BSAVA Companion - 2021, 3, March

A PDF of the full March Companion

New Pocketbook for Nurses; Acupuncture and chronic pain; Reducing your carbon footprint; Guinea pigs are go!

  BSAVA’s flagship meeting has been on a perilous journey over the past year. The trip to Birmingham for Congress 2020 had to be abandoned only a few days before its scheduled arrival and planning for this year’s event has been dogged by uncertainty over the likely course of the coronavirus pandemic. That preparation has now been completed and the Association will set off from March 25–27 for the unchartered waters of its first virtual Congress. John Bonner catches up with Andy Green, Chair of the Congress Programme Committee, to find out more…

The Pocketbook has been extensively updated and expanded, following in the footsteps of the BSAVA Textbook of Veterinary Nursing.

  Jordan Mitchell and Danièlle Gunn-Moore from the University of Edinburgh report on their research looking at the comparison of feline tuberculosis lesions associated with Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium microti infections using histology and immunohistochemistry.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons hopes its new postgraduate training strategy will help in tackling staff retention problems by ensuring that new graduates go on to enjoy a long and satisfying career in practice. RCVS director of education Dr Linda Prescott-Clements gave an update on plans for the proposed Graduate Development Phase (VetGDP) in an online seminar for veterinary students organized by the BSAVA (23 January 2021).

The WSAVA represents more than 200,000 veterinarians worldwide through its 113 member associations, which include the BSAVA, and works to enhance standards of clinical care for companion animals. Its core activities include the development of WSAVA Global Guidelines in key areas of veterinary practice. Read on to find out more.

Practice managers should offer a little TLC to their reception staff to ensure that they feel their work is valued – and, maybe, also think about giving them a decent salary, was one of the messages from a Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons/Veterinary Management Association leadership webinar held on 1 December 2020. John Bonner reports…

 Emma Gerrard is the first veterinary nurse to be appointed to an officer role with the BSAVA, as chair and council representative for the Association’s Cymru region. She was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire and grew up in Cambridgeshire. In 1996, the family moved to the Mid Wales/Shropshire border where Emma has remained ever since.

Article abstracts from the latest issue of JSAP.

A calendar of forthcoming online events.