Dear Reader

During my incoming speech last year, I urged the profession to ‘step up and speak up’. The fact that the BVNA Council Elections this year had twelve candidates standing, the highest number of candidates to date, demonstrates that engagement is increasing. It is really important that as a representative organisation we are able to hear the views of our members. The more member engagement we have, the more we can be truly representative of our profession.

I now sit as chair of the newly formed VN Futures Board, which demonstrates that the VN Futures project is well and truly a joint project between us and the RCVS. I have also been part of the BVA VetLed Team Working Group. It is inspiring to meet people who are contributing to help further improve the veterinary nursing profession.

At the time of writing we have not seen any results following the RCVS qualification framework consultation – it will be interesting to be a part of the development of this.

Since the BVNA governance review has been completed, and we have staff in place to help support us as we grow both as an organisation and as a profession, we have been able to really focus on the important issues that matter to the profession. Having this support and structure behind council has enabled us as an association to ‘stand a little bit taller’ amongst our peers and allied professional organisations. It is important that we keep up the momentum to make sure that we are ready for the future and the changes that will occur in our profession to be involved in shaping those changes. We aim to be proactive in making sure the way we work as an association is current and effective.

At the AGM on Sunday, we welcomed six new council members as well as two council officers. I am looking forward to getting to know the new council members better and seeing the attributes that they will bring. This means the BVNA now have a full council which is fantastic as this broadens the experience and the skills we can draw on as a council.

Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month this year was fantastic – the engagement on social media by nurses, veterinary surgeons and practices was great. We are currently planning VNAM 2019 – make sure you add it to your calendar to make it even better for next year. May 2019 will be one of the best I am sure.

Being your president for the last year has been an amazing experience for me personally. It has been fantastic to be part of the BVNA during this time and I am honoured to be asked to serve for a second year. It has been good for my personal development, I feel it has improved my confidence in addition to my listening skills.

I hope to build on the increased engagement within the profession over the next twelve months.

I would like to see the BVNA be there to support nurses throughout their lives – not just for the time they spend in clinical practice. As veterinary nurses our careers can be very diverse from education, research, management, innovation, consultants – the list is endless. On top of our careers many of us are partners, parents, siblings, carers, friends, volunteers. How can we support nurses more?

This is where I will hand over to you:

•   What do you want from your representative association?

•   What are the issues that are affecting you directly that we could have an impact on?

•   How can we communicate best with you?

Author

Wendy Nevins RVN BVNA President

VOL 33 • November 2018 • Veterinary Nursing Journal