An Exciting Year Ahead For Our Graduate Academy
5 years ago 
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With up to 300 graduates estimated to join the programme this year, our Graduate Academy looks set to double in size! As a token of this phenomenal growth, we will also host our first International Graduate Academy Conference in June.
Now about to enter its 6th year, the IVC Graduate Academy has grown exponentially since launching. Back in 2014, the programme took on 15 newly qualified vets; this figure had more than quadrupled by 2017, which saw 90 new vets join the academy and if the estimated intake for the next academic year is anything to go by, the trend is very much continuing!
‘We set up the graduate academy with one key aim,’ says Group CEO David Hillier, ‘to offer our graduates the very best support, both in practice and within the academy. This same ethos remains today and it’s this approach that has made the IVC Graduate Academy so well-known and trusted within the profession.’
As it remains our number-one focus for each graduate vet to receive the very best level of training, this year’s graduate academy will be divided into two groups, so as not to compromise when it comes to offering the personal touch.
‘The IVC Graduate Academy has been a very positive experience thus far,’ says Meagan Perely, a new Graduate Veterinary Surgeon at Oaks Vet Centre, Ayrshire. ‘The programme placed me with a practice and team that is supportive and encouraging. I’m gaining valuable experience and relevant knowledge alongside fellow graduates through CPD. When first starting your career, I think it’s imperative to be surrounded by colleagues that are understanding, enthusiastic, and able to accommodate the needs of a new graduate. The IVC Graduate Academy has provided me with all the things I need to gain confidence in practice.’
And it’s not just the graduates who benefit, as Shona McLachlan, Clinical Lead at Oaks Vet Centre, explains:
‘The New Graduate Academy Scheme has been a major bonus to our practice. We get to choose from a wide selection of skilled graduates to find the right fit for our practice. The structured scheme means that graduates get all the support they need from us in practice, as well as the chance to expand their skills and knowledge through the academy. We’ve had many new graduates come through this scheme and are more than happy to continue.’
This year, we are proud to announce that our first International Graduate Academy Conference will take place on 19th – 21st June at Warwick University. The event will comprise more than 250 graduates – from both their first and second year, based in the UK and our European Graduate Academy, which launched last year – coming together for 3 days of CPD sessions.
The topics on offer include lectures in critical care, how to optimise the health of a dairy herd and oncology – including a discussion of the ethical dilemmas vets and owners face when treating these cases. The event will feature renowned experts from all over the world, including International Blind Explorer Miles Hilton Barber, who will open the conference as keynote speaker.
Further details will be released in due course.
If you’re a recent vet graduate and would like to find out more about the IVC Graduate Academy, you can visit:
UK: https://www.independentvetcare.co.uk/graduate-academy
Europe: https://ivc.group/international-veterinary-academy/
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