Several changes to the top team of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) have been made at its annual Royal College Day 2018 last Friday (July 13).
The college welcomed Amanda Boag as its new president, Niall Connell as new junior vice-president and Racheal Marshall as chairwoman of the Veterinary Nurse Council.
A number of awards were also bestowed on the day and speeches included this year’s guest speaker Prof. Derek Knottenbelt.
The positive potential of change
Looking at diversity in all of its aspects and harnessing the positive potential of change were two of the key points discussed by Amanda Boag in her inaugural speech as the new president.
Boag was invested as President at Royal College Day, taking the reins from Professor Stephen May, who became senior vice-president.
In her opening speech, she said: “Along with specific projects, I wanted to highlight a couple of themes which will be prominent in the coming and future years.
“Firstly, the importance of diversity. Diversity takes many forms and we must not lose sight of these. This includes ensuring our professions reflect the society we serve and are seen as a great and realistic opportunity for people from all backgrounds and, once in the professions, making sure we have an open and supportive environment where everyone is given the chance and the support to succeed.
“Secondly, is the inevitability of change and the importance of harnessing it positively for our professions, but more importantly for the public and the animals we care for.
This year will, of course, see the enormous change of Brexit and collaborating with the British Veterinary Association (BVA) and others and we will continue to speak forcefully about the importance of our professions and animal welfare.
“There are also a number of ongoing discussions focused more specifically in our industry on issues such as the evolution of the veterinary nursing profession, how accountability will work in the vet-led team and the changes that telemedicine is already bringing.”
Amanda Boag has been an elected member of RCVS Council since 2012 and in 2016 was re-elected to serve another four-year term.
She has served as RCVS treasurer and on the Education Committee and the Operational Board among others.
She graduated from Cambridge in 1998 and, after undertaking two internships, became a lecturer in emergency and critical care at the Royal Veterinary College from 2003 to 2008, where she was involved in running the referral and first-opinion emergency service.
In 2008, she took up the post of clinical director at Vets Now, where she has a wide-ranging role overseeing clinical and professional standards across the business.
Amanda was the founding president of the European College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ECVECC) from 2014-2018 and served as president of the European Society of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (EVECCS) from 2011-2014.
Changes to RCVS and VN Councils
RCVS Registrar Eleanor Ferguson updated those in attendance regarding the impact of the recent Legislative Reform Order (LRO) on the College’s governance (which was passed by Parliament in May) on RCVS Council, including a reduction in elected and university-appointed members, the ending of appointments by Privy Council and formal lay and veterinary nursing representation on Council.
Regarding the RCVS Council elections, Eleanor Ferguson said that the impact of the LRO meant that only the three candidates with the most votes – rather than the top six as previously – would take up their posts on the council.
Susan Paterson, Mandisa Greene and Neil Smith were re-elected, back on to the council for four-year terms.
New lay members Dr. Derek Bray, Mark Castle, Linda Ford, Claire McLaughlan, Tim Walker and Judy Worthington were also appointed.
Ferguson also welcomed were two veterinary nursing members appointed from the Veterinary Nurses (VN) Council – namely Racheal Marshall and Liz Cox, the new chair and immediate past chair of VN Council respectively.
President Stephen May thanked retiring council members and gave particular thanks to Jacqui Molyneux and Mike Herrtage, who had served on council for 12 years and 21 years, respectively.
Dr. Molyneux was president of the college in 2012-13 and was a particular champion of the Practice Standards Scheme, serving as chairman of its coordinating body, the Practice Standards Group, for five years.
Prof. Herrtage was a member of RCVS Council appointed by the University of Cambridge and brought his expertise in education and research to bear as a member of the Education Committee, amongst many other committee roles.
For VN Council there were similar changes to its governance, including a reduction in elected members, which meant there was no election this year, and new appointed lay and veterinary nurse members.
For the officer team, Amanda Boag was confirmed as president for 2018-19, Dr. Niall Connell as junior vice-president, Prof. Stephen May as senior vice-president and Christopher (Kit) Sturgess as treasurer.
