CAREER - My SA Career Guide

What personality-type is required for
this job?
Veterinary Medicine is for me a ‘calling’
for which a sound inquisitive scientifi c
mind, passion and good heart are drivers.
For my job, dedication, high sense
of responsibility, good moral values, high
sense of ethics are a defi nite prerequisite.
The work also requires a high level
of organisation, and attention to detail
especially in terms of document control
(this becomes very important for retrospective
investigation, should a person
for instance die of suspected food poisoning
they would become legal documents).
One must also be a self-starter,
dynamic thinker, and be creative, with
the ability to work independently as
most vets work unsupervised. A vet
should have great fl exibility as the work
involves irregular working hours, good
interpersonal, communication and managerial
skills, as a veterinarian often has
a team of people reporting to him.
What are some of the most sought after
skills in the industry?
Presently, Veterinary Epidemiologists,
Veterinary Pathologist, Herd Health
Practitioners, Veterinary Biomedical
Specialists, Veterinary Public Health
Practitioners, general and specialist,
private practice veterinarians and state
veterinarians, etc. are very sought after
professionals. For private practice in
particular, only 15% of South Africans
currently make use of veterinarians for
the general health of animals and pets.
This is one section that is expected to
grow signifi cantly, as the socio-economic
dynamics of the country change, and
more persons climb the social ladder
and enter the middle and upper class
economy.
careers by industry
What has been your greatest career
achievement?
As a veterinary student, I was involved
with various student government issues.
I also served as President of Veterinary
Students, as well as in the University
Council, the top structure in University
governance. In 2001 I was awarded a
DELTA Scholarship by the Netherlands
Government to study MSc(Path) degree
in the Netherlands and that was probably
the greatest experience. This was
followed by an award by the UK’s Commonwealth
Scholarship Programme
for research studies in International
Animal Health in UK in 2004. Another
career highlight was my appointment
as lecturer at the Veterinary Faculty of
the University of Pretoria from 2000 to
2005, and during my service I was involved
with various strategic projects
that included Community Outreach
Programmes, International Partnerships,
Transformation Agenda, Student
Recruitments, etc. over and above my
teaching obligations.
Because animal diseases have no
boundaries, I have been privileged
enough to travel extensively within Africa,
Europe and the US. I have also
presented scientifi c papers and posters
and issues of International Animal
Health, and served in two key Policy
Programmes that brought change to the
Veterinary Profession. The fi rst of these
was the Amalgamation of the two Veterinary
schools to establish a new nonracial
National Faculty of Veterinary
Science, the only one in South Africa.
I served in the Select Committee that
was constituted by the then Minister of
Education, Professor Sibusiso Bhengu
to oversee the amalgamation process
and to advise the Minister accordingly.
The second one was the introduction of
Community Service to young veterinarians
for which I was a Project Manager
and now still act as a Specialist Technical
Advisor.
Dr. Tembile Songabe State Vet (continued)
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my amazing career