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Companion collection - Interviews
A collection of the informative, revealing and inspiring interviews that have been published in BSAVA’s member magazine, Companion. These articles are available FREE to BSAVA members.
Collection Contents
1 - 20 of 193 results
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Companion interview
Charlotte Russo Author Charlotte Russo‘Every blood donor is a hero’ – according to the World Health Organization, which used the phrase to promote World Blood Donor Day a few years back. But so too are the people who plan and manage blood donation schemes. They ensure that the procedure is comfortable and safe for those that both give and receive this magical life-saving fluid. People like Charlotte Russo, the veterinary nurse responsible for running the transfusion medicine service at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals at the Royal Veterinary College. John Bonner finds out more…
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Companion interview
Ben Walton Author Ben WaltonThe 2024 BSAVA award winners celebrated their success during the March awards ceremony at BSAVA Congress 2024 in Manchester. John Bonner caught up with Ben Walton to find out what his BSAVA Simon Award means to him.
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Companion interview
The Cinnamon Trust providing peace of mind Author Patrick WilliamsIn a country where human healthcare is still largely free at the point of delivery, grumbles about the costs of veterinary services are a regular topic for debate in the national chatroom. So, someone who will cheerfully agree to pay an annual vet bill stretching nearly into seven figures is a very unusual client. John Bonner went to meet Patrick Williams, Chief Executive of the Cinnamon Trust to find out more about his charity, a small but powerful force in the world of animal welfare.
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Companion interview
The hidden language of cats Author Sarah BrownIt turns out that you can tell a book by its cover. The title of Sarah Brown’s ‘The Hidden Language of Cats’ gives you all the information needed about its contents. Even lifelong fans of this most enigmatic domestic species will find that this publication reveals fresh and surprising observations on how cats communicate. John Bonner took a peek inside the feline phrase book.
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Companion interview
Training new generations of vet graduates Author Jenny HammondJenny Hammond, Professor of Veterinary Education at the Glasgow Vet School, was the recipient of this year’s BSAVA Amoroso award for outstanding contributions to small animal studies by a non-clinical member of university staff. Jenny helped lead the team that redesigned the undergraduate curriculum at Glasgow and continues to influence thinking on how to train new generations of veterinary graduates at home and abroad.
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Companion interview
Sustainability wins at Burtons Author David PattendenVeterinary equipment supplier Burton’s received an award this year for the most environmentally sustainable stand in the BSAVA commercial exhibition. David Pattenden, Head of Marketing and eCommerce, told John Bonner what his team did to catch the eye of the competition judges and how their efforts contribute to a broader corporate policy aimed at minimizing the company’s carbon footprint.
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Companion interview
Canine rabies in India Author Gowri YaleA novel oral vaccine for dogs has been declared a game changer in efforts to lift the ancient curse of rabies, the most deadly of all zoonotic diseases. Gowri Yale, Scientific Advisor to the Mission Rabies charity, told John Bonner how the product will be used to control canine rabies in India and what barriers may stand in the way of eliminating a condition that kills about 60,000 people a year worldwide.
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Companion interview
Saving lives with One Medicine Author Matt MorganWhen intensive care consultant Matt Morgan is wrestling with a clinical conundrum, he is quite likely to go looking for answers at the zoo rather than a medical library. In his job at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, he has discovered that many challenges in human emergency medicine were solved millions of years ago by members of the animal kingdom. His new book One Medicine – how understanding animals can save your life shows how much NHS staff can learn from studying comparative physiology, anatomy and behaviour.
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Companion interview
Carl Gorman Author Carl GormanThis month, Carl Gorman steps up to the plate as the new BSAVA President for the coming year. Carl talked to John Bonner about his early career, his many and varied interests and the goal he has set himself for his presidential year.
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Companion interview
Neale Roach Author Neale RoachNeale Roach is one of the BSAVA’s unsung heroes toiling behind the scenes to keep the Association on the road. After more than 25 years of active duty in the service of the North West region, he has decided to stand down. He told John Bonner about some of the highlights…
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Companion interview
Claire Vinten BSAVA Head of Education Author Claire VintenBSAVA members can be pleased with the way their organization dealt with the challenge of continuing to provide high quality CPD during the COVID-19 crisis. But in a rapidly evolving educational landscape, there is no room for complacency; the Association is working hard to ensure that the training it offers will suit the changing needs of its audience. Dr Claire Vinten, new Head of Education at Woodrow House, told John Bonner what the BSAVA will be doing to stay top of the class.
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Companion interview
Nicola Lakeman Author Nicola LakemanNicola Lakeman is Nutrition Manager with IVC Evidensia and provides advice and support on companion animal nutrition for both pet owners and veterinary practices. She firmly believes that offering guidance to clients on nutritional matters is an essential task for all members of the veterinary team – and one that is carried out with varying degrees of competence. Better known to many colleagues by her former name Nicola Ackerman, she is a highly qualified veterinary nurse and a popular speaker at veterinary conferences on the challenges facing the VN profession.
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Companion interview
Robyn Lowe Author Robyn LoweRobyn Lowe is one of those rare individuals that appears to have almost inexhaustible reserves of energy. As well as working in a busy small animal practice, she is a tireless campaigner to improve the mental health of all members of the veterinary team, she treads the streets of Manchester providing outreach care for pets owned by homeless or vulnerable individuals, and she hammers away at a computer keyboard correcting the misinformation about veterinary treatment that is generated and spread via social media platforms. And at weekends she likes nothing more than to go hiking across the UK countryside in the company of like-minded colleagues.
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Companion interview
Jill Macdonald Author Jill MacdonaldMany pet owners are not very clear about what veterinary nurses do in looking after their patients. But perhaps the next generation will have a better idea of the importance of the RVN’s role. Jill Macdonald who is the RCVS/BVNA VN Futures project lead for the RCVS, told John Bonner about an initiative aimed at educating schoolchildren on what it is like to work in small animal practice.
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Companion interview
Mark Lowrie Author Mark LowrieMark Lowrie was born in Liverpool and grew up in the Cheshire village of Frodsham. He attended the local High School where he remembers playing the title character in the school production of ‘Oliver’. That was a one-off event, he recalls, noting that the role had been played a few years earlier, with presumably far more success by a certain Daniel Craig. Realizing that even at local level, competition for a career on stage would be tough, he took his mother’s advice and opted for one in veterinary medicine. A good choice by the man who was named PetPlan Vet of the Year 2022.
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BSAVA student congress report
Sophie Oliver Author Sophie OliverStudent members of the BSAVA held a successful virtual congress in June providing online lectures for colleagues at each of the UK vet schools. It was the brainchild of fourth year Nottingham student Sophie Oliver who told John Bonner how the programme also found an audience among fellow vet students across the globe.
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Companion interview
Chris Laurence Author Chris LaurenceChris Laurence is a member of that select band of people who have been made honorary life members of the BSAVA. He is known to the profession as the former chief vet of two of the main animal welfare charities. But he is also noted for his contributions to various other charitable bodies, within the ranks of the British Army as a distinguished and long serving officer in the Signals Corps, and for the residents of Tytherton, Wiltshire, as the main driving force behind the campaign to build a new village hall. John Bonner wondered where he gets the energy.
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Companion interview
Heather Bacon Author Heather BaconHeather Bacon is the veterinary educationalist charged with developing the curriculum for the new vet degree course to be offered by the University of Central Lancashire. She is determined that the school will provide opportunities for students who, like her, are members of the first generation in their family to benefit from a university education. John Bonner finds out more.
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Companion interview
Claire Bessant Author Claire Bessant‘Care killed the cat’ is the original formulation of that familiar expression about the dangers of what can happen to our feline friends if they give free rein to their natural inquisitiveness. In this case, the word ‘care’ actually meant ‘worry’ rather than ‘tenderness’ but the staff and supporters of the charity International Cat Care would strongly disagree with either interpretation of the phrase. John Bonner reports on the people devoting care, consideration and more than a little curiosity to improving the lives of cats across the globe.
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Companion interview
Alison Speakman Author Alison SpeakmanThe new BSAVA President is Alison Speakman. Alison was born in Wigan, the daughter of an engineering lecturer and a teacher, so it is no surprise that education has been a lifelong passion. As President, she hopes to guide the Association’s CPD activities – and help teach its members to embrace and nurture their own wellbeing.
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