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Ireland
13, The Courtyard, VICAS Chairperson: WSAVA Representative __________________________________ REPORT FROM VICAS IRELAND Submitted by Nicola Neumann for the WSAVA Assembly Meeting Oct 2011 1. Continuing Education Continuing Education provided by VICAS 2. Joint VICAS BSAVA Northern Ireland bid to host the FECAVA Congress in 2013 successful 3. Pet Insurance 4. Tick and Tapeworm Control in the EU Pet Travel Derogation 5. Antibiotic Free Neuter Month 6. Support for Annual Spay Week 7. Marketing the Profession ____________________________________ VETERINARY IRELAND COMPANION ANIMAL SOCIETY (VICAS) ANNUAL REPORT: AUGUST 2008 - JUNE 2009 (posted June 2009) The Veterinary Ireland Companion Animal Society (VICAS) is the Interest group within the national organisation, Veterinary Ireland, that represents those veterinary practitioners who undertake any form of companion animal work, whether that be in small animal practice, education, research, industry or, especially so in recent years, for the increasing number of food animal veterinary practitioners who are branching into companion animal practice in Ireland, either wholly or in “mixed practice”. 33rd ANNUAL WSAVA CONGRESS and 14th FECAVA CONGRESS, The Congress was attended by 2308 people from 81 countries around the world, with 1286 registrants from Europe, not including the 451 registrants from Ireland. The exhibition area worked well, being in a central area off all the lecture halls. Exhibitors attending a WSAVA meeting for feedback were hard pressed to come up with any negative comments. The success of the Exhibition could largely be attributed to the efficiency of the Professional Conference Organiser’s trade exhibition manager, with 35% of the turnover coming from exhibitor stands. Our scientific programme aimed to cater for all types of companion animal vets, with practical updates for those just coming into companion animal practice, to those already experienced in the field but who seek out to constantly develop their skills.The lectures were delivered at basic, specialist and advanced levels. Speakers had to present a minimum of three lectures and be prepared to speak at any level. The Scientific Programme was attended by about 1,800 delegates and feedback comments were favourable. The programme utilised 70 speakers from the following countries of origin:
Five speakers from UK and USA were Irish expatriates and were invited because of their Irish origin as well as their expertise: this was considered important for a Congress based in Ireland. Five speakers changed their country of domicile after they were asked to speak some years before the Congress. The Committee spent significant time trying to select suitable speakers from Asia but did not identify a suitable speaker to support the programme. Speakers for the NAVC stream were selected from those speakers already invited. There was a well attended half day specialist session on ophthalmic surgery (D. Wilkie). The final session of the dermatology programme was a ‘round table’ session involving all dermatology speakers. This was an excellent format with good questions being asked and valuable answers given. The FECAVA symposium on suicide in the veterinary profession was well supported and focussed on a real concern for the profession. There were only three State of the Art Lectures (SOTALs): C. Mooney (endocrinology); L. Trepanier (pharmacology) and J. Penderis (neurology). The SOTALs were confirmed with the WSAVA Scientific Advice Committee. One stream (surgery) was translated from English to French. The Committee prepared English to Chinese translations for 8 selected lectures, but the Chinese delegates (though their attendance at the Congress was supported by a prime sponsor) did not attend. In addition, in this age where we also strive to improve client service and working practices, the management stream aimed to assist companion animal vets with up-to-date business principals, while our veterinary nursing stream catered for those whom we should consider to be one of the biggest assets to small animal practice. Our social programme, in line with Irish tradition, aimed to be as informal as possible, and included Irish music and dancing, a display of Irish dog breeds, pony trials, a whisky distillery, a Gala Dinner in University College Dublin and a Ceile (a family night of traditional music) at the historic Trinity College Dublin. About 1700 people attended the Opening Ceremony, with 508 attending the Gala Dinner and 1174 people enjoying the Ceili. The overall Congress generated an income of € 2,120,555 ( US 3,148,812) with a profit of € 76,275 ( US103863) recorded in January 2009. By the time the final payment came through from the Hills balance owed from the WSAVA Account in May 2009, the final profit was E71,574 ( US96,252).It is anticipated that the bulk of the profits will be used to fund further research on Suicide in the veterinary profession /Life Balance issues. Primary Income streams were registration fees, the trade exhibition and sponsorship. Registration fees amounted to just over 34% of the income as did the revenues generated by the trade exhibition. Sponsorship income came to € 441,649, about 20% of the congress budget. The Prime Partner sponsor was Hills. Hills entered a three year agreement with WSAVA, the final details of which is information which can be accessed from the WSAVA Executive. The other Partner Sponsors were Fort Dodge, Nestle Purina, Pfizer, Novartis and Bayer. A detailed report was submitted to the WSAVA Executive and copies are available to WSAVA Assembly representatives, if required, from Neumann@eircom.net. Overall, we were delighted to welcome so many colleagues to Dublin last August, and we hoped that you enjoyed the congress and coming to visit Ireland, as much as we did in hosting you. CONTINUING VETERINARY EDUCATION From 1st January 2012 it will become mandatory to have completed at least 20 accredited hours of Continuing Veterinary Education (CVE) in order to be registered by the Veterinary Council of Ireland and to be able to practise veterinary medicine in Ireland. All vets in Ireland are looking at attaining the required CVE Credits before 31st July 2011 in order to be able to make the registration requirements in 2012. VICAS WINTER CONFERENCE 2009 CVE IN THE YEAR AHEAD PET PASSPORTS AND EU DEROGATION This derogation is now due to expire in 2010, and VICAS, concerned at the potential for the entry into Ireland of such significant diseases as Rabies and Echinococcus Multilocularis (EM), is supporting the Irish Government in its bid to maintain this derogation on into the future. To this end, we have been active in lobbying at a European level through our associations with the Federation of Veterinarians of European (FVE) and the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (FECAVA). The support of our European Colleagues in this regard would be much appreciated.
VICAS’ “10 Commandments” of responsible Pet Ownership document has been made available under copyright to FECAVA members throughout Europe, and work is ongoing to provide a presentation in Geneva of detailed studies on the increasing incidence of Europe-wide MRSA/MRSP in veterinary practice, under the auspices of the Hygiene Working Group. Work on stress in the veterinary profession at European level continues. VICAS volunteers were once again at the Royal Dublin Society Showgrounds in October 2008, where they staffed the “Ask the Vet” stand at the national Pet Expo. The stand again proved to be one of the most popular attractions at the event, with hundreds of people stopping by to seek help and advice on a wide range of companion animal topics. VICAS consider this type of interaction as very positive for the public perception of the profession, and it is always hoped that the positive image shown at such events is reflected in increased public-veterinary interaction across the country, to the betterment of the animals under our care and to general public health and awareness.
There are five providers of courses for Veterinary Nurses in Ireland, with University College of Dublin having announced a full time four-year Bachelor of Science Degree in Veterinary Nursing to replace their two year Diploma course. The new BSc course will begin in September 2009. In addition, St John’s Central College in Cork, and the Institutes of Technology in Athlone, Dundalk and Letterkenny are also providing courses for Veterinary Nurses. VICAS are actively represented on the UCD Veterinary Nurses Stakeholder Committee and are also working closely with the other course providers in order to bring our members’ concerns and aspirations for Veterinary Nursing to the attention of the course organisers.
Ireland has for a long time had a serious stray dog problem, and the concept of Spayweek is to encourage responsible pet ownership, including a Dogs Trust means-tested subsidised neutering scheme, which has been place since 2006.
Looking forward to catching up with you all in Switzerland. Ciara Feeney will see you in San Paulo and represent VICAS. |
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Veterinary Ireland Companion Animal Society (VICAS)