The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) ViVet project will be holding a series of online workshops – “Ambitions Explored” – over the coming months to explore the ambitions outlined in the recently published Workforce Action Plan.
Each of the online sessions will focus on one of the seven ambitions.
A panel of speakers will discuss each ambition in detail, covering what it means to them, and will be inviting questions from the audience.
Each of the ViVet Ambitions Explored sessions will take place online between 7pm and 8.15pm and are as follows:
- Thursday 16 February 2023 – Ambition One: Shape leaders at all levels. This session, chaired by Amanda Boag, FRCVS, will explore promoting everyday leadership, embedding equality, diversity and inclusion at all career stages, and launching more opportunities for free and accessible learning resources
- Wednesday 22 February 2023 – Ambition Two: Confidence, culture and recognition. This session is chaired by Jill Macdonald, RVN, and will look at how to ensure there’s a welcoming and supportive environment for the whole veterinary team, continuing to deliver leadership training and raising awareness of and signpost resources to mental health support
- Tuesday 28 February 2023 – Ambition Three: Greater responsibility for veterinary nurses. This session will explore specific themes for improving recruitment and retention for veterinary nurses, including demonstrating the capabilities of the VN role, ensuring clear career pathways for veterinary nurses and continuing to progress the need for legislative change so that veterinary nurses can gain more autonomy and responsibility
- Thursday 9 March 2023 – Ambition Four: Welcoming a modern way of working. This session is chaired by Belinda Andrews-Jones, RVN, and will look promoting return-to-work support for clinical and non-clinical veterinary roles, continuing to strengthen relations between UK and overseas regulators and representative bodies and encouraging the use of innovation and technology to tackle some of the sector’s major challenges
- Thursday 30 March 2023 – Ambition Five: General practice – a chosen pathway. This session will consider encouraging confidence in pursuing a general practice career and the opportunities it offers, encouraging shared training (where appropriate) between vets and VNs at undergraduate level and learning from and model actions against other professions, including the medical professions
- Wednesday 5 April 2023 – Ambition Six: An attractive career for everyone, including those who have left – chaired by Dr Kate Richards, MRCVS, this session will look at direct RCVS accreditation of overseas veterinary degrees, how launching an extra-mural studies policy leads to a more consistent high-quality experience for students and providers and ensuring employers understand the re-entry process and the importance of welcoming people back after career breaks
- Wednesday 12 April 2023 – Ambition Seven: Improving client interaction and communication – chaired by RCVS President Dr Melissa Donald, MRCVS, this session will look elevating and driving the status of communication and other interpersonal skills in the professions and developing clearer and more easily accessible explanations of the veterinary role and the scope of vet and vet nurse roles to the general public
Angharad Belcher, RCVS Director of Advancement of the Professions, said: “These sessions are focussed on how we can all translate these ideas into our organisations and working lives, as well as being an opportunity for open discussion.
“The speakers all come from different types of practice and can share their experience of responding to these issues.
“It should give people ideas and practical concepts to take back into their organisations as we know there is not a ‘one-size-fits-all approach.”
“One thing that we made clear through the Summit and the Action Plan is the importance of collaboration, no one organisation can solve as complicated and multi-factorial an issue as the workforce challenge on their own.
“We hope to welcome you to these sessions to share your insights and contribute to the on-going discussions.”
To sign up to one of the Ambitions Explored sessions, please visit the dedicated Eventbrite page.
