Vet Times Podcast

BSAVA president Alison Speakman and vice-president Carl Gorman join the Vet Times Podcast to look forward to BSAVA Congress 2023, being held from 23-25 March in Manchester. Dr Speakman provides an update on some of the association’s recent activities, and looks forward to what will be the first BSAVA Congress since 2019 to be held as a fully face-to-face event. She also looks at key discussions taking place at congress – including the neurodiversity stream on Friday 24 March – and discusses the expansion of the Wellbeing Zone, which debuted last year. Mr Gorman will become BSAVA president in the summer, and in this podcast discusses some of his priorities and ambitions for the year ahead. He also explains how the BSAVA is aspiring for congress to be a carbon-neutral event, as part of the association’s ongoing sustainability initiatives. _________________________________

More than 20 modules make up the lecture programme for BSAVA Congress 2023, which takes place in Manchester from 23-25 March. Ahead of the event, congress committee chairperson Paul Higgs joins the Vet Times Podcast to discuss how the sessions have evolved from last year’s initial event in Manchester and shares his anticipation for the event – including picking out some highlights from the lecture programme. Mr Higgs also discusses the “Day in the Life of” stream, which returns following its debut at last year’s congress. This year, it features two live case work-ups, which will bring an element of jeopardy to the drama-based sessions – and it’s Mr Higgs who will be putting his reputation on the line as he works up each case in front of a live audience. _____________________________________

VN Happy Hour welcomed three of the biggest names in UK veterinary nursing when the hugely successful live event returned on 23 February 2023. The online event saw a lively discussion around the theme of “Protect the title”, during which our panel explained why it’s so important to protect the “veterinary nurse” title and what this would mean for you as a VN, as well as the profession. More than 1,200 delegates have attended VN Happy Hour events since the concept was first launched during the pandemic, and we experienced one of our biggest turnout to date when BVNA president Charlotte Pace, Linnaeus chief nursing officer Andrea Jefferey and RCVS VN council chair Matt Rendle, tackled the hot topic of vet nurse title protection. Answering questions sent in by delegates, our all-star panel provided insights and discussed developments on this key issue, as well as offering tips and advice on all things veterinary nursing.

Canine hypothyroidism, and the far less common hypoparathyroidism, are fascinating endocrine diseases that provide diagnostic challenges to vets and ongoing management considerations for owners. Small animal internal medicines specialist Laura Bree joins the Vet Times Podcast to delve a little deeper into this subject.

RVN and clinical tutor in veterinary nursing at Myerscough College Rachel Pilling has always had a passion for well-being and is a strong advocate in supporting mental health of veterinary professionals. Having always wanted to become a wellness coach, the time never seemed to be right. However, a devastating diagnosis for Rachel paved the way to building a new business to help others look after their mental health and learn lessons in “self kindness”.

The inaugural Vet Times Big 6 Live debate, held at the 2023 SPVS Congress in Birmingham, saw senior figures in the sector tackled key issues for the future of veterinary practice, including the “under care” debate, the use of technology in practice, working patterns, ownership and management models. The live debate, hosted by chief reporter Allister Webb, featured RCVS president Melissa Donald, BVA president Malcolm Morley, XLVets chief executive Andrew Curwen, BVNA president Charlotte Pace, PetsApp co-founder Thom Jenkins and SPVS board member Ami Sawran.

Neonatal diarrhoea is a common problem found on many cattle farms in the UK and is a major cause of economic losses for farmers, estimated to cost the UK cattle industry around £11million annually. Fencovis® is the most recent addition to the well-established Boehringer Ingelheim cattle vaccine range. It is licensed to prevent calf scour caused by bovine rotavirus and E coli K99, to reduce the incidence and severity of scour caused by bovine coronavirus and to reduce faecal shedding in scour caused by bovine rotavirus and bovine coronavirus. Fencovis® combines killed antigen with an oil-free adjuvant to deliver optimal safety and efficacy. It comes as a ready-to-use injection available in 1, 5 and 25 dose packs. In this podcast, we speak to independent animal health researcher Jamie Robertson and Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health ruminant vet advisor Becca Cavill to explore some of the preventive steps that would be useful to discuss with clients to help reduce the risk of scour in calves. _______________

Elbow dysplasia is a cause of lameness in young dogs and osteoarthritis in older ones, with medial compartment disease one step in canine OA progression. Vet Phil Witte joins the Vet Times Podcast this week to discuss the conditions, diagnoses and all the surgical options.

Lameness is the most costly of all endemic dairy cattle health disorders, and can cause damage to reputations, as well as welfare problems. We probe foot health in this Vet Times Podcast, where vet specialist Owen Atkinson discusses the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s Healthy Feet Programme and how and why vets need to be at the heart of lameness team working on farm. _______________

Treatment fundamentals for wounds should be the same regardless of the severity of diverse causes. In this podcast, small animal specialist Jon Hall joins us to discuss all the important wound care considerations and innovations. _____________________ Jon Hall is a European College of Veterinary Surgeons and RCVS diplomate in small animal surgery. He is a fellow of the RCVS, a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a professor in small animal surgery at the University of Nottingham. Jon is head of soft tissue surgery at Wear Referrals. Along with Emily Frapwell, he has co-written a Focus article in Vet Times (Volume 52, Issue 50, Pages 4-6) called “Wound care in companion animals: options and innovations”. It is online now at CPD+ – Vet Times’ academy of exclusive content. Visit https://bit.ly/3IhbHPL

In this latest Vet Times Jobs People Match Podcast, Stephanie Sorrell – also known as The Mindful Vet – joins us to talk about her veterinary journey, the challenges she has faced, well-being and issues around burnout. ______________________

Regulatory compliance within the biocides industry has long been a source of confusion. With regulations changing so significantly post-Brexit, it’s easy to lose track of what to look for in a compliant and effective veterinary disinfectant. Here, Anna Williams, senior regulatory manager, and Chris Plummer, head of technical at Byotrol plc, an antimicrobial technology specialist and manufacturer of Anigene professional surface disinfectant cleaner, discuss how changing regulations are likely to impact the veterinary sector. This podcast will discuss changes in the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR), the impact on the veterinary sector, how the BPR changes will improve quality of products and how veterinary organisations should choose a supported product. _____________________

Diabetes mellitus can present more of a challenge in cats due to difficulties handling, investigating and handling the patient, but with the right approach it is possible to return a cat to normal blood glucose levels. In this edition of the Vet Times Podcast, we hear from Kit Sturgess about managing this condition. He has written the article “Diabetes mellitus in cats – a case-based approach”, which was in Vet Times (Volume 52, Issue 47, Pages 6-9). It is online at vettimes.co.uk (https://www.vettimes.co.uk/article/diabetes-mellitus-in-cats-a-case-based-approach/) _________________________

Welcome to this latest Vet Times Jobs People Match Podcast, where we’re delighted to be joined by Emily Bridges, graduate programme lead at Vets4Pets. Emily has diversified in her career, and here she takes us through her own journey to help others looking to make a change in the direction of their own working lives. ___________________

Chickens are being increasingly kept as pets – and with it comes the likelihood of presentations in practice. So, ahead of her lecture at the London Vet Show, Henrietta Kodilinye‑Sims addresses some of the challenges: from identifying clinical signs to responsible prescribing in line with legislative requirements. Henri also offers some tips for nursing care plans… ___________________

In this week’s podcast we discuss the changing landscape of veterinary medical education, with Prof Stavros Malas and Prof Michael Herrtage from the newly launched School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus. Prof Stavros Malas – dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of Nicosia – has expertise in generating transgenic animal models, embryo manipulation, stem cell biology, molecular genetics and in vitro genetic recombination techniques. Prof Michael Herrtage is programme director, joining the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Nicosia after more than 30 years at the University of Cambridge, including a 14-year period as dean of the University of Cambridge Veterinary School.

In this Vet Times Podcast, Leanne Dobrowolski joins Paul Imrie to discuss how physiotherapy is growing in importance in management of chronic pain cases, and offers advice on training as a veterinary physiotherapist.

This winter marks 10 years since the first cases of cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy – commonly known as Alabama rot – in the UK. Since then, almost 300 cases have been confirmed across 47 UK counties. The disease has a 90% mortality rate. As research into the disease continues, we’re joined by David Walker of Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists in Hampshire. David is the UK’s foremost authority on the disease – and in this podcast, he takes us on a journey from when it was first recognised in the US in the 1980s, through to its emergence in the UK and trends seen with cases. He also discusses the ongoing research. During this podcast, David refers to images and an animation in the webinar. This can be watched in our new Alabama rot collection on Vet Times CPD+, alongside a gallery of images and additional resources. https://cpd.vettimes.co.uk/cpd-plus/companion-animal/cpd-alabama-rot ________________

In this podcast, Gudrun Ravetz, head of workplace engagement at Vets4Pets and Vicky Hill, people director at Vets4Pets, discuss the importance of mental health in the workplace and the support available to veterinary practice teams. Gudrun will discuss her own experience of mental health first aid training, developed in partnership with Talkout, and Vets4Pets’ commitment to having a trained colleague in every practice. It will cover factors that can influence a colleague’s mental health in practice, the impact of mental health on workplace culture, learnings from the findings of Vets4Pets’ Project Listen and measures the company has brought in to support teams. ______________________________

As fireworks season approaches, RVN Nikki McLeod joins VN Times editor Rachael Buzzel to advise on how practices can support pet owners and their pets through this unsettling time and why vet nurses are perfectly placed to do this. ___________________