IT’S that time of year again: time
to start thinking about BSAVA
congress – who in the practice gets
to go, what’s the programme like, who goes to which day…
For many practices
it is a highlight of the
working year and gives
many people a chance
to get away for a few
days on practice
expenses, do plenty of
CPD, meet up with
old friends and spend
days hiding from
people you never got
on with at college.
For many vets in
the UK and abroad it
is a good mix of CPD,
socialising, networking and perusing
new products at the exhibition. The
BSAVA also organises party nights
with world-class entertainment.
It is not, however, to everyone’s
taste, so in the interest of balance
here are a couple of comments from
an on-line forum:
n “BSAVA can be great fun but
listening (often in a dulled, hungover
state) to last year’s lecture notes being
read by this year’s residents is not the
most effective or efficient use of the
CPD dollar.”
n “…the quality you must admit is
very variable and unfortunately
unpredictable. And – going off thread
– the “masterclasses” I have tried were
not masterclasses, more just slightly
advanced lecture sessions. And I do
not understand why BSAVA hire US
speakers, at what must be considerable
expense, to deliver basic or mildly
advanced lectures.”
Build your own course
So not everyone is a fan, and even as a
fan I will admit I have over the years
attended one or two dreadful lectures,
but one of the strengths of the
congress is that the variety of lectures
means you can build your own CPD
course to suit your interests, bolster
weaknesses, etc.
This may be five different subjects
in a day, but it also has themed days,
so if you want a whole day on exotics,
or orthopaedics, you can have it.
The congress is a huge
undertaking; here are some facts and
figures (from the 2009 congress unless
otherwise stated):
- There are 112 speakers, plus 92
people presenting clinical research abstracts, from six different countries. - There are delegates from 24
different countries. - There are three full-
time staff at BSAVA
whose sole role it is
to run the congress,
and four extra
employed full time
during congress. - Expenditure for
congress 2008 was
£2,101,716 (bloody
hell!). - Income from
congress 2008 was
£2,355,079.
So it is a huge
undertaking, and
planning starts 18
months in advance.
The congress
programme committee is in charge of the programme and selects the
speakers. It is currently chaired by
Sorrel Langley-Hobbs. The nursing
programme is now produced by senior
nurses within the profession.
The programme committee has
often been speakers and delegates
previously and therefore should have a
view of both sides of congress.
Responsibilities
The congress committee is in charge
of the day-to-day running of
congress; this year it is again chaired
by John Williams, with a congress
manager, Alison Phipps.
All congress committee members
have responsibility for their own area
at congress, e.g. exhibition,
programme, signs, stewards, social,
etc.
I have been lucky enough to speak
at the congress previously and am
going back to speak this year. I got the
gig initially due to working with
someone who is an expert in a
particular field and I went along as a
sidekick. The experience gave me
some insight into what it’s like to be a
speaker.
The invite came by e-mail two
months after the end of the preceding
congress, and the last thing you expect
is anything to do with congress in
June. The full-time congress staff
must do a huge amount of e-mailing
as I have received about 30 e-mails
from them so far. Multiply that up by
the other 110 or so speakers and
you’ve got some very busy inboxes at
BSAVA.
The first time I was invited it
completely obsessed me for the rest of the year and I can’t
believe my colleagues put up with it.
Every relevant case was
photographed, I embarked on a major
programme of self-study, put myself
through a crash course in PowerPoint
and presented a CPD evening at a
local practice as a trial run. We talked
of little else at work.
Anxiety dreams began in January
and by the time congress came I could
practically have sat a diploma exam in
the lecture subject, had my talk on a
memory stick and copied onto CDs
which were packed in two separate
suitcases. I had also e-mailed the notes
to myself so they were safe in
cyberspace in case BSAVA had
somehow lost the notes.
A huge honour
This year I have it a little
more under control but it
is still a huge honour to be
asked to speak and you
feel obliged to do your
best.
Here’s a quote from
one of the BSAVA
congress staff: “BSAVA
works very hard to make
sure the speaker’s experience is as
great as that we offer our delegates.
We know that it is the quality of
BSAVA Congress science that keeps
people coming back year after year –
and so our range, quality and variety
of the speakers we use and the
subjects we cover are crucial.
“World-class lecturers don’t need
asking twice to come to BSAVA
Congress – once they’ve attended they
are more than happy to come back,
and it is only in the most exceptional
circumstances do speakers decline or
cancel – and even then, they ask to be
considered in the future. There is also
great camaraderie amongst the
speakers, who get together in their
dedicated rooms in the ICC. For many
it is an opportunity to catch up with
their international peers.”
I can assure you I didn’t “catch up
with my international peers”, but sat
in the speakers’ lounge feeling a bit of
a fraud and recognising names and
faces of famous vets from textbooks
and journals I owned.
A high point for me was when a
very famous vet I had got chatting to
in the speakers’ lounge came up to me
in the exhibition later and asked me
how my talk went! Sadly, no one I
knew was watching. There is a good
atmosphere in the speakers’ lounge,
and a steady supply of food and caffeine. There was certainly plenty of
catching up going on as well as clinical
discussions over coffee.
There is a speakers’ reception and
you get a party ticket so the
experience for speakers is very
enjoyable, once the stress of the
speaking bit is dealt with. And
although you may only be speaking
for a total of a few hours at most, the
preparatory work is a big undertaking.
One other thing that is an eye
opener is the IT suite there and the
staff. Every vet practice has its self-
appointed computer expert – they are
the ones who come and take over your PC when you have a problem with it, then spend 20
minutes fiddling about
before pressing
control/alt/delete and
turning it off at the
wall.
At the ICC they
have real experts and
watching them work on
your presentation (e.g.
formatting videos,
sound effects, etc.) then
making it accessible from anywhere in the ICC is quite an
experience.
This year I am doing a masterclass
and understand the criticism quoted
above about them being just advanced
lectures. We aren’t given any specific
instructions as to what to do by
BSAVA, but I am tempted to abandon
the crutch of a PowerPoint
presentation and try actually teaching
rather than lecturing, but in a short
period of time that’s a bit risky as it
relies on class feedback and
discussion, which can be difficult in a
class of strangers.
Whatever you think of the BSAVA
congress, it is an international
institution in its own right – for its
science, commercial and social aspects.
Thousands of vets and nurses attend
as delegates, hundreds of reps staff
the stands in the exhibition and host
parties in the evening, volunteers act as
stewards, famous highly-qualified vets
(and others) come from all disciplines
and all over the world to lecture.
It is not to everyone’s taste and
doesn’t suit everyone’s CPD or
financial budgets, but for many of us,
whatever our role in it, it’s a much-
loved fixture on the profession’s
calendar of which we can, as a small
profession, be proud. Now I’d better
stop writing this and fire up
PowerPoint – where’s that crutch…
