Author Archives: Amber Tennant

Self Care Week: 5 simple ways you can boost your wellbeing today!

Healthy living isn’t just about what you eat for dinner or how often you’re in the gym. Taking time out to focus on yourself is essential to emotional and mental wellbeing. However, it isn’t always easy to fit in, especially if you’re juggling a busy home or professional life.

This self care week, take a look at these 5 simple things you can do for your wellbeing, which don’t take up a lot of time and can slot into busy routines more easily:

Watch the sunrise or sunset

Any time you can make in your life to pause and simply breathe is a good way to boost mental wellbeing. Making a point to watch the day begin and end each day is a perfect way to slow down. What’s more – you can enjoy the sunlight at its most colourful! (Don’t take any pictures or post about it on social media, just watch!)

2. Take a leisurely walk

A short walk around the block or your local park in the sunshine can help clear your mind of worries or distractions, and just focus on the ‘here and now’ for a while.

3. Listen to a feel-good playlist/podcast

Wind down from a busy day by listening to your favourite songs, or a short podcast on a topic that interests you.

4. Read a book or magazine

Taking the time out to read something for pleasure can help you relax. According to studies, reading for just six minutes a day is enough to reduce stress levels by up to 65%.

5. Declutter your house or wardrobe

Taking the time to clean up a cluttered area that has been bothering you for a while, or give away clothes you don’t really need, can help you feel more organised. As they say, a tidy home equals a tidy mind!

Changes to Pet Travel in the event of a ‘No-Deal’ Brexit

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has advised that should the UK leave the EU next year without a deal, pet owners wishing to travel to the EU will need to take some additional steps to be able to travel.

If you are planning to travel after 29 March 2019, you will need to contact your vet at least four months in advance of your travel date to make sure your pets are microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.

Those wishing to travel to the EU on 30 March 2019, therefore, should discuss requirements with their vet as soon as possible and by 28 November 2018 at the latest.

The Government has published further guidance for pet owners on its website.

Save 30% on boarding fees this Christmas at Campus Vets and Pets!

Calling all students at The College of Animal Welfare…

With Christmas just around the corner, if you’re planning on making a festive getaway this year, why not consider the Campus Vets and Pets luxury boarding kennels and cattery (based at our Leeds centre) for your pet?

At Campus Vets and Pets, your pet(s) will benefit from…

Fully insured premises
An on-site veterinary practice and grooming facilities
24/7 CCTV security
Friendly and caring staff

All breeds of cat and dog are welcome, and Campus Vets and Pets offer discounts on multiple dogs, or multiple cats, from the same family. What’s more – as a student at The College of Animal Welfare, you can save 30% on all boarding stays this Christmas!

If you would like to book your pet in to stay at Campus Vets and Pets, call the boarding team on 0113 467 8650. To find out more about the facilities and view a pricing structure, please visit www.campusvetsandpets.co.uk/boarding

Vet Times is looking for SVN writers!

Vet Times is looking for student veterinary nurses (SVNs) to submit articles to the student section of its website.

They are looking for budding writers to provide content which is of interest to both current and prospective SVNs alike. This includes the experiences, successes and failures that come with studying veterinary nursing, extracurricular activites, and all the things that go hand-in-hand with being an SVN in the current economic and political climate!

Each post will receive remuneration based on a number of factors (content, length, commissioned topic, supporting material, etc) but will generally range from £20-£75. This will also allow authors who wish to commit to a series of shorter items the opportunity to do so, for which they would receive individual payment per post. Video blogs will also be considered.

Whether you want to air a personal opinion in a short blog post (350 words minimum), or fancy trying your hand at producing more in-depth content that involves a degree of research and/or specialist knowledge, find out more by contacting jackiemorrison@vbd.co.uk

Clinical Coach Congress 2019 open for registration!

We are delighted to announce that Clinical Coach Congress 2019, the UK’s largest conference dedicated solely to supporting clinical coaches and those involved in veterinary nurse training, is now open for registration!

Running from 18-19 March 2019, this year’s congress is moving to the wonderful East of England Arena and Events Centre in Peterborough. The East of England Arena is a multi-purpose events venue, offering generous conference space and state-of-the-art facilities. For those looking to stay overnight, discounted room rates are available to all delegates at the Marriot Hotel just five minutes away from congress.

This year’s event will include lectures on exam techniques, professional accountabilities, motivating students, coaching styles and the new veterinary nursing apprenticeship standard. Delegates will be able to speak to a variety of exhibitors from across the veterinary profession, and be part of the official launch of VetSkill’s new veterinary nursing qualification.

What’s more – Clinical Coach Congress is recognised by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) as clinical coach standardisation, meaning it is the ideal opportunity to network with fellow clinical coaches and can be counted towards CPD hours!

Be an early bird and book before 31 January 2019!

Delegates who book before 31 January 2019 will be able to attend both days of congress for the fantastic early bird price of just £249+VAT. A full event agenda, and further details about how to book, can be found at www.caw.ac.uk/ccc or by calling 01480 422060.

New! Online Equine Clinical Coach Training

Calling all clinical coaches!

We are delighted to announce that we now offer online Equine Clinical Coach Training.

The course is designed for veterinary nurses or surgeons who will be acting as clinical coach for student veterinary nurses within equine practice. The course will be particularly helpful for those struggling to arrange to take time out of practice for standardisation training. What’s more – the training is just £25!

For more information or to book onto the training please visit https://mooc.caw.ac.uk/

New! Online Veterinary Medicines Short Courses!

We are delighted to announce that a selection of online short courses covering veterinary medicines have been added to our growing portfolio of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

Perfect for Suitably Qualified Persons (SQPs) and those working in veterinary practice, the new short courses cover lipid infusions, parasiticides and what pet owners need to know about veterinary medicines.

The new courses (priced at £20) can be found and booked online at https://mooc.caw.ac.uk/ and are also available on the College’s CPD site under ‘Online CPD courses’.

BVA calls on vets to help tackle extreme conformation across all species

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has presented a set of guiding principles and recommendations to support the veterinary profession in tackling extreme conformations in companion and farm animal species.

The position follows increasing concerns among the profession about breeding and conformation-related problems. In BVA’s Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey last year, breeding and hereditary defects emerged as vets’ top animal welfare concern. Nearly half (45%) of companion animal vets surveyed picked conformational deformities and pedigree breeding, particularly of brachycephalic breeds, among the three welfare issues that concerns them most.

The principles address the responsibility of society, including vets and vet nurses, to work together to:

ensure healthier future generations of animals that currently experience extreme conformation
reduce the negative health and welfare impacts of extreme conformation
increase awareness about these issues across different species
encourage research to better understand and address the prevalence of conformation-related ill-health
encourage research to better understand and address the prevalence of the welfare impacts resulting from extreme conformation
develop objective, robust measures to contribute to the assessment of problematic conformation.

This position also champions the vital role of the veterinary professions in influencing the reduction in the breeding of unhealthy animals with extreme conformation, as well as improving the wellbeing of current generations of animals.

Recommendations presented to achieve this include:

Supporting breeders to make responsible breeding decisions
Performing corrective surgical procedures and participating in reporting schemes where they exist
Monitoring health records and reports, such as abattoir and Food Standards Agency reports, to identify the impact of extreme conformation in livestock

For more information please visit the BVA website.

World Food Day – 5 ways you can help tackle food poverty in the UK!

The UK may be the seventh richest country in the world, but rising living costs combined with stagnating wages is leaving many people struggling to afford food.

Recent figures from the UK’s largest foodbank network, the Trussell Trust, show that demand for free emergency food parcels in the UK is rising each year. The problem is best illustrated by these worrying statistics from Oxfam:

It is estimated that over 500,000 people in the UK are now relying on food parcels.
Over 2 million people in the UK are estimated to be malnourished, and 3 million are at risk of becoming so.
36% of the UK population are just one unexpected bill away from financial hardship
Four million UK children live in households that are too poor to afford a healthy diet*
1 in 6 parents have gone without food themselves to afford to feed their families.*
One in four low-income families struggle to eat regularly.*

How you can help tackle food poverty in the UK

Tackling food poverty is one of today’s most urgent challenges if we are to cut the rising trend of hunger, obesity and diet related ill-health. You can help to make a difference by…

Donating food to a foodbank: Foodbanks are always looking for food donations from a standard shopping list. If you wish to donate food, it is worth calling in advance to find out what items are needed most.
Offering a financial gift: Foodbanks accept monetary gifts as well as food donations, and often giving money directly means there is more flexibility to buy what is needed the most.
Volunteering your time: Many charities rely on volunteers to help run foodbanks and raise awareness of food poverty. From administration, deliveries, supermarket collections or marketing/PR – there are many roles up for grabs and any contribution you can make will help make a real difference to the life of someone in crisis.
Fundraising for The Trussell Trust: Raising money for the Trussell Trust will ensure the charity can continue to run foodbanks and develop additional services to help break the cycle of poverty. Not only this, but fundraising can help you gain new skills and meet new people in your community.
Lobbying your local MP and supermarkets: By encouraging your local MP to visit your local foodbank and engage with its users first-hand, you can do your bit to make sure food poverty is at the top of their political agenda. You can also support the many social enterprises around the country, who are connecting food waste created in supermarkets and manufacturing chains with charities supporting people in need.

If you would like to find out more about how you can support your local foodbank, you can find the contact details for your nearest foodbank by entering your postcode on the Trussell Trust website.

“The whole day was absolutely fantastic!” Careers With Animals Day is a huge success with visitors!

The College of Animal Welfare’s annual Careers With Animals Day was the place to be on Saturday 13 October, as hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds visited the College’s centre in Tingley to find out more about how they could turn their dream of working with animals into a reality.

With over 450 visitors dropping by to speak to exhibitors about the opportunities up for grabs in the animal care industry; this year’s Careers With Animals Day has been the centre’s largest careers event to-date. Careers talks running throughout the day covered everything from veterinary nursing and dog grooming, to hydrotherapy and veterinary medicine. One visitor said: “I thought the day was organised exceptionally well and I really enjoyed the variety of exhibitors at the event. It’s been great to meet with those already in the industry.” Another, “All the members of the college [were] really welcoming. I’ve had a well informed and lovely day.”

Event organiser, Claire Gregory, said: “It was wonderful to see so many people come together to find out more about the wide range of career opportunities in the animal care industry!” She added: “We would like to give a huge thank you to the variety of fantastic organisations who supported the event by exhibiting and delivering careers talks throughout the day.”

Preparations for next year’s event are already underway; details will be available shortly at www.careerswithanimals.co.uk
For those who missed the event, but are interested in finding out more about the courses available at the College, the next course open day is Wednesday 24 October 2018 from 1pm-3pm. Further details can be found at www.caw.ac.uk