Pain Awareness Month: Mary Tonge (BVSc 2007)
September is Pain Awareness Month and the University of Liverpool Veterinary Alumni Association caught up with alumna Mary Tonge (BVSc 2007), European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia.
After graduating, Mary went on to gain experience in mixed practice, emergency and critical care, and charity practice. Mary completed her residency in veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia in 2020, then gained further experience in teaching and anaesthesia practice as a Lecturer in Veterinary Anaesthesia at the University of Liverpool. Mary joined the Northwest Veterinary Specialists in 2022, and provides an individualised, safe, stress-free, and comfortable hospital experience for her patients.
Did anyone inspire you while you were a student?
I can't remember any one person who inspired me, and if I am honest, I was impatient to start my career and start earning by the point of qualification!
When did you know you wanted to specialise in anaesthesia and analgesia?
I spent ten years in general practice, by which time I began to feel frustrated at the lack of progression as someone who wasn't interested in the management side of things. I started a certificate in surgery and applied for a couple of surgical residencies but eventually got a bit stuck with that as well, largely because I'm terrible at rote learning anatomy. I also didn't really want to be involved with big oncological surgeries with questionable long-term outcomes. I saw an anaesthesia residency advertised and realised that this was an opportunity to ensure that the kind of surgery I considered to be questionable was supported by adequate anaesthesia and minimal stress to make it as comfortable as possible for the patients. I would also learn more, not be on the front line with clients, and progress my career. I sent the application with 22 minutes until the closing time, having written my application and refreshing my CV in two hours!
What advice would you give to someone who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Don’t rush into anything post-graduation. What you think you want to do at that point may not be the right thing for you – I wanted to be a cow vet, until dislocating my elbow calving a cow in the first year of practice and realising that I had no interest in herd health planning. Don't set time limits on your goals, time spent in "the real world" is invaluable. Don't only concentrate on your career, there is far more to life than being a vet, getting a certificate or becoming a specialist.
Always try your hardest to make decisions that are in best interest of the patient, this is all you can do. You can never know everything so if you know that your actions were for the patient’s wellbeing and that you made every effort to do the best in the circumstances you can sleep well at night.
Can you give your fellow alumni one top tip for Pain Awareness Month?
If there are no contraindications or you're sure that the benefits outweigh the risks, then trying a technique or giving analgesia is always worthwhile. Drugs have zero chance of helping if they're in the bottle, but at least some chance of helping if you give them a go.
How can alumni follow what you're doing?
I exist on ResearchGate!
Thank you, Mary, for helping us celebrate our alumni with careers in anaesthesia and analgesia for Pain Awareness Month.
Have you got an update you would like to share with your fellow alumni? Send your updates to ulvaa@liverpool.ac.uk.