BVA Has Joined Veterinary Schools To Sponsor A Veterinary Team Leadership And Professionalism (VTLP) Course
10 years ago
1852 views
Posted
1st September, 2014 23h03
As part of our commitment to develop opportunities for vets and secure a healthy future for the veterinary industry, the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has joined veterinary schools to sponsor a Veterinary Team Leadership and Professionalism (VTLP) course to help cultivate future veterinary leaders.
At an education forum organised by the BVA in 2013, veterinary leaders called for all in the profession to come together to provide leadership on the future of the veterinary profession, while keeping an eye on mental and emotional wellbeing. In particular, the forum identified the need for diversification into other non-practice areas of veterinary work, creation of employment opportunities and for veterinary leaders to inject a veterinary viewpoint into other industries which the profession can connect with in the future.
In 2013 the VTLP course was piloted in the UK following a similar successful scheme in the US. The Royal Veterinary College (RVC), in collaboration with Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh and Cambridge and supported by the BVA, have now come together to jointly run the 2014 VTLP course, a three-day residential programme focusing on non-technical competencies across the whole veterinary team and bringing together future vets, veterinary nurses and scientists, helping prepare them for the workplace.
As well as focusing on leadership development, the course is strongly underpinned by teaching character education, emotional intelligence and teamwork, with a goal of promoting both professional and personal transformation. As well as developing valuable and transferable skills, the curriculum indirectly addresses methods for students to tackle mental and emotional wellbeing matters, whether their own or that of peers and colleagues.
Course Director, Dr Mandi de Mestre from the RVC, commented:
“After a very successful pilot course in 2013, we are delighted to be supported by the BVA to deliver the course again in 2014. The VTLP team has recognised the critical need to develop leadership skills during the training stage of our students’ professional careers and we are looking forward to working collaboratively across the vet schools to achieve this goal. I believe the VTLP provides a unique experiential learning environment for attendees to develop their intrinsic leadership and teamwork skills at a very early stage of their career. This is becoming increasingly important as our graduates enter diverse veterinary teams, be that veterinary clinical teams, scientific and industry teams developing new drugs for our animals or policy teams identifying ways to manage disease outbreaks or food security.”
The annual course will be delivered to 50 participants from veterinary schools across the UK during 8-11 September 2014 in Buckinghamshire.
To celebrate the announcement of the BVA working with the RVC to deliver the course, BVA is offering an opportunity for two student members to attend for free.
BVA President Robin Hargreaves said:
“Leadership skills are going to be increasingly important as the number of veterinary graduates increases, veterinary businesses become larger, and the profession diversifies beyond traditional practice. I am delighted that following our education forum last year the profession is coming together to develop a vision for the future that seeks to promote leadership qualities and to look after the mental and emotional wellbeing of veterinary surgeons.
“As the veterinary landscape is changing the profession needs to keep a broad outlook and continue to produce graduates who will lead on animal health and welfare, and public health, and who will influence the wider scientific community. This programme is a solid first step and BVA is proud to support it.”
To apply for one of the free places, students should write 50 words stating why they are interested in completing the course and send it to
[email protected]. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 3 September.
More from
