RCVS discussing mental health at BSAVA Congress
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) will be at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) Congress next month where it will be raising awareness of its Mind Matters Initiative and hosting a reception to promote the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) Awards, amongst a number of other activities.
Staff from the RCVS will be on Stand 103 at the Congress, which takes place from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 April at the Barclaycard Arena and ICC in Birmingham. They will be on hand the entire Congress to answer questions about a range of different projects and initiatives including the Mind Matters Initiative, the PSS, and the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.
The College launched the Mind Matters Initiative to increase the accessibility and acceptance of mental health support, and encourage a culture that better equips individuals to talk about and deal with stress and related issues. Visitors to the stand will be able to take part in the Mind Matters’ #wellbeingtip social media competition, sharing their own wellbeing tips for a chance at winning a Fitbit Alta.
On the Saturday, Lizzie Lockett, Director of the Mind Matters Initiative, will also be talking with Catherine Oxtoby, Risk Manager at the Veterinary Defence Society, in a session titled: ‘Blame and shame: lost learning in the veterinary profession’ from 8.30am to 10.10am. From 4.30pm to 5.35pm Dr Elinor O’Connor from Alliance Manchester Business School will be giving a talk titled ‘Occupational stressors in veterinary practice in the UK’, while from 5.45pm to 6.30pm Richard Dorney MBE, Director of Strongmind Resilience Training Ltd, will be giving a talk titled ‘Resilience; What does it really mean?’.
Members of the Advice Team will also be available throughout congress for private Advice Clinics appointments to discuss any queries about the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, and raise awareness about how the Advice Team is taking the ‘Code on the Road’ to provide confidential, non-judgemental, advice to anyone in the veterinary team. Book a clinic at www.rcvs.org.uk/adviceclinics.
Meanwhile, PSS Assessors will be on hand during Thursday and Friday for one-to-one PSS surgeries to discuss any aspect of the Scheme, including its new awards. Book a surgery at www.rcvs.org.uk/PSSsurgeries.
There will be plenty of opportunity to learn more about the PSS awards at a special drinks reception in Hall 9 of the ICC from 5.45pm to 7.15pm on the Thursday evening. The event, which is free to attend for all delegates, will feature PSS Assessor top tips, presentations from two award-winning practices about their experiences of the awards assessment process, an awards ceremony with the RCVS President, Chris Tufnell, and the opportunity to win one of three Awards Assessment Days, worth around £400 each. To reserve free tickets, please visit www.rcvs.org.uk/PSSreception.
In addition on Thursday 6 April in Hall 10 from 9.10am to 9.55am Julie Dugmore, the College’s Director of Veterinary Nursing, will be joining British Veterinary Nursing Association President Sam Morgan for a joint talk entitled ‘Where do we see the profession in 2025?’
Finally, on Friday 7 April the College will be hosting a Big Issues Stream in Hall 6 from 8.30am to 10.10am, providing updates on the College’s Brexit Presidential Taskforce and the new pilot of outcomes-based CPD.
