98 veterinary surgeons from around the UK took part in the survey.
The survey did not ask respondents to define what they considered to be a mental health issue.
However, 29% 'very much agreed', and 39% 'somewhat agreed' that 'my mental health impacts my work as a veterinarian'.
83% said the main factor behind mental health problems in the profession is general burnout, 80% said work intensity, 74% the lack of work/life balance, 49% being undervalued by clients, 40% being undervalued by management, 37% a lack of mental health support in practice, 30% financial concerns, and 26% said a lack of HR or structured management in practice.
57% of vets said they know other vets with mental health issues.
64% said they believe there isn’t enough mental health support within the profession.
97% say work-related mental health issues have negatively impacted their job satisfaction.
78% said they would like to see more accessible content on mental health within the industry and 49% think the topic needs to be spoken about more.
64% of vets said they would welcome counselling, 64% support with burnout recovery and 61% wanted training on coping tactics at university.
Stephanie Armstrong, Senior Vice President at Zoetis and Independent Council Member for The Royal Veterinary College said: “Having worked in the industry for many years, I know what an incredible profession it is, but unfortunately, I am also acutely aware of the heavy mental health load many vets face.
"The Zoetis Foundation continues to support VetLife and other initiatives aimed at caring for vets - our ambition is to work together with policy makers, industry leads and educators to offer new solutions and ensure the future prognosis of the profession is a healthy one.”
1,927 veterinary nurses voted, representing an 8.8% turnout.
Whilst marginally better than 2022's turnout of 8.4%, it's still less than half that seen in 2020.
Matthew Rendle scored 891 votes and Simon Williams 642.
Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar and Returning Officer for both elections, said: “Congratulations to all our successful candidates in this year’s elections and thank you to all those who stood for election this year.
"We look forward to welcoming our successful candidates to their elected places at this year’s AGM.
“While the turnout for the VN Council election improved slightly on last year, it was a shame to see the turnout for vets fall again.
"As part of our wider Council culture project, we are looking at how to increase engagement with our election processes across the board, from candidate nominations, to how we present information about the candidates, to how we encourage greater election turnout.
"We will be consulting with the group set up to look specifically at this issue in due course to see how we can improve turnout going forward.”
The full results for the RCVS Council election can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/vnvote23
Each year the WSAVA Congress is held in a different location around the world and attracts over 70,000 veterinary professionals who relish the opportunity to hear from top international speakers on all aspects of practicing small animal veterinary medicine.
The WSAVA is an international network of associations dedicated to the continuing development of companion animal care around the world. It brings veterinary practitioners and academia together to help enhance the knowledge of specific topics, such as hereditary disease and nomenclature of pathological processes.
To celebrate the Association's 50th anniversary Professor Michael J Day, chairman of the WSAVA Scientific Advisory Committee, has proposed that this year be the year of 'One Medicine'. The theme is intended to recognise the importance of the link between the medical and veterinary professions. It will encompass the human population, domestic animals and wildlife, and the impact that current environmental changes are having on these groups. Lectures and seminars during this year's congress will reflect the 'One Medicine' topic, looking for an exchange of ideas and to build the foundations for future developments of mutual interest. For further information please visit http://www.wsava2010.org/.
Veterinary staff can enter the WSAVA prize draw by visiting Petplan at stand 311 during the BSAVA Congress or via the dedicated Petplan veterinary staff website, petplanvet.co.uk.
Dr Vlad Butnaru faced two charges, the first of which was that in May 2021, he had signed a passport and/or passport application for a horse and electronically signed a declaration stating that he “had read the above microchip, which had previously been implanted for the animal” when, in fact, the microchip had not been inserted into any horse and he had not read it.
The second charge was that, in relation to the matters set out in the first charge, Dr Butnaru’s signed declaration was false, and that he had acted dishonestly and misleadingly, he risked undermining procedures designed to promote animal welfare, and failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate.
Dr Butnaru admitted the first charge on all counts, and that the declaration he had signed was false.
He also admitted that his conduct was misleading and that he had failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate.
However, he denied that his conduct had been dishonest and that he had risked undermining a procedure designed to promote animal welfare.
In its decision, the committee noted that Dr Butnaru kept introducing new versions of what happened for the first time at the hearing and changed his account as he went along, as well as being evasive when answering questions.
The Committee therefore felt that Dr Butnaru could not be considered to be a reliable witness, and whilst it did not know the true reason why he was prepared to sign a false declaration on a passport application, it was satisfied that he'd made a false declaration dishonestly.
The Committee also found that Dr Butnaru had failed to take sufficient steps to ensure that the microchip number recorded for the horse was accurate as, if the passport had been issued on a false premise because of misleading information provided by Dr Butnaru, then it could not function as it was meant to which, in the Committee’s view, clearly risked undermining procedures designed to protect animal welfare.
The Committee found that Dr Butnaru had breached the parts 6.2 and 6.5 of the Code of Professional Conduct, as well as Principle 1 of the 10 Principles of Certification, namely that ‘a veterinarian should certify only those matters which: a) are within his or her own knowledge; b) can be ascertained by him or her personally; c) are the subject of supporting evidence from an authorised veterinarian who has personal knowledge of the matters in question; or d) are the subject of checks carried out by an Officially Authorised Person (OAP).’
The Committee found there were no mitigating factors.
Aggravating factors, on the other hand, were that Dr Butnaru had participated in premeditated misconduct, made financial gain from his actions as he was paid to make the false declaration, abused his professional position, and showed blatant or wilful disregard of the Horse Passport System and of the role of the RCVS and the systems that regulate the veterinary profession.
The Committee found that all proven charges amounted to Disgraceful Conduct in a Professional Respect.
On considering the sanction, the Committee once again considered the aggravating factors, as well as additional mitigating factors in that Dr Butnaru had no previous disciplinary history, showed limited insight by admitting to some of the charges, showed expressions of remorse, and was provided with a positive testimonial.
Paul Morris, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee was cognisant of the importance of a veterinary surgeon’s signature on any document.
"This should have been obvious to any veterinary surgeon, but particularly someone of Dr Butnaru’s 11 years’ experience (at the time of signing).
"The Committee was well aware of the impact and ramifications for Dr Butnaru of any decision to remove him from the Register, but had to weigh his interests with those of the public.
“In doing so it took account of the context and circumstances of the case, all matters of personal mitigation, Dr Butnaru’s previous unblemished record and the need to act proportionately.
"However, the Committee was of the view that the need to uphold proper standards of conduct within the veterinary profession, together with the public interest in maintaining confidence in the profession of veterinary surgeons and protecting the welfare of animals, meant that a period of suspension would not be sufficient.
"His actions were fundamentally incompatible with remaining on the Register and thus the only appropriate and proportionate sanction in all the circumstances of this case was that of removal from the Register.”
https://www.rcvs.org.uk/concerns/disciplinary-hearings
The day also has a stream for veterinary surgeons, and another for the whole practice team.
The nursing stream programme is as follows:
https://www.langfordvets.co.uk/feline-celebration-day
Veterinary teams are now being invited to nominate their workplaces for the awards, detailing the ways in which the team’s wellbeing has been supported.
Entrants must show evidence in their workplace of:
Entires can be submitted for the following categories
The BVA is strongly encouraging people to submit nominations as a team.
Entrants will also be required to submit photos showcasing team culture, demonstrating initiatives to aid staff wellbeing or moments of positivity.
BVA Junior Vice President Anna Judson, who will also be one of the judges for the awards, said: “The culture in a workplace has an impact on every aspect of a business, but most especially when it comes to building a happy, healthy and resilient workforce.
"That’s why it’s so important that staff feel heard, valued and supported.
"BVA’s Wellbeing Awards are an important opportunity for teams to shout about innovative practices that are going the extra mile to support wellbeing.
"After all, good veterinary workplaces are good for people, good for animals in their care and ultimately good for business.”
The awards are open to the entire veterinary profession and there is no requirement to be a BVA member.
Winners will be announced at BVA’s Gala Dinner during the London Vet Show in November.
Nominations close on Monday, 11th September 2023.
www.bva.co.uk/wellbeing-awards
Part of the Pets at Home Vet Group, the new centre was originally set for a Spring/Summer 2020 opening, but the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown set launch plans back to later in the year.
The 24/7 referral centre, which is led by Dr Sam Woods and Professor Dick White as co-Clinical Directors, takes referrals in orthopaedics, internal medicine, neurology, soft tissue surgery, diagnostic imaging and anaesthesia.
Sam said: "We are thrilled to finally be able to officially open our centre this week and to start welcoming patients from the surrounding area and throughout Scotland.
"This has been a strange and difficult year for us all, and as a profession we have faced some hard months. We hope our new referral hospital will be a great asset to the local first opinion professionals, as an extra support with any specialist referral cases, and we are really looking forward to building relationships with them.
"We are lucky to have a great team of veterinary Specialists, nurses and support colleagues at VSS, who are all dedicated to offering the best service and care possible. We are all excited to see what the next few months will bring.
The centre, based at Deer Park in Livingston, will also provide a CPD programme and internship and residency opportunities to those in the profession.
Professor Dick White said: “Since its original inception, our vision for VSS has always been to create a world-class facility, with state-of-the-art technology and outstanding levels of care, and it feels great that we have finally been able to open the doors, welcome patients in and start on our journey.
"We hope the referral centre not only supports local vets and pets, but also fosters new talent and helps develop the next generation of veterinary professionals through our CPD and Internship offering. We are looking forward to what the future will hold."
The clinic offers Specialist care primarily for patients with osteoarthritis pain, but also those with chronic pain caused by other conditions, such as cancer, dental and ear diseases, spinal disease and feline hyperaesthesia syndrome.
BVS says cats and dogs coming to the clinic will get the highest level of care with a specialist assessment from Jo, who also also works closely with the orthopaedic and neurology services to offer a global and holistic approach.
The assessment will identify signs of chronic pain, gauge the severity, and also evaluate the impact of the condition on the animal’s quality of life.
Jo says it is important to identify these conditions as early as possible, as instigating pain management early helps to dampen down pain signals and reduce overall upregulation of the pain pathways.
To that end, Jo uses validated clinical metrology instruments (owner questionnaires) to measure the severity of pain, especially during initial appointments.
Should a condition be detected, Jo and her team will be able to offer pharmacotherapy, intra-articular and epidural injections and acupuncture.
Jo also works closely with physiotherapists and hydrotherapy services, which can be used as adjunctive therapy.
Jo said, said: “Many cats and dogs will experience chronic pain. These cases need to be thoroughly investigated to ensure that the cause of pain is properly identified and treatment quickly provided. We are very pleased to be able to open our new chronic pain clinic for cat and dog owners in the South West today to provide this essential service.”
https://www.bristolvetspecialists.co.uk
"Learning from everything – Significant Event Audits and root cause analysis" teaches how to use significant event auditing and root cause analysis tools to investigate an event and uncover what went wrong and what went right.
RCVS Knowledge says the boxset, with its supporting tools and templates, breaks down the steps from start to finish so that anyone in practice can use a tried and tested framework to reflect and share learning and contribute towards profession-wide improvements.
Pam Mosedale, Chair of the RCVS Knowledge Quality Improvement Advisory Board, said: “We all make mistakes; it’s how our teams deal with them and learn from them that is important.
“We understand that errors can be costly in practice, impacting our patients, causing stress for our teams, and financially impacting our businesses, and that is why we are providing practical free support for all veterinary teams.”
https://learn.rcvsknowledge.org/course/index.php?categoryid=4
The new machine is a modular system using low-flow anaesthesia for animals from 2-80kg.
The company says that compared to anaesthetic techniques which use high fresh gas flow rates, it functions without posing a risk to team members from the huge amounts of oxygen and inhalational anaesthetic agents that would otherwise be released.
In turn, this results in cost savings from unwasted agents, and a typical 5 to 10 times reduction in environmental damage.
Darvall founder, Dr Colin Dunlop, said: “For optimal outcome from anaesthesia, veterinary anaesthesiologists and veterinarians routinely make decisions about the physiological well-being of the patient, the environmental impact of their actions, the operational efficiency of their practice and cost-effectiveness.
"Having suitable equipment that uses low-flow anaesthesia will reduce the risk of hypothermia, improve team safety, reduce environmental emissions and reduce costs.”
“Low-flow anaesthesia not only reduces oxygen flows and inhalant agent consumption to less than 10% of high-flow, non-rebreathing systems, it can help reduce anaesthetic hypothermia because it uses warm gas when using the Darvall heated breathing circuits.
"Using our specifically designed modern system for veterinary patients addresses the traditional challenges associated with low-flow anaesthesia and hypothermia.
Darvall says the use of just one system will also simplify staff training and ensure familiarity.
https://darvallvet.com
Formerly known as BSAVA’s Scottish Congress, Alba delegates will be treated to 28 lectures, four practicals, ten hours of CPD and a commercial exhibition.
There are three lecture streams: one for vets, another for vet nurses and another open to all.
Highlights include ‘Echocardiology’ with Kieran Borgeat, ‘Dermatology: What can nurses do?’ with Sue Paterson, and ‘Wildlife Triage’ with Jenna Richardson.
The practical sessions are open to all and include sampling techniques, suturing and a ferret clinical exam.
There's a gala dinner on Friday 16th from 7:30pm, starting with a drinks reception, followed by dinner and entertainment in the evening, with a live band and ceilidh dancing.
Angela McLaughlin, Scottish Regional Chair at the BSAVA said: “We are delighted that we are returning to Scotland after three years away as this is a great event that allows vets and nurses the opportunity to improve their skills and knowledge, while visiting an idyllic part of the country!”
For BSAVA members, tickets cost £240 +VAT for vets, £165 +VAT for veterinary nurses, and £65 +VAT for students.
Day tickets and non-member tickets are also available.
There's an additional fee of £10 +VAT for all practical sessions.
Tickets for the gala dinner are £35 for delegates and £55 for guests.
If you are looking for somewhere to stay, BSAVA’s hotel booking partner, BCD Meetings & Events, can help.
www.bsavaevents.com/bsavaalba2022
The practice, which has nine clinicians (including three RCVS Recognised Specialists), eleven RVNs, two human-trained cardiac physiologists and a dedicated referral administrator is the first referral practice in the UK to become an EOT.
Dave Dickson, a director alongside Jo Harris, said: "The decision to transition the clinical side of the business into employee ownership was led by the core values of the team and the desire to preserve our independence as a referral service.
"In an industry dominated by corporate acquisitions, with business models increasingly focused on keeping referral offerings within the corporate groups and limiting choice for clients, we felt it was crucial to chart a different course.
"We have a very bonded and supportive team, working together to continuously improve and evolve, where the ideas of every team member are important and all roles are equally appreciated.
"We feel that employee ownership aligns perfectly with this ethos.
Jo Harris added: “By involving all our employees in the ownership of the business, we aim to foster a culture of engagement and collaboration.
"This new structure ensures that every team member has a stake in the success of the business and a voice in how it operates.
"We believe this will not only enhance our service quality but also promote sustainable growth and innovation.
"The transition to employee ownership is not just a change in structure; it is a reaffirmation of our values and a pledge to our patients, clients, and partners that we will continue to strive for excellence in every aspect of our work.”
The Stablelab hand-held reader detects and quantifies the biomarker Serum Amyloid A (SAA), an acute phase protein produced by the liver that increases rapidly and dramatically in response to inflammation.
Zoetis says that by measuring SAA, vets can assess the severity of an infection more quickly, often before clinical symptoms start, and are able to monitor the horse’s response over the course of treatment.1
Zoetis vet Wendy Talbot said: “Zoetis is committed to providing vets and horse owners with the most effective health products to better predict, prevent, detect and treat equine disease.
“The Stablelab test kit enables convenient, off-site testing for quick and accurate detection of a reliable indicator of infection in horses.
“Point-of-care testing is one of the fastest-growing areas of diagnostics and this test is rapidly becoming a standard of care in equine practice. SAA testing will help vets to quickly determine an appropriate course of intervention, positively impacting case outcomes.”
For more information, visit: www.stablelab.com. To place an order, contact your Zoetis Account Manager or the Zoetis Technical Team on customersupportUK@zoetis.com or 0845 300 9084 (option 3).
Reference
With this new system, you gain points by achieving different ISVPS qualifications.
In 2023, mini modular programmes will also be released to help delegates accumulate more points.
Once enough points have been reached, delegates are awarded the ultimate qualification: an ISVPS Lead Veterinary Nurse Practitioner.
Improve says My Veterinary Career has been launched to tackle the growing problem of career dissatisfaction amongst veterinary professionals.
A 2019 survey of the veterinary profession by the ies reported that 55.2% of vets said they did not feel rewarded/valued in the profession1.
Additionally, the FVE Survey of the veterinary profession in Europe claimed that in the UK, 40% of vets and nurses wished to leave the industry.
In other countries Improve Veterinary Education operates in, 51% in Portugal, 32% in Spain, 27% in Denmark, 25% in Germany and 17% in France also felt the same2.
Improve says that with My Veterinary Career, vet nurses will now have a clearer pathway to advance their careers and they will be able to develop a bespoke learning journey.
This, the company hopes, will help with the recruitment and retention of veterinary professionals across both corporate and private practice and boost practice productivity and revenue.
https://www.improveinternational.com/uk/myveterinarycareer-vets
References
The new voice skill offers three main features, a chocolate toxicity calculator for dogs, the nearest emergency vet finder, and answers to Vets Now's commonly asked pet health questions.
Head of clinical intelligence at Vets Now, Dave Leicester said: “With many people reluctant or not able to leave their homes due to the coronavirus pandemic, we're making veterinary advice accessible to everyone, through as many channels as possible including our website, video vet service, and now smart speakers.
"We fast-tracked our plans for the innovative voice skill in response to Covid-19 as we know how much pet owners are relying on remote veterinary advice just now — we’ve seen a huge spike in calls to our emergency contact centre and the uptake of our new video triage consultation service has been exceptional, with more than 500 video calls from worried pet owners since its launch in April.
"Our new voice skill is the next step in helping pets and their owners as much as we can during this incredibly difficult time. It’s a first release of the skill but we will continue to build and add advice to it in the weeks and months ahead.”
More information on the veterinary advice skill and how to access it can be found here www.vets-now.com/smart-speaker.
COMMENTI've just tried the new skill, and my first impression is that vets don't have to fear this is going to put them out of a job any time soon.
As with all things Alexa, there is a sporting chance she'll mishear what you said. But the bigger problem is that it may be a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.
I've had a dog for the last decade, and I could count the number of times I had a question for the vet that could be answered by an app on the fingers of one finger.
In fact, it was the time our dog ate chocolate.
But would I download a voice assistant just to answer the chocolate question?
No, I wouldn't.
Nor would I download a voice assistant to explain veterinary conditions, simply because I don't have questions of that nature more than once a decade. Who does? And if I wanted to know where the nearest emergency vet was, I'd either Google it or I'd ask Alexa herself (as opposed to summoning the Vets Now voice assistant specifically).
The sentiment behind this idea - making advice more accessible - seems sound, but I suspect that unless this assistant becomes truly encyclopaedic, it is never going to be useful enough to warrant installing on a smart speaker. Even then, one has to wonder whether the average pet owner has enough animal-related questions every month to warrant having an assistant to answer them.
The aim of the week is to help pet owners identify common symptoms of eye disease and to seek prompt veterinary attention where appropriate.
To support the initiative, TVM UK is supplying veterinary practices with a kit to create their own waiting room display to inform owners about the common symptoms of eye disease. Pet owners can obtain further, more in-depth information by scanning a QR code on their smartphone camera which takes them directly to the webpage www.tvm-uk.com/eyehealth.
There is also a ‘Who’s Got Their Eye on You’ mini quiz to help engage clients to see if they can spot one of their pets in the animal line up.
Will Peel, Product Manager at TVM UK said: "Eye problems in pets can sometimes be hard for pet owners to pick up so we have launched Pet Eye Health Awareness Week to raise awareness of common symptoms of poor eye heath so problems can be identified early and pet owners can seek veterinary advice quickly."
For more information, contact your local territory manager, email help@tvm-uk.com or call 0800 0385868. You can find additional eye-health related social media content at: www.tvm-uk.com.
Sedaxylan 20 mg/ml contains the short acting alpha-2 agonist xylazine and is licensed for I/V administration.
It is also licensed for I/M administration in cattle; it has zero milk withdrawal and short one day meat withdrawal and sedation occurs in cattle within two minutes I/V and five to 10 minutes I/M.
Sedaxylan 20 mg/ml joins Dechra’s Nerfasin vet 100 mg/ml solution in the company’s anaesthesia and sedation range. Nerfasin vet also contains xylazine and is licensed for I/V administration for sedation and premedication prior to general anaesthesia in horses and cattle.
Alana McGlade, national sales manager at Dechra, said: “Dechra offers a comprehensive range of anaesthesia and sedation products allowing vets to customise protocols to the individual animal.
"Sedaxylan 20mg/ml and Nerfasin vet 100 mg/ml solution provide vets with flexible and convenient dosing options.”
Both Sedaxylan 20 mg/ml and Nerfasin vet 100 mg/ml are available in 25ml vials.
For more information, talk to your Dechra territory sales manager.
www.dechra.co.uk.
The specialist-led lectures will start on 5th May and run until October 2021, with a session every couple of weeks, alternating between vets and nurses.
RCVS-recognised specialist in ECC, Tobias Grave, and Racheal Marshall RVN, head of clinical nursing at Vets Now, are among the speakers who will be covering topics such as triage as well as nursing the neurological patient and more. You can view the full programme here.
Dan Lewis, ECC specialist at Vets Now, who devised this year’s veterinary CPD programme, said: “Because emergencies don’t only happen out of hours we’re committed to working with general practitioners to deliver the best possible care to pets at the time they need it most. With that in mind, we are also committed to bringing relevant and pioneering CPD and training to veterinary clinicians and vet nurses.
“As emergency and critical care experts, we appreciate the value of flexibility and are always looking to adapt our services. In 2021, with social distancing still expected to be the norm, we’re offering two CPD streams, available live and on-demand.
“We delivered a successful interactive learning experience for virtual delegates through our ECC Congress at the end of last year, so we have a strong foundation from which to build on innovative and expert virtual CPD, and we’ll aim to leave delegates feeling well-informed and assured.
“We will obviously miss seeing everyone in person but gathering together online like this is beneficial as we can reach more vets and vet nurses with valuable CPD. Importantly, the format can fit around busy schedules, with all content available as videos after the events have taken place.”
Dan added: “Delegates from our ECC Congress commented on some added benefits of the virtual format including things like less environmental impact and waste through less travelling, and more flexibility due to being able to look back on the content after the event. Delegates also felt it was easier to ask questions of the speakers without feeling intimidated.”
The event series is priced at £72 for the vet stream (working out at £12 per session) and £60 for the vet nurse stream (£10 per session). You can also attend both for £110 (working out at £9.16 per session).
You can book your place at www.vets-now.com/bitesize.
The support packs include a social media toolkit with graphics for practices to use on their own social media channels.
Visitors to the company's stand at the London Vet Show will also be able to sign up to receive a Practice Pet Protection Pack which contains a detail aid, a general microchipping leaflet, a law guides for horses, dogs and cats, and puppy and kitten leaflets.
https://identichip.co.uk
Alan, who is MD of the veterinary business consultancy, Vet Dynamics, will be looking at finances, the team, and scoping out a future strategy. The session will provide practical planning tools, strategic advice, and the opportunity to ask questions.
Bayer points to a number of trends which have emerged during lockdown which it says practices must respond to quickly in the post-lockdown recovery.
The company says retailers have reported that internet traffic increased threefold at the start of lockdown and it remains at double the pre-lockdown levels. Direct retail sales of flea and tick products have also increased.
This suggests that owners are becoming more comfortable with buying preventative healthcare products online.
Bayer says there is a business opportunity here for practices. The subscription box market is expected to hit £1 billion by 20222, and one way practices can capitalise on this trend is by offering home-delivered flea, wormer and tick treatments.
Another business opportunity could lie in research by Banfield Pet Hospital among 1,000 US pet owners in which 20% vowed to take their pets ‘more often’ to the vet post-lockdown for preventative care checkups3.
Caroline Braidwood, Regional Business Manager of Bayer Animal Health said: "We know that many veterinary customers have potentially gone elsewhere during the pandemic and vets will need to work hard to win them back. Our webinar will provide tangible insights to ensure that practices can flourish. Whether you’ve worked with Bayer or not, our team of Veterinary Business Managers are here to help. We’re all in this together, and with some planning, we can ensure the veterinary industry continues to grow.”
To book your webinar place, visit: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/46/rk71qav5
The Human Factors aspect of the course considers how interactions between people and their environment can affect patient care and outcomes.
Systems Thinking looks at how well-designed systems in practice can help achieve better results.
Pam Mosedale, Quality Improvement Clinical Lead at RCVS Knowledge said: “When’s the last time you thought about the impact human interactions between your team are having on your patients?
"What about the processes you use to deliver care?
“Every veterinary professional wants to achieve good outcomes, but the role that Human Factors and systems can play is sometimes overlooked.
"Making sure that your processes are well-designed, and understanding how the people in your team interact with them can optimise the quality of care you provide, while improving team wellbeing."
“That is why we’re delighted to announce the launch of free, practical support on Human Factors and Systems Thinking for all veterinary teams.”
learn.rcvsknowledge.org
The successful candidates, who completed their studies during 2020 and passed the examination in November, are Lucy Wilson (pictured right), from Equibreed UK, Reading, Vanessa Austin, who works at at Vets4Pets, Northampton, and Donna Johnson, the Clinical Services Manager at The Pet Vet, Barnsley.
Lucy said: “I chose to do the CVPM to cement my knowledge of how to run our practice to the best of my ability and to provide the highest level of support to my colleagues. The CVPM resources, syllabus and experience have given me a thorough understanding of my skills and areas to develop. I cannot recommend the experience highly enough.”
Chair of the VMG Certification and Training Committee, Philippa Davies, said: “The CVPM exam tests candidates’ skills in operational management, prioritising, strategy, and thinking on your feet. It’s a gruelling assessment and holders are an elite group. We are delighted to welcome Vanessa, Donna and Lucy and congratulate them on their achievement.”
For more information, visit: https://www.vetmg.com/education/cvpm/
Robexera is a COX2 NSAID formulation which delivers anti-inflammatory pain relief with a once-a-day dosing regime2,3,4.
The product is presented as a flavoured chewable tablet for easier administration by pet owners.
For simplicity when dispensing, it comes in four strengths with colour coded boxes, perforated blisters and a set of PIL sheets that convert to prescribing envelopes in each pack.
Charlotte Read, Krka’s UK Key Account Manager, said: “Delivering reliable, cost-effective perioperative pain relief for soft tissue surgery is an everyday concern for veterinary practices, while OA is the most common cause of chronic pain in dogs5.
"This is why we’re particularly pleased to announce the first generic robenacoxib, Robexera.
“Bioequivalent to the originator product6, Robexera provides fast-acting and targeted pain relief, giving enhanced value to veterinary practices and enabling them to offer their clients improved affordability, particularly for those whose animals are on long term pain-management programmes or have other health issues.”
Viktor Kozjan, General Manager Krka UK, added: “The launch of Robexera is further confirmation of Krka’s commitment to develop solutions that are tried and trusted but also flexible and affordable for our customers and their clients.”
Robexera is now available to order from all national UK veterinary wholesalers.
The toolkit is part of a major study, the ‘Old Age Pets (OAP) research project’, recently funded by BSAVA PetSavers at the University of Liverpool.
The ACT includes an owner checklist for home triage and a leaflet which explains the more common health problems affecting aged dogs.
There's a practice waiting room poster which includes a QR code to give clients access to a digital version of the leaflet.
The leaflet recommends working through the checklist at least every six months and keeping completed versions for comparison, to monitor dogs as they age.
PetSavers says that some clients may benefit from advice and guidance from RVNs or PCAs on how to complete the checklist for the first time.
BSAVA has also curated a collection of articles, podcasts, lectures and book chapters to support veterinary professionals in caring for senior dogs: http://www.bsavalibrary.com/petsaversact.
Professor Carri Westgarth from the University of Liverpool said: “We conducted this research project kindly funded by BSAVA PetSavers in order to help owners and veterinary professionals provide great care for our loved pets as they age.
“Our investigations uncovered common physical and behavioural signs in dogs that owners observe and for which support from the veterinary practice would be beneficial.
"Our simple evidence-based checklist is designed to engage owners and importantly stimulate efficient discussion with their veterinary team.”
Free digital copies of the leaflet and poster can be downloaded here: http://www.bsavalibrary.com/content/cilgrouppetsaversact, where veterinary professionals can also request free printed copies for their practices.
https://www.bsava.com/petsavers/our-impact/citizen-science-project.
The course has been put together by the charity's Investigations Team with the help of Mark Naguib BVMS(Hons) CertAVP(ZooMed) MRCVS.
The course has been designed to help you identify animals which have been targeted by illegal shooting, trapping and poisoning, and how to make sure valuable evidence is preserved for any investigation by the police.
The course includes:
The course is open to anyone in veterinary practice, and is worth 2 hours CPD: https://www.rspb.org.uk/rspb-vet-cpd