Fellows inspire next generation of UK veterinary surgeons

Throughout this autumn RCVS Fellows have been speaking to students at various UK veterinary schools about the new Fellowship and to give presentations on Fellow’s diverse research and careers.

In September this year RCVS Council agreed a new strategy for the Fellowship which includes promoting scientific excellence across the whole veterinary profession and furthering professional skills and practice, invigorating creativity and promoting the public awareness of veterinary science. This strategic vision was announced at the Fellowship Day at the Royal Institution by Professor Nick Bacon, Chair of the Fellowship Board, on Friday 5 October.

To this end, in order to inspire the next generation of UK veterinary surgeons, members of the Fellowship Board and other RCVS Fellows have been holding a series of talks at UK vet schools to promote the Fellowship.

The events kicked off at the University of Surrey on 9 October with Nick Bacon giving an opening introduction to the Fellowship and then inviting other three other Fellows – Myra Forster-van Hyfte, David Harwood and Clare Rusbridge – to talk about their journey to the Fellowship and their work.

The University of Nottingham vet school was the next destination on 23 October with an audience of 28 students and five speakers from the Fellowship – Professor Sarah Freeman, Dr David Godfrey, Dr Andrew Knight, Professor Tim Morris and Dr Daniel Parker.

The next day was the turn of the University of Cambridge’s vet school in which 75 students across all years attended the talk which took place at the Queen’s Lecture Theatre at Emmanuel College. Dr Jane Dobson FRCVS from Cambridge Vet School gave the introductory talk followed by Fellows Dr John Houlton, Dr Andrew Knight, Professor Celia Marr (pictured above right) and Dr Polly Taylor.

The final talk of the tour took place at Liverpool Vet School on 30th October with 25 fourth and final year students in attendance to hear the introduction from the university’s Professor Jo Dukes McEwan. There were then talks from Professor Eithne Comerford, Dr Dai Grove-White and Dr Mandy Peffers on a variety of topics including equine osteoarthritis, dogs’ knees and veterinary careers.

Professor Nick Bacon said: “One of the key strategic aims of the Fellowship is promoting best practice and inspiring others and we thought that there was no better place to start than by talking to veterinary students about the newly reconstituted Fellowship, how it works and how veterinary surgeons can join.

“We were delighted to have so many students in attendance at these events and they seemed to react very positively and gain a lot from being able to hear from their more experienced peers in an informal setting. We certainly hope they came away thinking that the Fellowship was not something that was remote and only relevant for members of the profession towards the end of their career, but is something that they could aspire and work towards upon graduating and entering the profession – whether that’s in clinical practice, academia, research or otherwise.”

The Fellows on Tour will continue through to next year with other vet school visits planned.

For more information about the Fellowship, its strategic vision and the three new routes to entry, please visit our dedicated Fellowship webpage.