SAMSoc Travel Scholarship 2011
The award will be presented at the pre-BSAVA SAMSoc meeting on 30th March 2011. The award is kindly sponsored by Pfizer.
We're delighted to announce details of the SAMSoc Pre-BSAVA Satellite Meeting:
Date: Wednesday April 1st 2009Venue: Hall 8a, ICC, Birmingham
Timetable:
8.30 - 9am
Registration
9 - 10
Thoracic CT
Charlotte Whatmough (UK)
10 - 11
Thoracoscopy for medics
Eric Monnet (USA)
11 - 11.30
Break
11.30-12.15
Case Reports - sponsored by Vetoquinol
12.15 - 1.15
Current management of Diabetes Mellitus in people
Dr Aldibbiat (UK)
1.15 -2.30
Lunch
2.30-3.30
A logical approach to changed mental status
Natasha Olby (USA)
3.30-4.30
Interpretation of bone marrow cytology
Reinhard Mischke (Germany)
4.30-5pm
AGM
Satellite meeting fees (lunch is included) - members £65, Non members £95. SAMSOC annual membership - £25
We would like to invite submission of interesting case reports. There will be three presentations each lasting 12 minutes (plus 3 minutes for questions). If you have a case that you would like to present please e-mail an outline (up to 500 words) to Alison.Ridyard@ed.ac.uk by the 1st February 2009. The programme co-ordinators will review the submissions and inform people of the selected cases by the 1st March 2009. This is a chance for sharing your interesting and unusual cases with the group and we look forward to some interesting submissions. This year in addition to free registration, there will be prizes for the best case reports (first prize £300, second £150 , third £50).
If you are interested in joining the society or attending the meeting contact medicinereferrals@hotmail.com or iab@vetspecialists.co.uk. You may also click here for more details.
Free plasma metanephrines – a novel diagnostic approach for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma in dogs
The Royal Veterinary College is investigating whether an increased plasma metanephrine concentration can be used to identify pheochromocytomas in dogs. We hope this will provide a useful indicator for pheochromocytomas, which are otherwise challenging to diagnose and our preliminary data suggests that plasma metanephrine concentrations increase in affected dogs.
EDTA plasma samples are being submitted for metanephrine measurement by High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and we also plan to validate a radioimmunoassay for metanephrine measurement.
We would welcome EDTA plasma samples from dogs undergoing investigation of adrenal masses, especially if pheochromocytoma is strongly suspected. The full cost of this test will be covered by the project grant and HPLC results are usually available within 7 days.
For further information or to discuss submitting a sample for analysis, please contact:
Ruth Gostelow BVetMed (Hons) MRCVS
Senior Clinical Training Scholar in Small Animal Internal Medicine
Email: rgostelow@rvc.ac.uk
Or call the RVC Clinical Investigations Centre on 01707 666605
Fellow investigator: Harriet Syme BSc BVetMed PhD MRCVS D-ACVIM D-ECVIM
Other projects listed in the SAMSOC Wiki
After a record number of submissions we are please to announce that the 3 finalists have been selected. In no particular order they are
The cases will be presented during the SAMSOC day and audience voting will select the winner.
Registration forms and the speaker schedule for the SAMSOC meeting 1st April 2009 can be found on the website ( alternatively contact medicinereferrals@hotmail.com or iab@vetspecialists.co.uk ).
Note - we are unable to provide a lunch for registrations received after March 12th
The exciting programme for our satellite meeting in 2010 is attached! Please register early to avoid disappointment.
Our 2010 satellite meeting will include a session which will be particulalrly useful to candidates preparing a medicine case book.
The meeting remains very good value for money (£65). If you wish, subs for 2010 can be included with your payment for the meeting (Total cost =£90).
Lunch will be included if registration forms and payment for the meeting are received BEFORE March 15th (catering deadline).
Best wishes
Yvonne
Do you have an interesting or unusual small animal medicine case that would be suitable to present as an oral abstract? The Small Animal Medicine Society (SAMSoc) is currently inviting submissions for the case report session during the pre BSAVA satellite meeting on April 1st 2009.
This Competition is open to anyone with an interest in canine or feline medicine. Suitable cases should have interesting discussion points but need not necessarily be so unusual that they would be considered publishable.
Three case reports will be selected by the SAMSOC committee for presentation during the meeting (12 minutes plus 3 minute for questions).
Successful selection entitles the author to free registration for the meeting.
At the end of the session the audience will vote by ballot for their favourite case report. Each presenter will then be awarded a prize which has been kindly donated by Vetoquinol: 1st place £300, 2nd place £150, 3rd place £50.
If you are interested in submitting a case report for consideration please contact Alison Ridyard (Alison.Ridyard@ed.ac.uk.) for details.
The deadline for submission is February 1st 2009
Call for Research Reports / Research Abstracts 2010 ACVIM Forum Scientific Program SUMBISSION DEADLINE: DECEMBER 1, 2009 The ACVIM invites submission of research reports and research abstracts for short communications at the 2010 ACVIM Forum, June 9 - 12, 2010, in Anaheim, California. ACVIM Diplomates, ACVIM Candidates, members of other specialty groups, and those working in areas related to veterinary internal medicine are encouraged to submit. Research reports will be published in the online 2010 ACVIM Forum Proceedings and research abstracts will be published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM) as well as in the online and CD-Rom 2010 ACVIM Forum Proceedings. Abstracts may be submitted for consideration in the research report category (25-minute presentation) if presented by an active researcher the field. PhD candidates, post-doctoral students, and young faculty may be considered, but ACVIM Candidates and other residents may not present in this category. If a research report is not accepted, the submission form will provide an option for you to have the abstract considered for presentation as a research abstract (15-minute presentation) instead. Anyone may submit abstracts to be considered in the research abstract category. ACVIM Candidates may be eligible for award. Awards will be given to selected research abstract presenters (or poster authors) who are active residents in an approved ACVIM training program, or who have completed an ACVIM approved residency within the last 6 months but are not yet ACVIM Board-certified. These abstracts will be judged on the quality of both the research and oral or poster presentation. Two types of research abstract communications will be available: - Oral presentation, strictly limited to 12 minutes with 3 additional minutes for questions. - Posters (4' × 8' in dimension), available for viewing throughout the meeting. During specified periods the posters must be attended by one or more of the authors to answer specific questions. If the poster is entered in the ACVIM resident competition, the author must attend the poster to interact with the judges. All submissions must adhere to the requirements outlined in the ACVIM Guidelines for Research Reports / Research Abstracts. Note: Abstracts that exceed the length limit will not be considered. Excessively poor grammar or clarity of writing may be grounds for abstract rejection. No abstract may be submitted that will have been submitted as a full-length publication before the abstract submission deadline of December 1, 2009. Abstracts that have been published as an abstract and / or presented elsewhere within the 9 months previous to the 2010 ACVIM Forum may be submitted for consideration, but must pass the ACVIM abstract review process as for any abstract. The place of prior publication and / or presentation and copyright permission must be disclosed at the time of abstract submission. Abstracts describing a single case report are unacceptable. Abstracts describing a study using clinical cases that lack confirmed, definitive diagnoses are not acceptable. Abstracts that present data “fractionated” into two or more abstracts when they could be combined into one are discouraged (e.g. regarding test validation, methodology development, or establishing a normal range without application to a population with sufficient power to demonstrate statistical significance). Animals used in the described study are expected to have received humane care, i.e. according to the principles outlined in the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and / or the humane care guidelines found at the author’s institution. Authors must attest to this on the electronic submission form. Deadline: All submissions must be made online using the ACVIM electronic submission form found under the Research Abstracts link at www.ACVIMForum.org. Abstracts must be submitted by 11:59 pm MST, December 1, 2009 to be considered for presentation. The online submission form will be deactivated as of 12:00 am MST, December 2.
Congenital PSS in Birman Cats - DNA Project
Angie Hibbert and Proffessor Tim Gruffydd-Jones at the Feline Centre (Bristol) In conjunction with Professor Leslie Lyons (UC Davies) are currently looking into the predispoistion of Birman cats to congenital porotsystemic shunts. They are looking to obtain DNA smaples from affected cats and their siblings. A simple buccal swab is required and if possible details of the cats pedigree.
More details can be found in the SAMSOC Wiki
Other projects posted on the SAMSOC website ( within the Wiki)
Harriet Syme and Colleagues RVC are recruiting cases for a clinical trail evaluating the use of oral phosphate binders in Feline Chronic Kidney Disease -
Stijn Nelson’s Diabetes Treatment Survey for vets, nurses and owners
Brain Catchpole and Lucy Davidson are collaborating with a number of centres to investigate the genetic basis of several canine endocrine disorders. They are keen to recruit samples (serum and EDTA blood) from dogs suffering from a number of endocrine disorders
NOTE- If you would like to announce recruitment details for a clinical trial, please logo onto to the SAMSoc Wiki or contact a member of the SAMSOC committee.
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
Do you have an interesting or unusual small animal medicine case/series of cases that would be suitable to present as an oral abstract? The Small Animal Medicine Society (SAMSoc) invites submission of abstracts for short communications at the pre-BSAVA Satellite Meeting on 7th April 2010 in the ICC, Birmingham.
This Competition is open to anyone with an interest in canine or feline medicine. Suitable cases should have interesting discussion points but need not be so unusual that they would be considered publishable.
Abstracts will not be published for this meeting, so cases/case series that may be presented in final form at other meetings in the future may be presented.
Cases/ case series of interest to the group that have been presented at meetings other than major internal medicine meetings (e.g. ACVIM, ECVIM, BSAVA) may be considered.
Abstracts should be written in Microsoft Word using Times Roman 12-point font. The first line should contain the title in all capitals; the second line all author(s); the third the institution(s) the author(s) are affiliated with; followed by the actual abstract starting as a new paragraph. The print must be black, and the abstract should be no more than 500 words in length (including title, author names and institutions). The line spacing should be 1.5.
Deadline for submission of abstracts is 1st February 2010. Notification of acceptance will be provided by 1st March 2010.
Abstracts may be submitted electronically to Sheena.Warman@bristol.ac.uk or sniessen@rvc.ac.uk (Stijn Niessen)
If an abstract is accepted for presentation, the presenter will receive free registration for the SAMSoc satellite meeting.
In addition, like last year, Vetoquinol are kindly sponsoring prizes for the best abstracts. At the end of the session the audience will vote by ballot for their favourite case report (1st place £300, 2nd place £150, 3rd place £50).
We hope many could contribute to this valuable part of our programme, which could also provide a valuable presenting experience to our young and talented colleagues, yet is open to colleagues of all ages and backgrounds!
The commitee are pleased to announce plans for a CPD travel scholarship award of £250 which will be open to application from SAMSOC members
Details for applications will be announce in 7-10 days.
Other News
The feline acromegaly lecture vote is still ongoing so please log onto the site and have your say and suggest any other lecture topic ideas
Research posts
There have been no recent new posting in the wiki but as a refresher please find a list of all the projects posted to date that are currently recruiting cases.
We would like to announce a new facility in the SAMSoc website. We are inviting members to list details of any clinical trials that they are currently undertaking, within the SAMSoc Wiki.
Our hope is that by distributing this information to our members, case recruitment for your study will increase. It may also lead to collaboration with other groups.
In time, it will also build into a valuable, searchable database of research work carried out by our members.
After completion and successful publication of any trails you have posted, we would appreciate it if you could post an abstract of the work (within the Wiki with an appropriate journal citation) for our members to view.
Details of how to upload your trail data and the information required in the post can be found in the Wiki section of the SAMSoc page (you will find Wiki in the quick links menu on the right of the page). If you have any problems please contact us.
A "News" feature will be distributed intermittently to all members to summaries deatils of recently posted trails
Our first research post is from Stijn Niessen of the RVC. He is inviting vets, nurses and owners to complete a short questionnaire on patients undergoing therapy for diabetes mellitus. Further details on how to source the questionnaires can be found in his post in the SAMSoc Wiki.
Hi everyone,
We hope that everyone who was able to attend this years SAMSOC meeting enjoyed the day.
We are already starting to consider lecture subjects for next year so if you have any ideas please contact us.
Stijn is currently processing the feedback questionaires, but would like to hear from any members who did not come, particularly if it was because you didn't find the program appealing. We hope there are not many of the latter, but if you didn't like the look of the programme we would find your comments invaluable.
Alison Ridyard has stepped down from the programme commitee and we would like to thank her again for her hard work during the last five years. During the AGM Sheena Warmen was voted in as her replacement .
I am sure you will agree the case report session (sponsored by Vetoquinol) was a success. The winners based on audience voting were
Thanks again to all of the members who submitted a report and we hope we can look forward to another quality case report session next year. We are currently working on securing prize sponsership for next years submission
Picture shows: Prize winners, from left to right - Russell Roan (Vetoquinol), Flo Juvet (3rd place), Alistair Stewart (2nd place) and Lucy Goodwin (1st place), Ian Battersby
JSAP is pleased to announce that it will provide two seminars to be held during BSAVA Congress, in conjunction with the Clinical Research Abstract sessions, aimed at providing guidance for those seeking to publish their research and wishing to critically evaluate published studies. These sessions are free to attend but numbers are limited (see below).
Friday 9 April
12.05–12.35 (Hall 7b, ICC)
How To Put A Paper Together
Speaker: Malcolm Ness
BVetMed CertSAO DipECVS FRCVS
Vets in practice are ideally placed to conduct and publish clinical research because they are the ones actually seeing the cases! Many practitioners are put off because of a perceived difficulty in "getting published". This is largely fear of the unknown and like most things, once you know the rules, it is easier to play the game. The purpose of the seminar is to look at and learn the "rules" of writing a paper for publication in a peer reviewed veterinary journal. Areas considered will include:
What makes a good clinical research project?
Understanding the standard format for writing a paper – which bits go where, and why
The peer review process – how it works and why
Handling rejection!
The seminar is intended for anyone aspiring to seeing their work published in a peer reviewed veterinary journal including interns, residents, researchers and referral clinicians but especially colleagues working in primary care clinical practice.
Saturday 10 April
12.05–12.35 (Hall 7a, ICC)
Critical Reading
Speaker: Adrian Boswood
MA VetMB DVC DipECVIM-CA FHEA MRCVS
Reading original articles from the peer-reviewed literature can at first seem a daunting task. It is however, only by evaluating full papers (rather than skimming and believing abstracts!) that the strengths and weaknesses of published studies can be truly appreciated. This seminar at BSAVA congress is designed to give attendees a basic understanding of how to approach original papers.
The seminar will begin with an outline of the formal structure of a scientific paper and give guidelines for readers as to where critical information in the paper should be sought. Examples from the veterinary and medical literature examples of good (and in some cases bad!) practice will be used to illustrate this critical approach. The seminar is designed for practitioners wishing to develop a more questioning approach and for those in the early stages of a clinical academic career (although anyone is welcome to attend).
Adrian Boswood is Professor of Veterinary Cardiology at the Royal Veterinary College and a RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology and a European Specialist in Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology).
Malcolm Ness is Founding Partner at Croft Veterinary Hospital and a RCVS and European Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Surgery.
Spaces for these seminars are limited, and those attending the Saturday seminar will be sent a paper to evaluate in advance that will be discussed at the meeting. Therefore, if you would like to attend either of these seminars please contact Ian Mellor, Media Sales Manager, British Small Animal Veterinary Association (email: i.mellor@bsava.com) by Friday 26 March.
If you wish to register for the SAMSoc pre-BSAVA meeting on April 2009 then please print the attached form and send the completed form and payment to the address shown.
Please note that the deadline for catering arrangements is March 13th. Lunch will only be provided to those who have registered and paid before this date!
Exocrine Pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) Treatment Study
Aran Mas, P-J.M.Noble , A.J.German
EPI is a common condition in dogs with early response to therapy being critical for positive outcomes (Batchelor et al, 2007). Pancreatic enzyme supplementation is the key component of therapy in EPI. Numerous enzyme preparations exist for use in dogs, some of which are enteric-coated and some uncoated. Although one retrospective study on treatment of EPI suggested a better response with uncoated preparations (Hall et al., 1991), there was no difference in response amongst preparations in a more recent study (Batchelor et al., 2007). However, prospective clinical trials, on treatment of EPI, are lacking.
The Small Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, is performing the first randomised double-blind trial to examine the effect of enteric coating on efficacy of pancreatic enzyme supplementation in the treatment of canine EPI. We are aiming to recruit dogs recently diagnosed with EPI for inclusion in this trial. Enrolled patients will undergo clinical evaluation, two months of treatment and follow-up advice, all free of charge.
Inclusion/exclusion criteria and contact detail can be found in the SAMSOC Wiki
Other Projects listed in the SAMSOC WIKI
Angie Hibbert at the Feline Centre (Bristol)- Congenital PSS in Birman Cats - DNA Project
Harriet Syme and Colleagues RVC - are recruiting cases for a clinical trail evaluating the use of oral phosphate binders in Feline Chronic Kidney Disease
Stijn Nelson’s- Diabetes Treatment Survey for vets, nurses and owners
Brain Catchpole and Lucy Davidson - are collaborating with a number of centres to investigate the genetic basis of several canine endocrine disorders. They are keen to recruit samples (serum and EDTA blood) from dogs suffering from a number of endocrine disorders
Willows Referral Service
Locum Internal Medicine Clinician required
During 2010 Willows Referral Service has opportunities for part-time Internal Medicine locum cover. The successful applicant(s) should either hold an RCVS, European or American Diploma (or equivalent) or have undertaken Residency training and be ready to take their final Diploma examinations. Candidates must share our aim of providing the best possible levels of care for clients, their pets and for referring veterinary surgeons.
We have an excellent team of support staff who give our clinicians the opportunity to concentrate on their clinical caseload and to work in a pleasant, supportive and good humoured atmosphere. Facilities include a superbly equipped intensive care unit, kennelling for over 100 in-patients, all-new GE imaging equipment, including 1.5T MRI, top-end 16 slice CT with in-room CT fluoroscopy, two general digital X-ray rooms, mobile image intensifier, high-end ultrasound and Olympus video endoscopy. Our medicine clinicians, Jane Eastwood DSAM and Kirsty Roe DipACVIM, work alongside specialists in the disciplines of soft tissue surgery, neurology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, imaging and anaesthesia, and our philosophy is very much one of friendly co-operation between clinicians in every specialism.
For further information about Willows internal medicine service please visit http://www.willows.uk.net/en-GB/specialist-services/specialisms/internal-medicine
If you are interested and would like an informal chat about the position, please contact Jane Eastwood on 0121 712 7070
Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service, Solihull, West Midlands www.willows.uk.net
FOUR great case reports have now been selected for the case report competition at the SAMSOC meeting (see finalised programme below), complementing an exciting & thought provoking programme.
Please note: Registration deadlines for your yearly shot of grade A medicine are approaching....if you are in any way serious about your medicine, don't get left out and register ASAP.
Pre-BSAVA SAMSOC Satellite Meeting - Wednesday April 7th 2010, Hall 10, ICC, Birmingham
8.30 – 9am
9 – 9.45
Epilepsy: when the (usual) drugs don’t work...
Dr Holger Volk DrMedVet PhD DipECVN MRCVS (RVC, UK-Germany)
9.55 – 10.40
Antimicrobial usage in companion animal practice: facts and moral dilemmas
Dr Susan Dawson BVMS PhD MRCVS (University of Liverpool, UK)
10.40–11.10
11.10-12.05
Case Reports – sponsored by Vetoquinol
1. Abdominal mycetoma in a dog caused by Scedosporium apiospermum 2. Deoxycorticosterone-producing adrenal carcinoma causing signs of mineralocorticoid excess and hypokalaemic myopathy in a dog 3. Colonic candidiasis in a dog
4. Four cases of feline hyperprogesteronism
Rosanne Jepson (RVC)
Ruth Gostelow (RVC)
Caroline Kisielewicz (Glasgow University)
Natasha Hetzel (Bristol University)
12.05 – 1.00
Venous thromboembolism: learning from a human perspective
Dr Nandan Gautam MA, BM ChB, MRCP DICM. Consultant in medicine and critical care. Member of the NICE venous thromboembolism prevention committee (Birmingham UK)
1.00 -2.30
Lunch (till 2.00 for those attending lunch-time session)
2.00-2.30
How to write a successful CertSAM casebook? (optional)
Jon Wray BVSc DSAM CertVC MRCVS (Dick White Referrals, UK)
2.30-3.15
Controversies surrounding treatment of aortic thromboembolism
Dr Matt Beal DVM DipACVECC
(Michigan State University, USA)
3.25-3.35
3.35-4.20
Feline Acromegaly: separating facts from assumptions
Stijn Niessen DVM DipECVIM-CA MRCVS (RVC, UK-Netherlands)
AGM and presentation “best case report award” sponsored by Vetoquinol
Satellite meeting fees (lunch is included if you register before March15th 2010)
Members £65, Non members £95. SAMSOC annual membership - £25
If you are interested in joining the society and/ or attending the meeting contact yvonnemcgrotty@hotmail.com
or iab@vetspecialists.co.uk. Details can also be found on the SAMSOC webpage (log onto www.vetsurgeon.org).
SMALL ANIMAL MEDICINE SOCIETY Case Report Competition 2010
Sponsored by Vetoquinol
Do you have an interesting or unusual small animal medicine case that would be suitable to present as an oral abstract. The Small Animal Medicine Society is currently inviting submissions for the case report session during the pre BSAVA satellite meeting on April 7th 2010.
This Competition is open to anyone with an interest in canine or feline medicine. Suitable cases should be have interesting discussion points but need not be so unusual that they would be considered publishable.
At the end of the session the audience will vote by ballot for their favourite case report. Each presenter will then be awarded a prize which has been kindly donated by Vetoquinol.
1st place £300,
2nd place £150
3rd place £50
If you are interested in submitting a case report please contact Stijn Neilson ( sniessen@RVC.AC.UK )or Sheena Warmen (Sheena.Warman@bristol.ac.uk) for details. Deadline for submission is February 1st 2010
Brain Catchpole and Lucy Davidson are collaborating with a number of centres to investigate the genetic basis of several canine endocrine disorders.They are keen to recruit samples (serum and EDTA blood) from dogs suffering from the following disorders:
· neonatal diabetes mellitus (i.e. diabetes onset < 1 yr of age)
· diabetes in high risk breeds (Samoyed, Cairn terrier, Tibetan terrier, Polish Lowland Sheepdog)
· dioestrus diabetes
· lymphocytic thyroiditis / hypothyroidism
· hypoadrenocorticism
Further details can be found in the WIKI of the SAMSOC website
Other projects posted on the SAMSOC website
Stijn Nelson’s Diabetes Treatment Survey for vets, nurses and owners – further details for case recruitment can be found in the WIKI
If you would like to announce recruitment details for a clinical trial, please logo onto to the SAMSoc Wiki or contact a member of the SAMSOC committee.
The SAMSOC committee is please to announce that Vetoquinol has agreed to sponser next years case report competition.
The competition will have a similar format to last year with audience voting deciding the winners from the 3 choosen finalists
1st -£300
2nd -£150
3rd - £50
We will circulate more details later in the year but in the mean time keep an eye out for suitable cases
Ian
The Small Animal Medicine Society is pleased to announce the launch of the SAMSOC Travel Scholarship
The scholarship, worth £250, can be awarded to any SAMSOC member undertaking CPD to study a particular aspect of Small Animal Medicine.
Applicants should describe how they would use the award in 300-400 words and are free to choose the topic to be studied. Recipients of the award are required to undertake the CPD within the subsequent 12 months.
Following completion of their trip the winner is required to write a summary article (approx 1000 words) which will be submitted to the Veterinary press for publication and placed on the SAMSOC website.
The award is only open to SAMSOC members.
Applications should be sent to the Ian Battersby ( iab@vetspecialists.co.uk ) to arrive no later than 31st December 2009, the successful applicant will be notified within 6 weeks. The award will be presented at the SAMSOC Meeting on 7th April 2010.
Feedback Form Responses pre-BSAVA Satellite Meeting SAMSOC 2009
Below you will find feedback from people attending the 2009 SAMSOC satellite meeting. You'll find that the great majority of people had a great day. We hope to use positive and negative comments to make the 2010 meeting even more worthwhile! Do you still want to provide feedback? (even if you did not attend, i.e. why not?), please drop a line on: sniessen@rvc.ac.uk or simply respond to this news item on this website, by hitting the reply button.
Regards,
SAMSOC Programme Committee
Administration/facilities: Responses (%)
Registration procedure
1. Poor 0 0%
2. Adequate 0 0%
3. Good 7/22 32%
4. Excellent 15/22 68%
Lecture room facilities
2. Adequate 5/22 23%
3. Good 13/22 59%
4. Excellent 4/22 18%
Comments: too cold (6/22), noisy at times (1/22), chairs too close to screen (1/22), liked set-up with tables more (1/22)
Quality and quantity of refreshments
2. Adequate 1/22 4.5%
3. Good 11/22 50%
4. Excellent 9/22 41%
Comments: nice biscuits (1/22); excellent lunch (1/22), cold tea (1/22)
Value for money
3. Good 9/22 41%
4. Excellent 13/22 59%
Programme/lectures
1. Thoracic CT
a. Delivery
i. Poor 0 0%
ii. Adequate 0 0%
iii. Good 8/22 36%
iv. Excellent 13/22 59%
b. Content
iii. Good 7/22 32%
iv. Excellent 14/22 64%
c. Notes
ii. Adequate 1/22 5%
iii. Good 10/22 45%
iv. Excellent 9/22 41%
d. Good choice for program?
Comments: 1/22: very educational and helpful to have images
2. Thoracoscopy for medics
iii. Good 9/22 41%
iii. Good 11/22 50%
iv. Excellent 10/22 45%
iii. Good 17/22 77%
iv. Excellent 4/22 18%
ii. Adequate 6/22` 27%
iv. Excellent 8/22 36%
Comments: 1/22 excellent images of thoracoscopy
3. Case reports
iii. Good 15/22 68%
iii. Good 14/22 64%
i. Poor n/a
ii. Adequate n/a
iii. Good n/a
iv. Excellent n/a
Comments: 1/22: would like notes for this as well
iv. Excellent 10/22 44%
4. Current management of diabetes mellitus in people
ii. Adequate 2/22 9%
iii. Good 12/22 55%
iv. Excellent 7/22 32%
Comments: 8/22: notes poor since missing
iv. Excellent 11/22 50%
Comments: 1/22: very interesting
5. A logical approach to changed mental status
iii. Good 1/22 5%
iv. Excellent 20/22 91%
iii. Good 2/22 9%
iv. Excellent 19/22 86%
iii. Good 4/22 18%
iv. Excellent 15/22 68%
iii. Good 3/22 14%
iv. Excellent 18/22 82%
Comments: 1/22: Really excellent; 1/22: excellent presentation and case studies
6. Interpretation of bone marrow cytology
ii. Adequate 7/22 32%
iv. Excellent 12/22 55%
ii. Adequate 5/22 23%
ii. Adequate 3/22 14%
iv. Excellent 6/22 27%
Comments: 1/22: very entertaining!
Comments: 1/22: very entertaining, excellent pictures of cytology; very helpful; 1/22: good choice for program but turned into a list
General individual comments
1. I wonder if too many topics were quite specialist this year; ie maybe great for us academics but not so attractive for practitioners?
2. Later start (10am – or even 9.30am); reduced registration fees for interns/residents; no lunch in place of reduced rate
3. Really liked the human presentations; please continue with this tradition
4. Might be worth concentrating on 1 or 2 themes for the day? Consider shorter talks? 45 minutes long enough per speaker?
5. Enjoy the human presentation and comparative aspect – please continue this tradition! Excellent day – thank you!
6. Superb meeting, all the practical tips and information were really useful and the speakers were all excellent – more of the same standard next year please!
7. Appropriately pitched for medicine certificate level, would be great to have a specialist day.
8. Initially dubious about the heterogeneous nature of the lectures but actually it worked very well. The case reports are a very good thing – enjoyable to give residents a forum to present cases.
Stijn Niessen 26 June 2009
Feline Chronic Kidney Disease: Use of oral phosphate binders -
Harriet Syme and Colleagues RVC
As part of ongoing research into Feline Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) at the Royal Veterinary College, and the Clinical Investigation Centre (CIC) is working with an animal health company to verify the efficacy of a novel palatable phosphate binder that will hopefully proceed to drug registration.
Recruited cases with be entitled to free diagnostic tests including initial ultrasound, serial biochemistry, urinalysis, blood pressure analysis and fundic examination. In addition to comprehensive investigation of renal disease by internal medicine clinicians with a special interest in this field
Voucher will also be provided to assist with ongoing care at the referring practice
Further details ( including contacts) about the project can be found in the WIKI of the SAMSOC website
· Brain Catchpole and Lucy Davidson are collaborating with a number of centres to investigate the genetic basis of several canine endocrine disorders. They are keen to recruit samples (serum and EDTA blood) from dogs suffering from a number of endocrine disorders – see wiki section
· Stijn Nelson’s Diabetes Treatment Survey for vets, nurses and owners – further details for case recruitment can be found in the WIKI