An inspirational and impactful Royal College Day 2018

We will be bestowing our inaugural Impact and Inspiration Awards at this year’s Royal College Day, which comprises our Annual General Meeting and Awards Ceremony.

This year’s event takes place at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on Friday, 13 July 2018 and places can now be reserved.

The proceedings start with our AGM at 10am, at which the three re-elected RCVS Council members – Susan Paterson, Mandisa Greene and Neil Smith – will have their four-year terms confirmed. Council members will be presented with our Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2017 and asked to formally confirm the new RCVS Officer Team for 2017-18.

The Awards Ceremony will follow the AGM at 11am, in which the first recipients of our new Impact and Inspiration Awards will be bestowed.

The Impact Award is for recognising veterinary surgeons at all stages of their career who are undertaking projects and initiatives that have a discernible impact on the profession and/or animal health and welfare and will be presented to Jade Statt MRCVS, the co-founder of Street Vet which provides free and accessible veterinary care to homeless pet owners.

The Inspiration Award recognises those who are inspiring others with their actions and words and will be presented to Professor Derek Knottenbelt OBE MRCVS and Dr Ebony Escalona MRCVS.

Professor Knottenbelt is being honoured for inspiring generations of veterinary students, residents and Specialists, while Dr Escalona is honoured for her work as a veterinary advisor at the Brooke equine charity and as the founding member of the Vets: Stay, Go, Diversify Facebook group which encourages veterinary surgeons to share their experiences and ideas.

Professor Knottenbelt is also the guest speaker at this year’s RCVS Day delivering a talk titled ‘Empowering our Successors’ looking at how to widen horizons and train veterinary surgeons to be fully rounded professionals and not just technicians.

Professor Stephen May, RCVS President, chose Professor Knottenbelt as this year’s guest speaker and says: "Derek Knottenbelt inspires all who come into contact with him.  Whatever challenges he faces, he approaches with the same curiosity and passion for understanding and solutions, and draws all around him into a collaborative learning journey that is both developmental and nurturing. 

"In an age when individuals fear acting because of the potential for failure, Derek’s message to us all is that we are the people our clients trust to act capably and confidently, and we should recognise and cherish the personal resources we have in abundance that make this possible."

Stephen adds: "As my last official occasion as RCVS President I shall be proud to award both new and established honours upon individuals who showcase the very best of what the veterinary profession has to offer – compassion, thoughtfulness, scientific rigour and dedication to animal health and welfare."

The other award winners on the day include International Award winners, Dr Alemayehu Hailemariam, an Ethiopian veterinarian who does much of the Brooke equine charity’s clinical and educational fieldwork in that country; and, Rachel Wright who trained as a veterinary nurse in the UK and founded the Tree of Life for Animals (or TOLFA) animal hospital in Rajasthan, India in 2005.

The final award is the RCVS Queen’s Medal, the highest honour that we can bestow upon a veterinary surgeon, which will be presented to Professor Peter Clegg FRCVS, an equine vet who is currently Head of the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease at the University of Liverpool, a multidisciplinary institute engaging in veterinary, medical and biomedical research relating to musculoskeletal biology and ophthalmology.

The Awards Ceremony will also see the formation of the new Officer Team for 2017-18 with Amanda Boag becoming President, Professor Stephen May becoming Senior Vice-President and Niall Connell becoming Junior Vice-President. Kit Sturgess, Kate Richards and Professor Susan Dawson will remain as RCVS Treasurer, Standards Committee Chair and Education Committee Chair, respectively.

The occasion will also feature the first CEO address from Lizzie Lockett, who took up her tenure as CEO in November last year, as well as from Stephen May, Amanda Boag and Liz Cox, who is standing down as the Chair of Veterinary Nurses Council to be replaced by Racheal Marshall. Following the conclusion of the proceedings lunch will be served at 1pm.

All members of the RCVS and Registered Veterinary Nurses are entitled to attend the AGM and Awards Ceremony. For the full agenda, and for details on how to order free tickets to attend the day, please visit our events page.

Please bear in mind that tickets are limited and are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.