Leading Medical Visionary Inspires At VET Festival 2016

8 years ago
1057 views

Posted
9th June, 2016 16h16

On Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th June, VET Festival brought together 1004 veterinary professionals for the ‘Veterinary Education for Tomorrow’ conference all set in a dynamic, festival environment in Loseley Park in Guildford.

Inspiring medical scientist, Professor Sir Christopher Evans delivered the keynote speech explaining why he has the ‘most worthwhile job in the whole world” giving insights and secrets of extraordinary endeavour to seek new medical science to enable humans and animals to live better quality lives. He told tales of his whole life journey - from working in his make-shift laboratory built in a shed up until launching his billion pound company. Sir Christopher ended his keynote with six simple commandments on how to be successful in medical science – stating that “life is a journey, pain is temporary but failure is forever.”

Sir Christopher Evans joined a line-up of 21 world-leading speakers including small animal medicine practitioners, visionaries and thought leaders from across the USA, Canada and the UK.

Professor Noel Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of Fitzpatrick Referrals, created the VET Festival as a refreshingly different and innovative CPD event to encourage professionals to share their passions, knowledge and experience to remind vets and vet nurses alike why they entered the industry in the first place – for the greater good of animals, medicine, society and the planet.

Noel said of the event, “I think that change is inevitable within veterinary education. My experience with the students of today is that they wish to embrace new learning formats and are especially enthusiastic about learning environments where didactic lectures become an immersive experience. My goal therefore was to achieve the perfect mix of education and a chilled-out festival atmosphere.

We are learning all the time, and we invite suggestions. I take very seriously the commitment I voiced in the welcome address, which is to reinvest every penny for the greater good for animals and the profession. I sincerely believe that vets and vet nurses will over time question where their money is spent and will take a good hard look not only at what value they get for their investment, but also where their money actually goes.

I believe that we really do want what we said we wanted when we started out aged 15 yearning to be in this profession, and that’s to become ambassadors for the companion animals we serve and to uphold the good name of our profession such that we responsibly embrace change because that’s what the families of these animals expect from us. My sincere hope is that we learn together, we grow together, we have fun together and we support each other going forward as a care team for animals everywhere. That’s what Veterinary Education for Tomorrow is all about.”

Each and every speaker was chosen for their dedication and proven passion for the profession, and are experts in their fields including clinical & surgical orthopaedics, soft tissue surgery, medical & surgical oncology, neurology & neurosurgery, minimally invasive surgery & diagnostics, anaesthesia, diagnostic imaging, physiotherapy, sports medicine & rehabilitation, anaesthesia & critical care, nutrition, feline medicine & surgery and practice management & team building.

On the Friday evening, VetFest Live was a fantastic night of entertainment for delegates to network and relax after a full day of CPD. Acts on the evening included Hunter and the Bear, Lucy Spraggan, Morrissey & Marshall, Romeos Daughter and Black Tower.

With VET Festival 2016 seeing an increase of 58% in delegate numbers and 30% in exhibitors, VET Festival was truly an unrivalled opportunity to hear, learn and network with some of the greatest minds in the veterinary industry.

More from

• West Midlands communications agency celebrates quartet of award nominations for work in veterinary sector
• IVC Evidensia assembles expert team to run new £10m referral hospital
• Home delivery service can increase pet health plan sign-ups by 25%
• Research reveals vital clues to help fight anthelmintic resistance
• Lifetime Achievement Award recognises Harrogate vet’s dedication to improving the health and welfare of rabbits