Dear Reader,

Happy New Year to you all! January is the time for resolutions to be made and I am sure that many of you will have embarked upon 2012 with high hopes whilst some will have already fallen by the wayside! I am of course writing this editorial in December so I am still contemplating my resolution for January. Will it be to become an RVN in 2012 or am I still not convinced that statutory regulation for the veterinary nursing profession will become a certainty? There is no doubt that last year saw significant moves towards our goal and I can confidently say that the RCVS have shown a degree of commitment that I did not think likely this time last year, lets hope it continues in the same vein! 2012 is also going to see significant changes in VN training with the closure of the RCVS Awarding Body. The introduction of at least two Awarding Organisations should make for a more versatile approach to training which will allow greater flexibility for employers and course providers but we must wait and see what the ‘brave new world’ has to offer. Whatever the new regime it is important that the quality of the training is maintained to ensure that the Gold Standard that is the UK VN qualification continues.

What else will 2012 bring? Well there is the little matter of the Olympics, some of you will be planning your trip to London having successfully managed to navigate the pig’s ear that was the ticket purchase rigmarole and acquired tickets for what will be the greatest sporting event in the UK in our lifetime! If you obtained tickets to your sport of choice, congratulations, if you did not commiserations and remember it will all be on television. However if you drew the short straw and obtained tickets to the sumo wrestling or weight lifting when you actually wanted the three-day eventing, remember it’s not about the winning but the taking part!

On the subject of entertainment, I note that the award winning play ‘Warhorse’ will be realised as a feature film in the New Year. Having seen it on the stage I would heartily recommend it to anyone who loves the theatre but be warned, I shed the odd tear or ‘two’ watching life- size puppets on the stage so if you plan on seeing the film take plenty of tissues!

Finally welcome to the January of the VNJ, the past few years have seen a consistent improvement in the standard of this, your member’s journal. The team at Wiley and our excellent authors have been instrumental in producing a journal that is full of interesting content month after month and my thanks must go to them for their hard work. This year will see the introduction of greater innovation and an extended editorial board that will enable us to build on the firm foundations that have been built to date – that’s one resolution that we will not break!

Author

Sue Badger MEd CertEd VN Executive Editor

To cite this editorial use either

DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2011.00129.x or Veterinary Nursing Journal Vol 27 pp2

• VOL 27 • January 2012 • Veterinary Nursing Journal