VetSurgeon has introduced a new digest system designed to make it easier for veterinary surgeons to confer with colleagues and share knowledge on the long-established professional forum.

The new system allows members to subscribe to a daily, weekly or monthly email digest summarising recent discussion topics raised by colleagues, replies to ongoing conversations and the latest veterinary news published on the site.

Crucially, the subscription settings for the digest have been placed prominently in the title bar across most pages of VetSurgeon, making it very easy for members to change their preferences at any time.

For example, you might choose to receive daily updates while following an interesting discussion, before switching back to a weekly or monthly digest once the conversation has run its course — or switch it off entirely when you’re on holiday.

The change is intended to make it easier for veterinary surgeons to engage in professional discussion outside the algorithm-driven environment of social media platforms.

While social media groups have become a common venue for professional conversation, they also have structural limitations.

Posts and replies are filtered by algorithms, discussions very quickly disappear into fast-moving feeds and useful exchanges of professional information can be difficult to find later.

They can also encourage echo chambers, with users primarily exposed to views similar to their own, while the format of short comments and rapid replies can make it difficult to express complex reasoning or nuanced clinical judgement.

Another limitation is provenance.

In many social media discussions it is not always clear who contributors are, what experience they bring to a topic, or the context in which advice is being offered.

Veterinary medicine is, fundamentally, a scientific profession.

Progress depends on the exchange of experience, the testing of ideas and the careful discussion of evidence.

Platforms that favour speed, brevity and engagement metrics are not always well suited to that kind of conversation.

Forums such as VetSurgeon allow discussions to develop in a more structured way.

Threads remain searchable and can be referred back to months or years later, replies appear in sequence rather than being prioritised by engagement metrics, and contributors post under identifiable profiles that provide context for their views and experience.

For veterinary surgeons, time spent reading and reflecting on professional discussions also contribute towards continuing professional development (CPD) requirements, using the built-in feature to record time spent on a discussion.

Until now, however, one drawback of forum discussions has been the volume of email notifications generated when users subscribe to individual threads.

The new digest system is designed to solve that problem by allowing members to stay informed about discussions without receiving a constant stream of individual alerts.

Just one digest — daily, weekly or monthly. 

Several new discussion threads have already appeared on the forum as members start using the new system, covering things like anti-parasitic prescribing, the oddest things you've taken out of a dog's gut, choline deficiency, and the people who have made the biggest mark on your career.

Come and join us! Join an existing discussion or post a question. 

And whilst you’re there, choose a daily, weekly or monthly digest to follow along.