Veterinary Nurses Day - Guest Speaker Hayley Walters

Veterinary nurse (VN) Hayley Walters was invited to speak at VN day in London recently to the newly qualified VNs graduating that day.

As a previous Golden Jubilee award winner, Hayley was asked by The Royal college of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) to give a 15 minute presentation to showcase what a VN can do and help inspire them as they start their careers.

Hayley qualified in 1999 from a mixed animal practice in Derbyshire and since then has worked with bears in China and dogs in Bosnia; taught in vet schools in Sri Lanka and Vietnam; taught final year vet students on their anaesthesia rotation in The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, examined students in their practical exams and created free online teaching resources used all over the world.

“Veterinary nursing has come a long way since I qualified 20 years ago. The aim of the talk was to help demonstrate to these new VNs that there is so much you can do with your career now. If you want to stay in general practice then that is fine but if you want to be an army VN, go into research, teach, work for an animal welfare charity, or specialise in referral, then that is all possible now. And since the British VN qualification is well respected all over the world, there is a lot of opportunity to work overseas too. Not many jobs offer this much diversity!”

Hayley received very positive feedback and was approached by many of the new veterinary nurses afterwards who had aspirations to progress their career.

A donation to a charity of Hayley’s choice was given by the RCVS in return for her talking. Hayley chose Dogstar Foundation; a high welfare catch, neuter, vaccinate, return project for free roaming dogs in Sri Lanka.

A Dog's Perspective

We’re really excited to bring you a new short film, A Dog’s Perspective, on YouTube.

The idea behind this video comes from our undergrad veterinary students at the Royal (Dick) Veterinary School and they shot and directed the video themselves after completing their final year animal welfare elective module.

Our students recognised that the veterinary clinic can sometimes be a frightening and alarming place for our companion animals and wanted to make a video that could highlight some simple and effective changes to the clinic that can improve the experience for our companion animals.

Carrie Aitken, the video’s director, had this to say:

Veterinarians are sworn to protect and uphold the welfare of animals under their care. It is easy to allow the importance of a patient’s physical health overshadow that of their mental and emotional wellbeing. I wanted to make this video to help us see the world through a dogs’ point-of-view so that we may improve the welfare of our pets in veterinary practice.

To do this I have highlighted the key areas of a veterinary practice from the point-of-view of a dog and provided some suggestions as to how to improve the patient experience.

I hope you enjoy the video and take a moment to consider how the world is experienced through the eyes of our canine companions. 

It’s great to see the next generation of veterinarians thinking about the animal’s experience in the clinic and putting animal welfare front and centre. A big thank you to Carrie and her colleagues for sharing this video with us, and congratulations on your graduation! We know you’ll go on to do great things.

 

Dogs and Society Workshop in Santiago, Chile - May 2015

Last week saw the JMICAWE’s Director Prof Nat Waran and Veterinary Outreach Manager Heather Bacon in Chile, for the start of a joint initiative between Edinburgh University's Jeanne Marchig International Animal Welfare Centre and the Sustainability Research Centre at Universidad Andres Bello.

 

 

 

The purpose of the one day workshop was to bring together key Researchers, Academics, Policy Makers and NGOs to discuss the issues relating to interactions between people and dogs in Chile. The objective was to develop a joint understanding of the human- dog relationship and to explore how, through research and policy, it may be possible to use evidence-based humane approaches to managing health and welfare concerns relating to increasing dog ownership. These concerns can include pet behaviour problems, pet neglect and abandonment and associated high numbers of dogs in shelters, as well as public health and animal welfare issues associated with increasing number of stray and street dogs within Chile.

Dogs present an international dilemma. In most countries they are considered to be ‘man’s best friend’, and pet numbers are increasing along with veterinary treatment possibilities and a strong pet food and product industry. Yet they are also considered as pests, being seen in some parts of the world as a public health problem due to dog bites and associated injuries, as well as the risk of disease or parasite transmission, such as rabies.

The number of dogs in Chile is estimated to be over 3 million, with a median human per dog ratio of 4.8. As with other parts of the world, the presence of an uncontrolled canine population poses risks not just to the health and welfare of the public, but also environmental health risks and concerns for the welfare of the dogs themselves.

Dogs are attracted to places where humans live and often this will bring them into conflict resulting in damage to property and injury to humans and dogs. Because stray dogs are so clearly visible in the streets, they attract the attention of the public and tourists, with rising numbers of dog bites sometimes leading to life-threatening consequences. In various parts of the world, management of the expanding dog population has involved the implementation of animal breeding control programmes along with vaccinations campaigns to tackle zoonotic disease risks, alongside education programmes for children to help with safety awareness.

We will keep you up-to-date with our work in Chile, but in the mean time if you are interested in learning more about Street dogs, why not watch our short film dedicated to them on YouTube?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-UEb9KOgpE