Karen Bond is a Veterinary Advisor with the NMR Group and Joint Honorary Secretary at the British Cattle Veterinary Association, which is hosting its annual Congress in Birmingham, 20-22 October. She tells Veterinary Woman why these in-person events are so important for those working in farm practice, and how BCVA aims to give women a platform and a voice within its programme …
It can be quite isolating, being a cattle vet. Lots of hours in the car between farm visits, often working alone or just with your client, having large gaps between time spent with colleagues back in the practice. This is why conferences, like BCVA Congress, can mean so much to us working in farm. The CPD is crucial, for sure, yet it’s having the chance to connect and be around each other – I know I’m not alone in finding it a really important way to stay engaged in my profession – and then there’s the opportunity to let our hair down too – farm vets are very good at that.
An inclusive platform
I started coming to BCVA Congress as a newly qualified vet, making the most of learning from those more experienced than me, and over the years I’ve been here as a speaker and chairperson too. Now I’m on the Board and involved in delivering the event – and I am hugely proud of it. I’m particularly proud of the platform it gives women in our profession. If you look at all the speaker slots in this year’s programme, almost 50% are occupied by women. We don’t just aim to deliver a varied programme across clinical topics and offer something for every career stage, we are increasingly looking at ways that BCVA can be more inclusive.
This is why you’ll see a broader approach to non-clinical topics in this year’s programme – to consider ways in which we can work together to help this be a profession in which everyone can thrive. There are some very dedicated and impressive people working to help us all engage on issues of wellness, inclusivity, and diversity. We can all do better, and we hope things are going in the right direction. It is so crucial that we work hard to make being a farm vet a career that all young grads are keen to take on, feel welcomed into, and find that they want to stay involved with for life – in all the various roles that are available to us.
Family feeling
Talking of inclusivity – whilst we are always going to focus on cows – this year’s programme includes sheep, goats and camelids. Increasingly, we find our members are being asked by clients or their practice to broaden their species expertise, so we hope this is an opportunity to gain more confidence and skills so that we can support ruminant health and welfare beyond just cattle.
At BCVA we have just 3.5 staff and we have 18 Board members (our Board is currently made-up of 15 women and three men) – and at Congress we manage to exploit that ‘family feeling’ that comes from being a relatively small organisation, and yet we still generate some of the highest levels of CPD and impressive social events that you’ll find within the veterinary events calendar. I’ve heard it called ‘the friendly Congress’ and I’m looking forward to making some new friends from the Veterinary Woman readership this year – do come up and say hello!
To find out more and book your ticket, visit: https://www.bcva.org.uk/cpd/bcvacongress2022
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