34 Fellows admitted to Fellowship as former CMO announced as Fellowship Day guest speaker

Some 34 veterinary surgeons have now been informed that they will be joining the RCVS Fellowship, after their applications to join the learned society were accepted.

The 34 new Fellows will be formally welcomed at the upcoming Fellowship Day at One Great George Street, Westminster on Monday 27 November, for which the former Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Dame Sally Davies, will be the guest speaker.

Dame Sally, the first and only woman to hold the role so far, was CMO from June 2010 to September 2019 and is a prominent campaigner and author on issues such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), obesity and junk food.

In 2019 Dame Sally was appointed the UK’s Special Envoy on AMR, representing the UK on the issue on the international stage, as well as advising the UK government on the delivery of its 2019 to 2024 action plan on AMR and 20-year vision for AMR. A key aspect of her role is advocating internationally on the issue of AMR, advising on the policy and delivery relating to a One Health response to AMR, encompassing human health, animal health, agriculture and the environment. Dame Sally is also a Member of the United Nations Global Leaders Group on AMR.

Her talk is entitled ‘One Health, One High-Level Meeting: the global movement on AMR’ and will be delivered to the Fellowship to coincide with World AMR Awareness Week. In it, Dame Sally will discuss the need for collaborative action and innovation to tackle the global challenge of AMR. She will share the global momentum that is taking place ahead of the 2024 High-Level Meeting on AMR at the United Nations, and the role that all sectors are playing on the ground and at a policy level.

With many challenges and gaps remaining, Dame Sally will also recommend key global opportunities, and the steps that local, national and global stakeholders from all sectors can take to make further progress together.

Dr Chris Tufnell FRCVS, current Chair of the RCVS Fellowship and former RCVS President, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Dame Sally will be talking to RCVS Fellows both new and established at our Fellowship Day. As a learned society, we recognise the importance of promoting scientific excellence, and using our collective knowledge to enrich the public discourse on scientific matters, and this is something that Dame Sally has done throughout her career as a public servant, author and broadcaster.

“Many congratulations also to our 34 new Fellows. Each one of them is an example of veterinary excellence, whether they came into the Fellowship through their contribution to clinical practice, through their advancement of veterinary knowledge, or through their contribution to the veterinary professions and wider society. Celebrations of this kind are a highlight of the year.

“I am sure they will all have something to add to our collective knowledge over the coming years as we continue to use our expertise to look at different areas of veterinary endeavour such as our latest research projects on Net Zero Surgery and Net Zero Veterinary Medicine.”

Of the 34 new Fellows, 22 have been admitted for meritorious contributions to clinical practice, six for meritorious contributions to knowledge, and six for meritorious contributions to the profession.

A full list of the new Fellows can be found on the Fellowship's dedicated page. 

Further details about the Fellowship Day will be published in the early autumn