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Research shows vets keen to put learning into practice

A survey of the 1,977 vet professionals who attended the London Vet Show in November 2009 has highlighted how quickly they are putting into practice what they learned from the event’s educational programme.

The survey was completed on line by 334 delegates three months after they attended the event. Nearly all were already acting upon what they had seen and heard at the event.

The clinical lectures were programmed by Jill Maddison of the Royal Veterinary College. 85% of delegates who attended said that they have already put into practice new clinical procedures as a result of their visit.

There were also business lectures and, of those who attended these, 72% said that they would be changing business practices as a result of their visit.

The survey also looked at which lectures in particular were most beneficial and found many had clearly led directly to changes in vets procedures with regards to specific conditions.

International speaker Michael Lappin’s lecture on feline stomatitis was one of those ranked most useful. Commenting on hearing the news he remarks. “I am delighted the clinical lectures at the London Vet Show proved so popular and beneficial for delegates. The feedback from delegates is a great testament to the strength and relevance of the programme. In particular it’s wonderful to hear so many found my feline stomatitis lecture of direct benefit as this is such extremely common and painful condition of cats”

Also receiving high feedback for usefulness was Anke Hendricks whose lecture on Otitis was sponsored at the event by Virbac.  She comments "It's very rewarding to hear how well the London Vet Show programme has been received and acted upon. I am really pleased that my lecture on otitis has been found so useful and hope this in some way helps vets who attended identify early and successfully manage the contributing factors in at risk patients, and avoid progression of the disease"

642 delegates attended at least one of the business lectures – making it the best attended business focused programme for vets. John Sheridan says “The first London Vet Show in November 2009 was a huge success. I was delighted to have been invited to contribute to the commercial programme and had an opportunity to ‘sit in’ at most of the business management sessions over the two days.  The quality of debate and discussion was excellent and my conversations with fellow speakers and delegates between the formal sessions revealed an enthusiastic buzz for the whole event and the selected programme”.

The event ran alongside an exhibition with more than 100 exhibitors and the research revealed this also proved very popular. 80% of delegates saying they met suppliers they did not previously know in the exhibition

The overall attendance was a genuine cross section of the industry. 49% came from outside of London and the South East. In terms of experience, based on year of qualification between 14 %and 22% of the attendance came from each of the five year periods from 1980-85 up to 2005-09. Many of them were not regular congress attendees; in fact 73% did not attend any other UK small animal congress in 2009.

The Royal Veterinary College’s clinical programme for 2010, will be announced soon but the initial speaker line up includes international speaker Rick LeCouteur and from the UK features Alex German and Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore. Two more of the most popular lecturers from 2009 will also be returning, Sarah Heath and David Church.

Registration will open from March 31st and can be done on line at www.londonvetshow.co.uk.

The remainder of the programme will take into account feedback from more than 700 of last year’s delegates to ensure it covers the areas of most interest. Jill Maddison comments “As Director of the Royal Veterinary College CPD Unit I am excited to be once again coordinating the clinical CPD program at the London Vet Show. The program in 2010 will be practical, relevant and inspiring CPD that meets the needs of practising veterinary surgeons in all forms of small animal practice.”

Following the success of last year there will also be a business stream in 2010. Additionally there will be a series of workshops. The organisers promise the price of the event for those booking early will remain highly competitive to ensure the event remains as inclusive within the profession as possible.

For more details about the show, please contact Rob Chapman at r.chapman@closerstillmedia.com or call 01926 485 151.

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