Massey University’s Master of Veterinary Medicine
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Delivered by distance, the MVM programme brings the world’s veterinary expertise to your door. The classroom comes to you through interactive technology and study guides.
Led by lecturers with international recognition from around the world, our courses have a reputation for their in-depth, comprehensive review of subjects and use of real-life studies.
Nicola Wichtel shares her experience at Massey University.
Why did you choose the MVM?
The biggest driving force for enrolling in the MVM program was not necessarily to acquire a Master’s degree, but to improve my confidence in the areas of veterinary medicine that were causing me anxiety. In my first year of clinical practice, I found on-call work very stressful and did not feel adequately prepared to deal with the emergencies that might walk through the door – especially by myself, in the middle of the night. So, my first paper was small animal emergency and critical care. The paper was fantastic and did wonders for my confidence. By the end of the paper, I found myself getting excited when emergencies came in, as I was keen to put into practice what I had learned! I decided to carry on with the MVM program and completed another three papers relevant to my work in clinical practice, and finally a research report to complete the degree.
How long after graduation did you do the MVM (And why so soon after graduation)?
I was in clinical practice for a full year before enrolling in my first MVM course. Once I had gotten over the initial shock and steep learning curve that comes with your first year in practice,
I felt like I was able to manage post-graduate study. This timeline worked well for me because I was able to build up some clinical cases that provided context for my learning. Likewise, I was still seeing a lot of things for the first time so that was motivation to further my knowledge in areas I felt a bit deficient.
What have you got out of the MVM?
The MVM program has first and foremost given me the confidence boost I needed early in my career. It expanded and built on the foundation of knowledge I had acquired at vet school. In addition to furthering my knowledge base and practical skills, it also taught me critical appraisal of literature and the fundamentals of research design and execution. Despite studying as a distance student, the program connected me with a wide range of veterinarians from across the globe. Some were new grads like myself, and others were experienced veterinarians well into their careers. The online spaces had very collegiate feel, and everyone was very friendly and encouraging.
How has the MVM affected your future career?
The MVM course has set me on a path of lifelong learning. I enjoyed the research report component of the degree more than I had anticipated. Since completing the degree, I have concluded that I would like to incorporate research and scientific enquiry into my career going forwards – however that might look. The skills I developed throughout the degree have set me up well for my future endeavours in clinical practice and beyond.
Check out Massey University’s: MVM Courses Here
Email: mvm@massey.ac.nz
Purchased in 2022 
Australia, the UK, and New Zealand all have requirements for registered vets to keep up to date by recording a certain amount of continuing education. New Zealand and the UK have recently changed their focus from simply recording time spent on CE to actually evaluating and reflecting on the learning experience, in order to better support vets in practice, help vets find professional fulfilment, and to aid in retaining vets in the profession.
Some of the most common questions that we get asked at Kookaburra Vets relate to Salary levels. Thanks to all the vets who participated in our survey – the more vets who reply, the more useful this information is. We hope that in future years more of you will take the small amount of time required to complete our survey. We asked for full time annual salary range not including Super.
