to foster abandoned animals. Even (aged) pets are given a chance when so many kind people open their hearts and homes to them."
For some vets working abroad, the changing veterinary industry in Singapore has drawn them back home.
Dr Tuan, for instance, returned in 2021 after 12 years abroad when he noticed a demand for veterinary specialists and pet owners' rising expectations for high-level veterinary care.
"I felt that it was time for Singaporean veterinary specialists to come home and be part of the long-term domestic industry," he said.
He noted that in the last 20 years, strides have been made in veterinary specialisation in Singapore, which now covers a good number of disciplines.
He now works at the Veterinary Emergency & Specialty (VES) Hospital Singapore, which opened in 2022. He added that for small animals, there are specialists here in anaesthesia, diagnostic imaging, emergency and critical care and surgery, among many other fields, and he expects this number to grow.
VES is among the first pet hospitals here to feature industry-recognised, board-certified specialists across various fields. Its website states that the hospital has 12 specialists and is the largest specialty referral and emergency hospital in the country.
Dr Teo Boon Han, president of the Singapore Veterinary Association, said that there is still a shortage of veterinary manpower. However, he noted that the return of specialists to Singapore and the emergence of specialist practices offer hope for the industry.
"What we really need now in Singapore is a full-fledged veterinary school to supply fresh veterinary... graduates to the industry," he added.
"The school could also spearhead veterinary research, provide internship and residency programmes for existing veterinarians, and (transform) Singapore into an animal health and welfare hub."
