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VetSurgeon.org publishes a curated feed of veterinary news for practising veterinary surgeons, with a primary focus on the UK profession.
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Our editorial approach is deliberately selective and concise. We prioritise clarity and relevance over volume, aiming to make each story worth your time.
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The Nutraotic range includes ear wipes and an ear cleaner, both formulated to provide anti-fungal and anti-bacterial support while moisturising, soothing, and hydrating the skin.
The products are scented with fresh cucumber and melon.
Chris Jones, Managing Director of Nutravet, said: "Our goal at Nutravet has always been to develop the best veterinary strength, healthcare products to aid and support a pet's wellbeing.
"Ear health in dogs and cats is a common concern for many pet owners, and these products give practices high-strength solutions to offer their clients."
www.nutravet.com
A project which aims to standardise the assessment of veterinary nurse practical training across Europe will have life beyond its pilot phase, thanks to European VN training network, Vetnnet.
The announcement was made in September at an Oslo-based conference to mark the conclusion of the pilot phase of the Pan-European Practical Assessment System project (PEPAS).
During its two-year pilot, the Leonardo da Vinci-funded project developed 111 new stations for Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs), including mark-sheets and examiner notes, and trained over 50 veterinary nursing examiners from eight countries across Europe. The new OSCE stations have been trialled across 250 students by seven European veterinary nurse schools.
Vetnnet has now committed to continuing the project, enabling its members to access the OSCEs and associated training.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons was a main project partner in the pilot, with specific responsibility for training and quality assurance of the system. Victoria Hedges, RCVS VN Examination and Higher Education Quality Manager said: "It's great that the hard work put into the project by so many countries will continue to bear fruit.
"Feedback in Oslo was excellent and it was heartening to see that when examiners' marks were compared across countries, standardisation was very good. The feedback also helped us to see where students were not achieving the desire results, indicating where more training is needed."
See www.vetnnet.com for more information.
A film made for the food chain industry titled "Animal Medicines in Food Production - The Food Industry Perspective" has been produced to help industry understand the levels of awareness and concerns that consumers have.
A second film, "Animal Medicines in Food Production - Challenging the Myths" is aimed at consumers and looks at some of the myths surrounding the use of animal medicines in livestock production.
Phil Sketchley, Chief Executive of NOAH, said that while the public was generally supportive of the use of animal medicines in farm production, there was a knowledge gap among consumers about the way that medicines were used: "It was interesting to discover how much people knew about medicines in food production. There were some very positive attitudes among consumers, particularly towards the way British farmers care for their animals. But there were still some areas of concern, for example with the belief among a large number of people that growth hormones were still being used on UK farms, despite the fact they have been banned since 1988.
"The industry film should help people involved in food production understand what consumers are thinking when it comes to animal medicines. Animal health and welfare and ensuring sick animals are treated is a big issue, and food producers and retailers need to be able to communicate clearly with consumers on the subject of animal medicines.
"It is important there is transparency on all issues of animal health and welfare."
The program, which was set up in response to calls for more support and better teaching on the essential non-clinical skills veterinary graduates need for success in veterinary practice, begins in September and is open to any veterinary surgeons who are up to three years post graduation.
VetX features 12 months of intensive teaching, mentoring and peer support for up to fifty graduates and so far has vets from both the UK and USA signed up for places. The class of 2017 will be mentored directly by Program Director Dr. Dave Nicol, who bills himself as one of the most experienced vet coaches on the planet!
Dave said: "I've been running 'in practice' mentoring and training schemes for vets for almost a decade, VetX takes this experience and brings the content online so I can reach, support and help more graduates than ever before.
"Our young vets are crying out for better support and training in the non-clinical skills. They want to learn better communication skills. They want to know how to make dealing with clients and people easier and they want to know how to handle life as a vet so they enjoy it, not get burned out. VetX provides all of these things and more."
Dave says he has set up the scholarship as a way of giving something back to the profession, because he was lucky enough to have been given help from many amazing mentors who gave freely of their time and expertise: "Opening up two fully-funded places for vet graduates on the program is my way of saying thanks - of paying it forwards."
If you are a veterinary surgeon who has graduated in 2015 or later and are interested in applying for a fully funded scholarship in the VetX class of 2017, visit www.drdavenicol.com/vetxscholarship to learn more about the course and apply for a scholarship place. Demand is likely to be high so don’t delay.
Applications will close at midnight on September 7th 2017.
Bayer Animal Health has signed a sponsorship deal with the celebrated series The Dog Whisperer on Nat Geo Wild and committed to a wide-reaching TV advertising campaign to promote Drontal.
The sponsorship agreement covers series 5 of The Dog Whisperer as well as repeats of series 1 - 4. The programme follows Cesar Millan as he goes into the homes of troubled dog owners offering calm and assertive guidance. The Dog Whisperer is broadcast five times a day throughout the week and will be aired from July until December on Nat Geo Wild. Drontal's sponsorship credits will be shown before, during and after each episode and will feature the Schnauzer that's become synonymous with the brand.
An additional TV advertising campaign will run during July and August in the UK and Republic of Ireland, primarily on GMTV and Ireland AM, but also on around 15 satellite channels. All the advertising will centre around the Schnauzer "Absolutely Not" campaign, serving to highlight the benefits of regular worming to a specifically targeted audience.
Drontal product manager, Dan White, says the initiative will increase brand awareness for Drontal amongst pet owners, ultimately resulting in healthier dogs and cats. "We're expecting to see a significant increase in demand once the campaign commences and, as such, have put in place the necessary steps to ensure this extra demand can be easily satisfied."
Deborah Armstrong, Senior Vice President, Media Sales and Partnerships for Fox International Channels says: "We are thrilled Drontal has partnered with our world famous Dog Whisperer TV series. The show, which premieres on Nat Geo WILD, and its star Cesar Millan, has a passionate and loyal fan base in this country which is a key factor for Drontal. The Dog Whisperer is a break-out franchise for National Geographic Channel and the show combines our unique brand values with first class entertainment."
New point of sale materials for veterinary practices to reflect the sponsorship agreement will also be available.
For more information, please speak to your local Bayer Territory Manager.
'Get Well Friends', a new retail opportunity for veterinary practices, has now officially launched with a new website: www.getwellfriends.com
Described by their inventor, childrens' author Kes Gray, as "the ouch factor mixed with the aah factor", Get Well friends are a new and unique range of soft toy poorly animal characters for veterinary surgeries to sell. Each character is as cute as it is accident prone, and comes complete with a prescription from mouse Nurse Nibbles.
"For all kinds af reasons a young child may have to leave their pet with a vet. Under such circumstances, they can now depart from the surgery with a soft toy animal character that they themselves can nurse back to good health."
The Get Well Friends.com website has been set up to try and lower the blood pressure of long suffering veterinary waiting room staff, with online games for children to play and activity sheets for surgeries to print off.
First shown at the London Vet Show, the current gift range comprises 5 soft toy characters and a 'childrens picture book entitled 'Who's Poorly Too?' The recommended retail price for each 8" soft toy characters is £11.99. (Trade price £5.50 per unit not inclusive of Vat.) The 'Who's Poorly Too' paper back picture book has an RRP of £5.99 and a trade price of £3.60 per unit.
Kes Gray's wife and co-founder of Get Well Friends said: "The spinner is our recommended display method. It has a strong and colourful retail presence. It holds fifteen toys and fifteen picture books, and can be bought for a special intoductory offer price of just £157.50. If a surgery waiting room is pushed for space, we can offer our striking 10 unit counter display boxes, or if preferred we can supply any combination of characters loose."
Click here to download the brochure and trade price list.
If you would like to place an order or make an enquiry contact Kes & Claire direct at info@getwellfriends.com.
Following issues with the implementation and associated costs of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' database (iMIS), independent IT specialists TFX Consulting Ltd have reported on both the implementation project and the long-term suitability of the database for the College's needs.
The TFX iMIS Report highlights inadequacies in the procurement process for the IT system, especially with regard to the drafting of the original brief. The Report suggests that this led to differing expectations from the College and ASI, the company licensing and assisting with the implementation of the software, in terms of the detail and complexity of the project.
Although TFX says it believes the iMIS system to be suitable for the finance functionality required, it is critical of its ability to support some other RCVS data structures, and considers it is a poor fit for the complex registration and education functions of the College. The Report writers note that the RCVS continues to fulfil its statutory duties in terms of fee collection and the maintenance of registration records.
The key recommendations of the Report are that the RCVS continues to work with the iMIS database in the immediate future, particularly with regard to core functions, but that a new partner is sought for ongoing support of the system. Thereafter, the Report recommends that a plan is put in place to migrate away from the system over a period of two to three years, as part of a natural upgrade path for RCVS IT systems.
As part of this programme, TFX recommends that a detailed analysis exercise is required, with the objective of more completely defining the College's complex requirements.
This is the second of two reports prepared by TFX; the first reviewed the College's technology more generally. The Technology Report provided valuable advice in areas of network security, staged replacement of legacy hardware and a coherent software and licensing programme, with associated staff training.
The TFX iMIS Report can be downloaded from http://www.rcvs.org.uk/TFX
The TFX Technology Report will not be published, as it concerns issues relating to security of the College's IT infrastructure.
RCVS President Jerry Davies said: "We are grateful to TFX Consulting, and Ben Murray in particular, for the depth and clarity of both of their reports. It has been very useful to have independent scrutiny of the iMIS project and our IT systems as a whole.
"Lessons can be - and have been - learned. For example, new project management protocols have been introduced by the College, and the instigation of an Audit and Risk Committee has been agreed".
Council accepted the findings of the Report at its recent meeting, and the new Chief Executive and Secretary, Nick Stace, will consider how the recommendations are best implemented, when he takes up his post in September 2012.
The Diabetic Clinical Score is a quick, standardised scoring system to record the clinical signs of diabetes in a patient, which was designed by Royal Veterinary College Internal Medicine Specialist Stijn Niessen
The scoring system has been turned into a pet diabetes app which allows clients to record and monitor the impact of treatment.
CVS' aim is to use the recently validated tool in over 80% of patient cases to improve the treatment and control of diabetes whilst supporting the practice team to develop their skills in managing the condition.
Participating practices will use the DCS, alongside blood glucose measurements, to diagnose and monitor patients.
Veterinary nurses will refer animals coming in for six-monthly Healthy Pet Club check-ups to a vet for a possible diabetes diagnosis, whilst vets diagnosing diabetes will introduce owners and patients to the DCS to record a diabetes log, to help manage the condition.
To upskill and develop colleagues in the use of the DCS, dedicated vet and nurse training sessions have been held by the clinical leadership team, including a kick-off ‘diabetes day’ which focussed on current thinking and introduced the DCS tool.
CVS teams have also grouped together to agree a coordinated approach to managing pets with diabetes in their practice.
Supporting diabetes resources have also been drafted for practices, including new clinical guidelines, supporting paperwork and CPD.
Lara Wilson, Regional Clinical Lead at CVS said: “Diabetes is notoriously difficult to diagnose and different vets can use different approaches to managing cases.
“The Diabetic Clinical Score will help the whole team around the patient – the owner, vet and veterinary nurse – to effectively and cohesively manage their care.
It will implement joined-up thinking and help to put a standardised disease management framework in place.
“It will be fantastic to see the benefits that the Diabetic Clinical Score will bring to our patients and practices.
"I am certain that this will help contribute towards them providing some of the best diabetes clinical diagnosis and care in our profession.”
Beechwood Veterinary Hospital has become the first (and only) place in the country where dogs and people can give blood.
The Doncaster vets has teamed up with the National Blood Service (NBS) and Pet Blood Bank UK (PBBuk) to offer the community the chance to help with these worthy causes.
Mark Straw, veterinary surgeon and associate director said: "I'm a regular blood donor and know how important it is to give. I thought it would be a great if I could do it at work, luckily enough so did the other staff and the owners of our patients. I am proud that Beechwood is now a people and pets lifesaver."
Mark added: "Once we were on the way to arranging our first NBS visit one of the dogs we were treating needed a transfusion so we made some calls and our first canine session takes place in May".
Craig Taylor, spokesperson for the NBS, said: "This is a real first for the country and it is happening here in Doncaster. It just goes to show how generous all it's residents are, I'm sure they will have as much support from their doggy donors as well."
"We would like to thank everyone who gave and everyone at hospital for making us so welcome."
Rabbit Awareness Week (26th April - 2nd May 2010) is reportedly going to be bigger than ever this year with over 1000 vets within the industry expected to be involved.
In partnership with Burgess Pet Care, Petplan Insurance, Company of Animals, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, Genitrix, PDSA, Wood Green Animal Shelters and RWAF, Rabbit Awareness Week's mission is to educate current and potential rabbit owners across the UK about the importance of rabbit welfare.
The focus of the week will be rabbit obesity. At the same time, organisers hope the week will raise the profile of rabbits as pets and encourage owners to seek the right veterinary advice about rabbit nutrition and health.
The week has been deliberately timed to happen soon after Easter, to make use of a time of year when rabbits are at the forefront of people's minds. Organisers hope to reach rabbit owners who may have bought new pet rabbits but who may not have the right information about how to keep them happy and healthy.
Throughout the week some of the UK's largest retailers, suppliers of rabbit food and welfare charities will be providing valuable feeding knowledge and information, along with a range of deals and offers to vets and pet owners.
Organisers are asking veterinary practices to get involved by offering Free Health Checks for pet rabbits, and by providing free advice about vaccinations, husbandry and diet. To help, there is a range of display and training materials to help you run your Free Health Checks together with promotional materials such as newsletter templates and press releases. You can also register your event for free on the Online Event Locator.
The display kit includes shelf wobblers, barkers, posters, appointment flyers, Health Check Certificates and an A3 size Free Health Check window sticker. You'll also receive additional items to give away to rabbit owners, including Excel samples, RAW care guides, car stickers and branded bags.
For more information and to find out what special trade offers are available to vets during the week register at http://www.rabbitawarenessweek.co.uk/.
Pfizer has released the results of its first Performance Index (formerly the Fort Dodge Index) which shows mildly improved trading conditions for the companion animal veterinary market in the first quarter of 2011.
Those aspects of veterinary business that showed an improvement in the first quarter of 2011 include: turnover growth (+0.8%, up from -0.1% in March 2010); client retention (+0.1%); the average number of visits per year (+ 0.17%); annual transaction value (+ 1.1%); average transaction value (+0.8% to £41.74); fee per product service (+0.2%) and products and services sold per visit (+0.6%).
Leveraged sales (typically pet-care products), which were down 2% (from 40% to 38%) in 2010, have increased 0.9% in the first quarter of 2011 to make up 39% of practice transactions.
Less positively and pointing to the need for veterinary practices to implement ongoing marketing initiatives, the number of new clients coming into practice is down (-0.4%) as is the number of active clients (-0.26%). Revenue from loyal clients (those that visit the practice for additional products and services, particularly vaccination and other preventative healthcare programmes) was static. Although flat growth is an improvement on previous reports, this is still a concern, as it is these clients who are the driver for revenue growth in many practices.
Pfizer Business Consultant, Simon Fowler said: "Although the figures are only very slightly improved this does mirror what we are seeing in practices that we visit. Practice turnover growth of 0.8%, while only small, is much better than any quarter in 2010. So we may be seeing the first green shoots of recovery, but there's still no room for complacency. Before we all breathe a collective sigh of relief, however, it should be remembered that as this is the first report for 2011 it is only an early picture, while a fuller story will be gleaned from the second report, which will show results from the first six months of the year.
"What is clear is the need for practices to market themselves in order to attract new clients, increase growth from active clients and increase client loyalty. VetSupport+ includes a range of marketing services to help practices in this respect. A practice has already achieved TV coverage via our Public Relations support service, while others are using PressRoom newsletter templates to keep potential and existing clients up to speed with the practice's news."
Further information about Pfizer's VetSupport+ service is available at www.vetsupportplus.co.uk.
The completion date for the RCVS surveys of the veterinary and veterinary nursing professions is Monday 8 February, and the College is urging anyone who has not yet completed their survey to do so.
The data collected will be used to help develop policy, in discussion with government and other bodies, and in response to requests from journalists and members of the public who wish to have an accurate picture of the veterinary profession today. So it's important that as many people as possible complete their surveys.
For the first time, a standard set of questions about well-being (the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale) has been included. Over time, data collected will enable the College to monitor population changes in mental health and well-being, and work with other organisations to address any issues identified.
If you have mislaid your paper copy, the survey can be completed online:
Veterinary surgeons click here: www.employmentresearch.co.uk/vs2010.htm
Veterinary nurses click here: www.employmentresearch.co.uk/vn2010.htm
All responses are confidential.
Vets Now has reached the final of the "Employer of the Year" at the forthcoming Private Business Awards.
Judged by a panel of key UK business leaders, the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 6th September 2012.
More than 600 businesses throughout the UK entered the awards. Richard Dixon, founder of Vets Now said: "We are delighted to have reached the final in the Employer of the Year category. We have an absolutely amazing bunch of vets, nurses and receptionists across the country and I am hugely proud of them. They work their socks off; frequently in really challenging circumstances and have significantly contributed to improving the quality of life for the profession and the quality of Out of Hours care available for pets.
"Caring for animals is at the heart of what we do and we treat over 100,000 pets every year through our network of 53 emergency clinics. The very nature of Out Of Hours emergency veterinary care is very challenging to the profession and the support we offer to veterinary practices is also extremely important to us. In the last year our services have enabled more than 2,000 vets up and down the country to have their nights and weekends off, while their clients receive a high quality Out of Hours service. Our referral services also ensure that pets needing care from recognised Specialists can receive this from a trusted team."
The American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation has awarded Dr. Bruce Smith, director of the Auburn University Research Initiative in Cancer, a two-year grant totaling $118,848 to test a new therapy for treating bone cancer in dogs.
According to the University, the research could one day be broadened to include many other kinds of cancer - and possibly cancer in people.
The treatment consists of a virus normally used as a hepatitis vaccine in dogs that has been modified to only make copies of itself inside bone cancer cells. The virus ruptures the cancer cells, releasing thousands of copies of the virus from the tumor cells, killing them.
Dr. Smith said: "By using this approach, we turn the cancer cell into a 'factory' that produces more virus. You could say that we help the cancer cell become an agent of its own death."
Bone cancer, or osteosarcoma, accounts for around 5% of tumours in dogs. More than 90% of dogs with this tumour have had tumour cells migrate into their lungs, creating what are known as micrometastases, at the time of diagnosis.
Dr. Smith said: "This therapy attacks those metastases and will hopefully eliminate them or make them more sensitive to chemotherapy."
The Auburn University Research Initiative in Cancer, or AURIC, was founded in 2012 to accelerate translation of cancer innovation from the laboratory to the clinic. AURIC embodies "One Medicine" - the concept that sees human and animal health as a single field where discoveries in one species advance health in both species.
The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) has announced the results of a survey of 2000 pet owners which found that 77% believe their pet's health is as or more important than their own, with 16% even claiming to visit the vet more often than their doctor.
The survey marks the launch of NOAH's newly revamped website: www.pethealthinfo.org.uk and the second year of its 'I Heart My Pet' campaign. The campaign is designed to encourage owners to seek expert preventative healthcare advice for their animals and was created in response to NOAH figures which show that despite our love for our pets, many owners neglect to take preventative healthcare measures such as vaccination and worming.
The survey also showed that vets remain the most trusted source of advice about pet healthcare (86%), despite the rise of the Internet. Other pet and animal experts came second at 53%, followed by independent pet healthcare websites in third (47%).
The survey usefully identified the three priorities pet owners have when choosing a veterinary practice:
NOAH Chief Executive, Philip Sketchley said: "Once again we're encouraged by how seriously British pet owners take the healthcare needs of their animals and the love they clearly have for their pets. As we move into the second year of our 'I Heart My Pet' campaign, we're calling on all pet owners in the UK to share this love by getting involved with the campaign and visiting our revamped www.pethealthinfo.org.uk site for independent, expert advice to keep their pets happy and healthy all year round. We're encouraging veterinary and pet professionals to get involved and join the conversation on the site as well as through our social media communities on Twitter (@IHeartMyPet) and Facebook (IHeartMyPetUK).
"The website continues to include a wealth of completely unbranded information on animal healthcare as well as exciting resources for owners, but is now in a fresh new format - much more interactive and designed for use with mobile devices. We still encourage vet practices and pet businesses to link to the site, and to recommend it to support their own advice and information", he added. "In addition, we can offer veterinary and pet professionals materials such as campaign window stickers to help engage their audiences."
The MonitorME project, launched this month, collects antimicrobial usage data from equine practices around the UK, to better understand how antibiotics are used within the sector.
The project is being led by BEVA President Bruce Bladon (pictured) and it will be the main theme at BEVA Congress (10-13 September 2025, ICC Birmingham).
Bruce said: “Growing resistance to antibiotics is a very serious public health crisis, which is why I have chosen it as the overriding theme for my presidential year and for the forthcoming BEVA Congress.
“The World Health Organisation has the usage of veterinary antimicrobials firmly in their sights and the possibility of legislation being implemented to limit our access to these vital drugs is becoming ever more likely.
“It is important that we demonstrate, as a sector, that our usage of antimicrobials is responsible and proportionate, to ensure continued access.
"Taking part in a project like this is, without a doubt, the right thing to do.”
Practices are being asked to submit usage data from their practice management systems (PMS) to the BEVA office, where it will contribute to nationwide reporting of antibiotic use in UK equine practice.
Ideally, they need to record the total mg of each antimicrobial used, together with the number of horses treated last year (in total, not just those treated with antibiotics) and their average weight if available.
The data is analysed and then collated into annual reports, which are published on the BEVA MonitorME webpage.
The 2023 report is now available and will be updated periodically as practices continue to submit their 2023 data.
2024 data collection has started, so equine practices can send their data to antibiotics@beva.org.uk whenever they’re ready.
https://www.beva.org.uk/Resources/Medicines/Antibiotics/MonitorME#aims
https://www.bevacongress.org
Edinburgh-based charity the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed) has announced three drug discovery contracts in an effort to combat animal African Trypanosomosis (AAT), a disease which is estimated to cost Africa US$5billion a year.
Animal African trypanosomosis, transmitted by the tsetse fly, is a parasitic disease which affects livestock, resulting in a chronic illness which often ends in death. An estimated 50 million cattle and 70 million sheep and goats are at risk, with around 3 million cattle dying annually from the disease.
AAT causes economic losses in livestock, reducing meat and milk production and leaving animals so weak they are unable to help cultivate land. It affects over 10 million square kilometres of fertile land spread across nearly 40 countries in Africa and therefore has a huge impact on food and nutritional security and livelihoods across the continent.
The drugs that are currently used were developed in the 1950s and 60s and drug resistance is now a commonly reported problem. With few other options available, these drugs are the most important method of controlling the disease.
In May 2011 the Department for International Development (DfID) awarded GALVmed 30 month grant for £8million to facilitate the development of drugs, diagnostics and potential vaccines for the control of AAT.
The first contract was awarded to Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., a California based biopharmaceutical company established in 2002.
As part of a Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) supported project, Anacor and their partners discovered a series of compounds to combat the human form of AAT, Human African Trysanosomsis (HAT). A number of compounds produced under this programme have properties which could make them suitable for the treatment and prevention of animal AAT. These relevant compounds will now be screened for efficacy and safety under the GALVmed contract.
The second and third contracts have both been awarded to the College of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, one of Europe's top-ranked universities for life science research.
Dr Kevin Read, who is Head of Drug Metabolism and Pharmokinectics at the drug Discovery Unit is leading a piece of drug discovery and development research, which aims to develop new drugs for the treatment and possible prevention of AAT in cattle, and also a diagnostic test for use in the field. This builds on the university's work on HAT and drugs that were unsuitable for human treatment are now being re-evaluated as potential drugs for cattle.
Dr Read said: "I am very excited to be working in partnership with GALVmed to apply our extensive drug discovery expertise in HAT to identify and bring forward new potential drugs for the treatment and prevention of AAT. The new project offers an exciting opportunity to reposition compounds showing great promise for the treatment of first stage HAT into AAT, thus improving food security in some of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa."
VetSurgeon.org today launched a new initiative to increase membership of the online community, as part of which 5 vets could win cash prizes worth a total of £2000.
A new 'Invited by' box has been added to the registration form which new members have to complete when they join VetSurgeon. New members are now asked to complete this box with the e-mail address of the vet that invited them to join the community.
In six weeks time, £1000 will be given to the vet who invited the largest number of colleages over the period. Prizes of £400, £300, £200 and £100 will be given to four runners up respectively.
There is one caveat. For the prize fund to be released, membership of VetSurgeon.org must have reached a grand total of 5000 by the closing date.
I really hope that EVERYONE will chip in and invite a fellow vet, because even if you don't think you know enough vets to win the main prize, inviting just one will help make sure that a vet somewhere is going to be given £1000!
There are other reasons for supporting this initiative.
Most importantly, the more members in the community, the more vibrant, interesting, and valuable it becomes for you, its members. On top of that, once we have 5000 members, we'll be able to start investing in further development of the site to make it an increasingly invaluable tool.
The webinars will include a presentation by Peter Geldhof, Professor of Molecular Veterinary Parasitology at Ghent University in Belgium, who will focus on the development of novel diagnostics and vaccines for parasitic infections in pigs, and share the results of some of his research and academic projects.
Tuesday: https://www2.dechra.com/l/877972/2023-05-11/2f43x8p
Thursday: https://www2.dechra.com/l/877972/2023-12-19/2f4ll1q
150 graduates will get the opportunity to work in knowledge intensive companies across London and the south east following the announcement today that a joint bid by UCL and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has been awarded £240,000 of Government funding as part of a national scheme designed at helping young people into work.
UCL will administer some 115 internships in the digital industries, advanced manufacturing, engineering and financial services, while the RVC will deliver around 35 life science internship placements. In line with all of the HEFCE-supported work experience schemes, places on the UCL-RVC will be available to graduates of all universities, with priority being given to those that graduated last year and have yet to find stable employment and for those graduating in 2010.
The paid internship placements will help recent graduates to develop vital employability skills, through both work based learning and skills training sessions, and allow both small and large companies to preserve novel research, development and commercial projects during the economic downturn.
The award will help both institutions to build on their existing programmes. UCL already planned to offer 50 work experience places this summer following from their successful scheme, first run last year. The grant similarly allows RVC and The London BioScience Innovation Centre to continue to grow its reputation as an employer by helping life science graduates make the transition from higher education to the commercial bioscience sector through work experience placements and skills development.
Jim Gazzard, Enterprise and Technology Executive at the RVC said: "Recent graduates have much to offer knowledge intensive companies. In our experience these companies are looking to recruit talented graduates but are restricted in their ability to do so in the current economic climate. Graduate internship schemes help to solve this problem, allowing companies to continue to explore exciting commercial projects and graduates to gain a foothold in the job market while developing essential employability skills."
To date the RVC has received over 1,000 applications for 60 internship placements on its ORBIS internship scheme. This shows the significant demand from graduates seeking careers in leading bioscience and bio-veterinary companies.
Zoetis has announced that Horse & Country TV (Sky Channel 253) will be airing the Vet Essentials episode on worm control in horses from today until 26th March.
The programme, made in association with Zoetis, follows presenter Jenny Rudall on her mission to explore every aspect of worming horses, including how to tackle encysted small redworm. Jenny talks to vet Ben Gaskell from Minster Vets for the low down on worm control, before heading off to the Moredun Research Institute in Scotland to meet parasitology experts Jacqui Matthews and Thomas Tzelos to find out more about the role of faecal worm egg counts, the damage that can be caused by worm burdens and the growing problem of resistance.
Zoetis vet Wendy Talbot said: "The programme should be a big help to vets when it comes to explaining worming to horse owners. They can tell their clients about it and encourage them to watch. It will help educate them about all aspects of worming and specifically about the threat of encysted small redworm at this time of year. This, in turn, should help protect horses against this potentially fatal parasite."
The company is encouraging the profession to help spread the word about the new to clients by email, via Facebook and by word of mouth.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Trust is looking for a vet with a particular interest in veterinary education, professional development and research, to be a new trustee.
The RCVS Trust is an independent small charity that provides two key services to the veterinary profession to further education and animal welfare: an educational grants programme and a Library and Information Service. It is seeking a trustee who can bring new contacts and ideas relevant to the work of the Trust.
The Trust is also seeking further 'lay' trustees with experience of library services, fundraising and grant-making.
The current Board members have a wide range of experience from academia, government, animal health and small and large animal practice, and veterinary nursing. However, there is room for some new Trustees to join and bring the Board up to full strength.
Stephen Ware, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said: "The Trust has an important role in supporting practising vets, veterinary nurses, researchers, students and academics through its grants programmes and library and information resources."
"We are looking for a veterinary surgeon who is actively involved in the wider profession through networks and specialist interest groups, and who is willing to promote the work of the Trust, for example, at veterinary congresses. Given the nature of the Trust's work, the new trustee should also have experience of postgraduate education or research.
"We need someone who has the energy and experience to get things done - and who can work with other trustees in a collegiate style."
Trustees serve an initial three-year term, spending around six days a year at meetings in London and conferences. Reasonable expenses are reimbursed. Experience of charity governance and finance is not necessary as training and support will be given.
Those interested in the role can contact Cherry Bushell, Director of the RCVS Trust, for an informal discussion and an application form. The closing date for applications is 30 April.
The Kennel Club has released a film, narrated by Clare Balding, which looks at the issues affecting dog health and wellbeing in this country and what is being done in 2012 to help ensure that dog welfare stays at the top of the agenda.
The film, 'Dogs - A Healthy Future', focuses on the main issues that affect dog health and welfare, including hereditary diseases, issues created by breeding dogs for the way that they look and the problem of cruel puppy farms that breed dogs for profit without regard for their health and welfare.
The film explores the steps that have already been taken to address these issues and the need for united action in order to ensure that the progress continues in 2012.
(The full 1/2 hour video is available here).
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: "The New Year is a good time for reflection, looking back at what has been done and what more can still be done to safeguard the health of dogs.
"Huge strides have been made to improve dog health, particularly with the knowledge that has been gained in recent years thanks to the advancement of genetic science, but there is still more to do. We particularly need to address the issue of people breeding dogs for money at the expense of health and for looks, whether these be pedigree or crossbreeds.
"The Kennel Club would like to see tighter regulations governing the way people breed their dogs in order to help clamp down on cruel puppy farms, and we ask people to sign our petition asking the government to act.
"As we look towards Crufts 2012 we look forward to introducing even tighter measures to ensure that dog shows play their part in driving change by rewarding, and so encouraging, the breeding of healthy dogs."
Sheila Crispin, Chairman of the Advisory Council on the Welfare Issues of Dog Breeding, said: "We are supposedly a nation of dog lovers and the issue of what we can do to improve dog health is close to the hearts of those that really do care. This film looks at the progress that has been made by the Kennel Club as well as other organisations and committed individuals to help address the complicated issues surrounding dog health and welfare, in addition to looking at what more needs to be done, through collaboration and united effort, to create an even better future for dogs."
Merial is asking veterinary surgeons to take part in a survey about current understanding of and attitudes to feline vaccination, to be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Y5BFY96.
The results will complement Give Them Just What They Need, a new report being produced by the company which will contain relevant published data, owner insight, details of the latest vaccination guidelines and expert commentary.
Vets who complete the survey will be entered into a draw for a £250 Red Letter Day voucher.
Claire Edmunds, product manager at Merial, said: "Our preliminary research has identified that many vets are unaware of the latest developments in feline vaccine technology and the benefits that these developments can offer in terms of important factors such as client compliance.
"This new campaign will gain insight from vets, cat owners and other key opinion leaders to create a report that will ultimately enable practice owners to make better informed decisions about feline vaccinations, communicate more successfully with clients and in turn grow their business.”
The survey will be live until the 13th September.