BVNA Guest Lecture - Hayley Walters

Last week, veterinary nurse Hayley Walters delivered a virtual, special guest speaker presentation for British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) from the comfort of her spare bedroom! Originally intended to be a live event in Telford, the three days of lectures changed to online due to COVID-19.

Hayley was invited to give an inspirational talk about her career and highlight just how many opportunities are available now to registered veterinary nurses (RVNs). Hayley’s vocation has taken her from cows and sheep in the Peak District in England to moon bears and meat dogs in China, to teaching in vet schools in developing countries to receiving an MBE at Buckingham palace.

 

Hayley said, 

“The veterinary nursing profession still has a long way to go to receive the same recognition as human nursing but our profession has not been around for nearly as long. Even after 21 years as a RVN, I am still very proud to be one. It was an honour to be asked to speak at BVNA about the prospects that we have and the difference a well trained RVN can make to an animal’s experience and welfare when in the clinic.”

 

Hayley also revealed the advice she would give her younger self starting out as a young RVN which included being better informed in dog and cat behaviour and recognising pain in patients post-surgery. 

Hayley encouraged all student and registered veterinary nurses to enrol on The University of Edinburgh’s free online MOOC in dog and cat behaviour if they wanted to improve their knowledge in this area.  https://www.coursera.org/learn/cats-and-dogs

 

BVNA Scientific Poster Competition Winner!

Congratulations to Emma Hogarth (née Campbell) who was the winner of the BVNA Research Bites Award 2020 for the Best Scientific Poster at the recent virtual BVNA Congress!!

Emma Campbell BSc(Hons)RVN MScCAB graduated from the online MSc Clinical Animal Behaviour in 2019 and since then has gone onto publish her work in The Veterinary Nurse Journal (Campbell et al 2020). Most recently Emma presented a poster titled, "From handling fails to waggy tails! Communication between canine owners and veterinary staff on canine handling intolerances in practice", at the virtual British Veterinary Nursing Association Congress which took place from 9-11th October. 

Following the disappointment of being unable to present her poster in person, Emma was delighted to be awarded the BVNA Research Bites Award 2020 for the Best Scientific Poster: 

"I was extremely grateful to get the opportunity to present at the BVNA Congress and it was such a surprise to win the Best Poster Award. I'm so pleased my research has been presented to the veterinary community and hope my results will help practices think about the way they approach patients with handling intolerances."

We are very proud of what Emma has achieved within the field of veterinary behaviour and wish her all the best for the future.

Campbell, E., Connor, M. and Buckley, L.A., 2020. A prospective cross-sectional survey of UK-based dog owners to explore canine handling intolerances and owner willingness to disclose these to veterinary professionals. The Veterinary Nurse, 11(2), pp.96-102.

EAZA annual conference plenary on zoo animal welfare assessment

The recent European Association of Zoos and Aquaria online annual conference was an enormous success, bringing together participants from all around the world to further develop the role of zoos and aquaria in conservation and animal welfare. 

JMICAWE’s Heather Bacon was delighted to deliver a plenary presentation on welfare assessment in aging zoo animals, and a more comprehensive version of this presentation will be delivered in November as a webinar. The plenary session was attended by 689 participants and was the most attended session of the conference, highlighting the enthusiasm within the zoo community to engage in zoo animal welfare.

Plenary presentations may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U82GfqCqg4

JMICAWE presents at the European college of Animal welfare symposium

 

The JMICAWE team were delighted to contribute to the recent European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine (ECAWBM) symposium on animal welfare. Previous JMICAWE director, Professor Natalie Waran, opened the symposium with a presentation on One welfare and the importance of human-horse interaction to both human and equine welfare.

This was followed by presentations on a range of topics from various European college residents including JMICAWE’s Heather Bacon, who presented her work on canine pain assessment. 

The European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine (ECAWBM) strives to provide animal owners and their veterinarians with European Veterinary Specialists; veterinarians specialised in animal welfare and/or behavioural medicine. 

Diplomats are qualified veterinarians who have undergone
an extensive, well-defined training programme over many years within the fields of animal welfare and behavioural medicine before passing a demanding board examination. This assures high quality service to the general animal owning public and to referring veterinarians.

http://www.ecawbm.com/

 

JMICAWE Release of Vet Nursing Skills Resource!

A free online resource has been launched by the University of Edinburgh to mark Veterinary Nurses Day on Friday the 9th October.

Veterinary Nursing Skills provides vital insights into the principles and practice of nursing dogs and cats in a clinic setting. Content is provided by the Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education (JMICAWE) at the University’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

The new resource, which is aimed at qualified and student veterinary nurses, will provide fresh perspectives on the interactions between nursing care, animal health and patient behaviour. Its content – also a valuable teaching tool for vet nursing lecturers – will highlight how focusing on these vital overlaps can improve patient welfare and clinical outcomes. Vet technicians and veterinary assistants are also expected to benefit from the new material, which includes video tutorials, downloadable fact sheets and interactive quizzes. Topics covered include clinical skills, patient handling and behaviour, wound management and bandaging, animal welfare and inpatient care. Registration is free via the University website. 

Demand for the resource has never been greater. There are some 15,000 registered veterinary nurses in the UK alone and an estimated 400 million cats and 500 million dogs worldwide. The Royal (Dick) School’s Welfare and Anaesthesia Nurse Hayley Walters, who teaches final year vet students, said the role of the veterinary nurse is being increasingly recognised. Ms Walters said the module was an attempt to address the fact that not all para-veterinary professionals have access to the same professional training resources.

This new resource aims to support vet nurses in providing the best clinical care and welfare for their patients no matter where in the world they work.

Knowledge and compassionate veterinary nurses improve patient welfare, so we want to share some of our educational and animal welfare expertise with a global audience, this new resource will help to promote the role of the veterinary nurse as a para-professional who is an essential part of the veterinary team.

Hayley WaltersJMICAWE Welfare and Anaesthesia Nurse