Iain McLachlan - CEO and Registrar - New Zealand Veterinary Council - pt 1 of 3

Today we start the first of three episodes where Iain McLachlan – CEO of the New Zealand Veterinary Council – and I, talk about the veterinary shortage, the nursing shortage, why the NZ VC doesn’t include two of the world’s top 10 veterinary science universities in its List of Recognised Institutions, when is it going to update that list of Recognised Institutions, what clinics can do if they absolutely cannot manage their after-hours obligations, and what “limited registration” means.Back in April this year, VetStaff conducted its annual Veterinary Sector State of the Nation Survey –  the results are interesting.For example, one third of the respondents said they weren’t earning enough to live on and were going backwards financially, one third said they were earning just enough to live on, but not enough to contribute to a rainy day savings account, and one third were earning enough and were able to contribute to a rainy day savings account.Now, when you hear those numbers it’s pretty easy to think that given two thirds of the respondents were going backwards financially or were earning just enough to survive, that the mix of respondents must have been two-thirds vet nurses and one third vets.After all, it’s no secret that nurses’ pay rates really do need some serious increases beyond just the CPI.However, that wasn’t the makeup of respondents at all.   In fact, the split of vets and nurses came in exactly equal with 42.7% of the respondents being vets and exactly 42.7% were nurses.  The balance of just under 15% was made up of admin staff – like PMs and HR managers as well as veterinary technicians.I haven’t crunched the numbers that deep, but it’s kinda fair to surmise that there are some vets who aren’t earning enough to contribute to their rainy day emergency fund.The Vet Council cannot control pay rates – that’s not its function.   Yet I was surprised by the number of respondents who somehow thought that was a power the Council had.   I asked lots of other questions of Iain that came from the survey, but I didn’t raise the question of pay rates because it’s beyond his and the Council’s control.  Iain McLachlan is the CEO & Registrar of the New Zealand Veterinary Council.  He’s responsible for leading and managing the Council as well as carrying out the functions of the Registrar, as set out in the Veterinarians Act 2005. The New Zealand Veterinary Council is NZ vet sector’s governing body.  It’s responsible for the governance of the organisation and, ultimately, for making sure functions per the Veterinarians Act are carried out and adhered to.  The Council has a team of eight staff and seven council members.The eight staff are led by Iain as CEO and Registrar.   He’s supported by Veterinarian Dr Seton Butler – the Council’s professional adviser.Iain and his team report to the Council’s seven Council members.  Three of the Council members are elected by veterinarians, two are lay people appointed by the Minister of Agriculture – currently Damien O’Connor, MP, one member is a veterinarian also appointed by the Minister and the seventh member is the Academic Programme Director of the undergraduate veterinary programme at Massey University.Iain reports to a collective team of brains, experience and credibility.Mr Iain McLachlan is a practising lawyer – that means he holds a practising certificate from the NZ Law Society and has been admitted to the bar as a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.  Just like it’s an offence for someone to call themselves Veterinarian when they don’t hold a practising certificate, so too is it an offence to call yourself a practising lawyer when you don’t hold a practising certificate.   As a practising lawyer, Iain gives legal advice to the Council.  BeVetStaffleading veterinary sector recruitment in New Zealand | veterinarians | locums | nursesDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Could Your Kind of People recognise Their Kind of Clinic?A job ad may catch a vet’s or nurse’s eye. But it’s their own due diligence that determines whether they apply—or keep in touch.Culture Story Centres turn real experiences from inside your team into credible, discoverable recruitment evidence, giving vets and nurses meaningful reasons to choose your clinic.Explore Culture Story Centres for veterinary clinics