I Came to Relief Medicine for Freedom. Long-Term Placements Gave Me Something More.

At one of the hospitals where I work, I’ve actually been there longer than anyone else on staff. Longer than the doctors, the practice manager, and the technicians.

Which is kind of funny when you consider that I’m a relief veterinarian.

When I first joined IndeVets, I was ready for a change. I wanted freedom, flexibility, and a chance to get away from the burnout I’d experienced in traditional practice. But as time went on, I realized there were parts of working at a regular practice that I missed. I missed building relationships with clients. I missed seeing patients grow up.

That’s what eventually led me to long-term placements (LTPs). And it’s become one of my favorite parts of being an IndeVet.

Getting Back to What I Love About Veterinary Medicine

Before joining IndeVets, I spent about five years as an associate veterinarian at a traditional practice. I was the only full-time doctor on a team of six, and as the youngest doctor without kids, I often ended up taking on extra responsibilities. I was coming in early, staying late, and was on call for almost every Christmas I worked there.

Outside of work, I love to travel and teach veterinary medicine through a nonprofit organization. Those trips often require nearly two weeks away, and taking that much time off wasn’t always easy. Even when I could get away, there was this underlying guilt about leaving my coworkers to pick up my caseload.

Eventually, I was just exhausted.

A friend from veterinary school who was already working with IndeVets encouraged me to check it out. I decided to make the switch, and it changed far more than just my work schedule.

At first, I loved going somewhere different every day. After spending so much time feeling tied to one practice, it was exactly what I needed.

But once that initial burnout started to fade, I found myself missing something I hadn’t expected: continuity.

Finding Familiar Faces in Relief Medicine

I’ve worked long-term placements at four or five different hospitals now, and I absolutely love them.

With an LTP, I commit to working regular shifts at the same partner hospital over a 13-week period. It gives me the opportunity to become a familiar face without giving up the flexibility I value about relief medicine.

One of my favorite things is getting to build relationships with clients again.

I get to see their puppies grow up. I can follow up on my own cases, call clients with biopsy results, and see how patients are responding to treatment.

Before I started working LTPs, I’d sometimes see an interesting internal medicine case and make a note to check on it the next time I returned to that hospital. But that might not be for another few months.

Now, when I’m working at the same hospital two or three times a week, I can stay involved and see how things turn out.

That continuity is important to me, especially because I love complex cases. I have a real passion for urgent care, emergency medicine, and internal medicine, and being able to follow a patient’s progress makes that work even more rewarding.

But honestly, some of the best relationships I’ve built through LTPs have been with the hospital teams.

Welcome to Dr. Callaway’s Classroom

Mentorship has always been one of my favorite parts of veterinary medicine.

I’ve participated in IndeVets’ veterinarian mentorship program, but I also really enjoy helping the technicians and support staff at my partner hospitals learn new skills.

At some of my regular hospitals, we’ve started doing something called “Dr. Callaway’s Classroom.”

During downtime, the staff tells me what they want to learn about. It could be CPR, emergency medicine, anesthesia monitoring, or how to talk to clients about quality of life.

We’ll make a list, grab a whiteboard, and work through those topics together.

It’s a lot of fun, and I love seeing people become more confident in their skills.

I’ve also gotten to know my technicians well enough that I know what they like and don’t like. I’ve even planned Vet Tech Olympics for a couple of my hospitals, because why not have a little fun together?

Those are the kinds of things that are harder to do when you’re only at a hospital once.

And when you keep going back, those coworkers really do become your friends.

Another thing I find rewarding about LTPs is being able to provide some stability for hospitals going through difficult transitions.

I’ve worked with clinics that didn’t have a permanent doctor on staff, where everyone was understandably overwhelmed and trying to figure things out.

Being able to come in regularly, get to know the team, and become someone they can count on is really meaningful to me.

Sometimes that means helping with a complicated medical case. Other times, it’s answering questions, mentoring staff, or just being a familiar person who knows how things work.

I’ve even had hospitals try to recruit me to stay permanently.

And while I appreciate it, I always tell them, “Thank you, but no thank you.”

Because I really do feel like I have the best of both worlds.

Having a Schedule That Works for My Life

I work hard. I actually prefer long shifts, and I typically work four 12-hour days a week.

But the difference now is that my schedule works for me.

I know I have Tuesdays off, so that’s when I schedule appointments and anything else I need to take care of. I also don’t work weekends anymore, which has been huge after spending so many years working them at my previous practice.

With my LTPs, I work with my IndeVets scheduling team to plan my availability for the next 13 weeks. They handle the coordination with partner hospitals and help figure out how everything fits together.

I’m not someone who enjoys dealing with logistics. I just want to be a doctor.

And maybe the biggest change is that when I’m off, I’m actually off.

I’m not spending my vacation worrying about bloodwork callbacks, unfinished records, or everything that’s going to be waiting for me when I return.

When I’m on vacation, I’m light as a feather.

I didn’t realize how much that mental burden was affecting me until it was gone.

I Don’t Have to Choose Between Flexibility and Connection

One of the things I appreciate most about my career now is that I’ve continued to grow as a veterinarian.

Working across different hospitals has exposed me to new medications, protocols, patient populations, and ways of practicing medicine. I genuinely believe I’m a more well-rounded doctor because of those experiences.

And through long-term placements, I’ve also gotten back something I missed when I first made the switch to relief medicine: the chance to really become part of a hospital community.

I still have the variety that keeps medicine interesting. I still have the flexibility to travel, volunteer, and spend time with the people I love.

But I also have familiar clients, patients I get to follow over time, and hospital teams that feel like friends.

When I first joined IndeVets, I loved bouncing between hospitals. I was ready to be free.

Over time, I realized I also wanted the consistency of returning to familiar places and building lasting relationships.

For me, long-term placements have made it possible to enjoy the independence of relief medicine without losing the relationships that make veterinary medicine so rewarding.

And I really can’t imagine going back to doing things any other way.

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