BVNA President

I have had the absolute pleasure of attending the Association of Veterinary Surgeons practising in Northern Ireland (AVSPNI) conference in Belfast as a guest.

The nurse speakers pye_rvn, Laura Jones and Jessica Herley were phenomenal and have all progressed so much within their own nursing careers, inspiring others by sharing their vast knowledge in their subject areas.

I was also very privileged to be asked to present an award for NI Veterinary nurse of the year at the Northern Ireland Agria community award ceremony. I met some fabulous people and felt very humbled to hear the difference that all of the nominees were making to their clients, patients and colleagues.

It was a very brief but very fulfilling visit and I feel incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity. In the midst of some difficult times for the veterinary profession recently, being around positivity and celebration of veterinary professionals was definitely needed.

Sorry for being so quiet on this page - It’s been a very busy month! Find out what we’ve been up to in the March edition of the Presidents podcast. X

During this podcast, Lyndsay Hughes, BVNA’s President, chats to Kim Rathbone, BVNA’s Honorary Secretary, about what she got up to during an incredibly busy March, including visiting the House of Commons and BSAVA Congress.

🎧 Listen via our Spotify channel here; https://loom.ly/KFzg2BQ

🎧 Listen via our YouTube channel here; https://loom.ly/aDGeUSY

As I am sure you will be fully aware the initial findings of the CMA review have been published today.

Despite the slightly unbalanced media reporting at points, this could be a really positive step forward for veterinary nurses.

In particular it draws attention to the outdated Veterinary Surgeons Act, which is something that we feel very strongly about. Specifically, because reviewing this act, will allow more attention to be given to the RVN role will include the need to protect the title of veterinary nurses. This will ultimately lead to improved animal welfare.

As hard as I know it can be, we need to focus our energy on embracing the opportunities this investigation will bring.

You can read BVNA’s full statement below.

BVNA welcomes the initial findings of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) review, which were published today – 12th March 2024.

The initial CMA consultation saw an “unprecedented response” – receiving over 56,000 responses from the general public and veterinary industry. Following this review, CMA have proposed a formal market investigation, providing the opportunity to explore five key areas of concern in more depth.

Find out more here; https://bvna.org.uk/blog/bvna-responds-to-cma-review-of-veterinary-sector/

The face of a determined president that is currently on the way to the House of Commons to preach about protecting the title to ANYONE that will listen!!

Wish anyone I meet luck 😉😂💪🏼

At the station for an early start today, I am heading into London for the Petplan award judging today! I am very excited and this is definitely one of the perks of being BVNA President.

I am looking forward to talking about all the fabulous nurses that have been nominated. Having already had the opportunity to read the summary of some of the entries, I am so in awe of the great people that make up our profession.

Now to find some coffee…. 😉

A little delayed but on Saturday we held our BVNA council meetings.

Our day starts at 9.00am with our Officer and staff meeting, followed by our Learning and development sub-committee, our Membership sub-committee and then our full council meeting at 1.30pm.

This month we were also fortunate that the Thin Blue Paw Foundation and Anna Judson - BVA president, kindly joined us. We all really appreciated hearing from Kieran, one of the thin blue paw trustees. As the charity we have chosen to support this year, it was brilliant to learn a little more about the work that they do.

It was great to have Anna Judson with us as our guest. Anna is a HUGE advocate for veterinary nurses, it was lovely to be able to share with her all of the work that BVNA has undertaken on behalf of members, but also to share ideas and receive her support and advice.

When you are finishing your meeting prep and realise that your daughter has snaffled away your staples and paper clips, so have to find an alternative solution 😉

If you are looking for another way to be involved with BVNA (The British Veterinary Nursing Association) then have a read of this. Especially if you have additional skills which may help support our presidential team and council members. 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

We need you!

We are looking for new members of BVNA's advisory board. This board supports BVNA Council and the Presidential team, overseeing governance of the organisation and providing advice where needed.

Time commitment is minimal, with two meetings per year and smaller amounts of agreed communications around that. This is a great opportunity to support the organisation that is the voice of the Veterinary Nursing profession.

We are ideally looking for two or three candidates to support the current members of the advisory board. It would be brilliant to hear from you if you have an understanding of budgets and finance OR an interest in IT and web design.

Applicants are welcomed from a diverse range of backgrounds, which may include experience from both within and outside the veterinary sector.

For more information, please email Jo Oakden via [email protected].

Everyone’s circumstances will be different at this time of year. Some of you will be working, often putting yourself forward so that you are not at home. Some of you will have experienced losses and will be missing loved ones and others will have felt the financial impact over the last couple of years.

Whatever you are feeling, and wherever you find yourselves, please know that you are not on your own. Vetlife have someone on the other end of their helpline 24/7 and that doesn’t change at this time of year. You can also access them via email as well.

Please take care of yourselves and stay safe throughout this festive period. X

The Helpline is staffed by dedicated volunteers from the veterinary community who understand the challenges faced by . Reach out to anytime, 24/7, 365 days a year, by calling 0303 040 2551 or via email at: https://helpline.vetlife.org.uk/

👏🏼👏🏼 Thank you Dr Neil Hudson MP for Penrith and the Border. For championing veterinary nurses and for spreading the word about how important it is to protect the veterinary nurse title. Your support is hugely appreciated.

Currently there is no legal protection for the title of veterinary nurse.

I've seen firsthand how properly accredited veterinary nurses play a vital role in promoting animal health and welfare. Therefore it is imperative we take concrete steps to protect their title and uphold the standards of the profession.

Thank you to RCVS - Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and BVNA (The British Veterinary Nursing Association) for joining me in Parliament for an event to raise awareness of this critical issue among parliamentarians of all political persuasions.

🩺🐶🏥🐾Read more here: www.neilhudson.org.uk/news/dr-neil-hudson-mp-champions-veterinary-nursing-profession-parliament

A little delayed but what an incredible day we had last Wednesday! we were given the opportunity to speak with MP’s, Lords and MP representatives.

Sadly, every person I spoke with had no idea that the RVN title is not protected! As you can imagine, with a captive audience they were brought up to speed pretty promptly by the BVNA team Craig Tessyman JVP, Charlotte Bullard - Learning, Education and Communications Manager and Huw Jones CEO.

All of the people that we spoke to gave us some great advice for what else we could be doing to raise awareness. Including who we might be able to work with to keep building our campaign.

We all came away literally buzzing, everyone we spoke to were fully supportive and full of really useful suggestions. The BVNA team have already been contacting MP’s after the event, those that we met and those that were unable to make it!

Protecting the title affects all nurses whether you are a qualified nurse or if you are just starting out on your journey. It would make SUCH a difference if you could continue to share any updates from the BVNA about protecting the title. This way we can keep up the momentum, as well as continuing to raise awareness with members of the public that might not know why this is so significant.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go and speak to some influential people on your behalf, about why RVN’s are worth shouting about! X

(HUGE thank you to Neil Hudson MP for sponsoring the session and to the RCVS for cohosting with us.)

BVNA are delighted to be in Westminster today, alongside the RCVS - Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to speak to MPs about the need to within reform of the .

Today’s drop-in event for MPs is being held specifically to champion veterinary nurses within proposed future legislative reform. We’ll be discussing the impact of working under outdated legislation which currently allows unqualified and unregulated individuals to use the ‘veterinary nurse’ title. We’re also promoting progression of the VN role to better enable professional growth, job satisfaction, public recognition, and longevity within the profession.

We’d like to thank Dr Neil Hudson – MP and vet – for sponsoring today’s session.

This seems like a long-time ago now, but last month I had the absolute pleasure of being in a BVNA lecture stream at London Vet Show, alongside four inspirational nurses ( Craig Tessyman, pye_rvn, Nicola Lakeman, Claire Roberts).

All of the lectures were really well attended and it was amazing for BVNA to be able to chair our own diverse nursing stream. (With thanks to Lisa Brett for coordinating and organising the day.)

I was also asked to sit on 'The Big 6' discussion panel. Sitting alongside representatives from BVA, SPVS, VMG, BVU and XLVets, it felt phenomenal to be there representing veterinary nurses. The discussion was around the CMA review, the impact this has had and what possibilities may arise from this action. There was a lot of discussion around inclusivity of information within practice, and actually looking at where we could utilise nurses more in practice. Utilising nurses better in practice fits cohesively with my presidential theme of progression, so always happy to talk about this wherever I can!

I have popped a few photos below, I wasn't able to get as many as I would have liked, something to work on for next time! ;)

I played a very brief part in this months presidents podcast, as we hear about Charlotte Pace's very busy last month as President.

We had such a lot of fun recording this podcast, as is always the case when any of our council members get together. It's always great to spend time with people that are equally as passionate about anything to do with veterinary nursing!

I really hope you enjoy listening to this, it is a great way for us to be able to share what we get up to behind the scenes.

(Also how lovely is this photo of council team taken at congress this year?)

Please join our Junior Vice President, Craig Tessyman, in our October President's podcast. Craig will be asking our Senior Vice President, Charlotte Pace, about her last month as President, and he will welcome Lyndsay Hughes to her first podcast as the current BVNA President.

We hope you enjoy listening to this as much as the three of them did recording this!

BVNA members can listen here; https://members.bvna.org.uk/blog/view/October_Presidents_Podcast_OEs

Hello everyone - apologies for the delay in posting, we have had some technical difficulties that have now been resolved.

I feel incredibly fortunate that I have the absolute privilege of becoming the BVNA President for this next year, having taken over from the phenomenal Charlotte Pace. I am following on from some AMAZING presidents that I consider myself to be incredibly lucky to have worked alongside.

As well as celebrating a really successful congress, where it was an absolute delight to see so many of you, we also had to sadly say goodbye to retiring council members Alex Taylor (Past president), Lacey Pitcher and Macauly Gatenby. All three have contributed tremendously to BVNA over their time on council and they will be greatly missed.

During our annual AGM we welcomed five new council members Victoria Foulkes (RVN), Declan jones (RVN), Cheryl Plimmer (RVN), Kate Davies (SVN) and Poppy Meredith (SVN). I am very excited to be working with our new council members and look forward to sharing our progress with you all over the next year.

(Photo of 2022/2023 council member at the gala dinner, just missing the lovely Kim Rathbone who was unable to join us.)

Busy few days...

Was an absolute privilege being at the BEVA congress. Met some amazing nurses, and loved the schedule 3 panel discussion.

Yesterday was an important day with the The Links Group Battersea and great that Dr Neil Hudson MP was there also.

Just a little hot to be in online meetings all day 🫠, but it proves what a fantastic and dedicated bunch of VNs we have on council. Even lovelier to have our incoming council members join us, and to have the wonderful BVA President Malcom Morley with us 💚💪🩺

Taken from Twitter…. Neil Hudson is the only vet in the Commons.
This is good news, but we need to keep pushing for animal welfare.
BVNA (The British Veterinary Nursing Association) will be issuing a template letter you can use to write to your local MP soon. 💚

Great day of council meetings on Saturday. We have membership and learning and development sub-committees in the morning, and then main council in the afternoon, where we all get together. Watch this space for exciting updates! Love being part of this 💚

A privilege to have represented BVNA (The British Veterinary Nursing Association) at the RCVS - Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons President Reception last night and at the today. Congratulations Belinda Andrews-Jones. I am looking forward to working with you. Now getting ready for our BVNA council meeting tomorrow