We Share - April 2024

Only four months into 2024, and there's already a lot to celebrate, including the launch of our Positive Pawprint Toolkit in France and the next intake for our Ethnic Diversity Scholarship.   

Read on to find out what colleagues in The Netherlands got up to for World Compliments Day, and discover what colleagues in Spain presented at the recent Congress of Veterinary Specialties thanks to the IVC Evidensia Presentation Support Fund.

Don’t forget, you can translate into your local language from each story.

If you have a story you’d like to see in the next We Share global newsletter, email us at communications@ivcevidensia.com.
 

Celebrating France launch of Positive Pawprint toolkit this Earth Day

Since the rollout of the Positive Pawprint toolkit, more than 160 practices within the UK have been working on this scheme along with 45 Positive Pawprint Partners, and 2 Positive Hoofprint Partners. Our clinics in Sweden and Finland have also adopted this scheme, and to celebrate Earth Day on Monday 22 April, we're excited to expand this initiative across France!

We already have our first French Positive Pawprint Partner, La Clinique de la Lys, who tested the toolkit for us – and our colleagues have already made some fantastic progress.

Laurianne Cotte, Registered Veterinary Nurse from La Clinique de la Lys, tells us how they've been working more sustainably: "Our clinic embarked on the Positive Pawprint Toolkit adventure by implementing a number of changes that have made a huge difference. These include reusable equipment, recycling medical plastic, the installation of a green space with butterfly flowers, a bird house and an insect house, and the use of biodegradable litter."

Visit the Group intranet to read more about this exciting activity, and if your clinic would like to join as a Positive Pawprint Partner, email positivepawprint@ivcevidensia.com to register and your clinic will receive a £300 starter fund to help meet the Toolkit criteria to qualify as a Positive Pawprint Partner or find out more by visiting our Sustainability hub.

2024 update: We've awarded 135 Local Community Grants!

Can you believe that this year so far, we've awarded a total of 135 Local Community Grants – with 164 organisations benefitting from this scheme! It's a great start to 2024, and we're delighted that our clinics across the regions have been so involved in helping out in their neighbourhoods.

With causes including animal welfare, human care (e.g. hospices and health research), young people (including schools) as well as environmental, this covers all three pillars of our Positive Pawprint strategy: People, Planet and Patients.

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to get involved with a local cause that's close to their heart – your efforts make a huge difference.

RESEARCH FUND UPDATE: Ground-breaking Schwartz Rounds paper and AUNA staff present 13 papers at the Congress of Veterinary Specialties

Thanks to the Research Fund, we’ve got two successful stories to share: firstly, a huge well done to Practice Director, Holly House Vets, UK, Amy Martin, for authoring her Schwartz Rounds paper, identifying how this simple approach could be of huge help to the mental wellbeing of our clinical teams, which has since been published on the MAG Online Library! Find out more, including how you can apply for support for your research interests from our Research Fund.

Congratulations also to our colleagues from our Auna Especialidades Veterinarias practice in Spain, after they presented 13 papers at the Congress of Veterinary Specialties in Valencia earlier this month thanks to funding from our IVC Evidensia Presentation Support Fund.

We're extremely proud of all the hard work these colleagues have put in to furthering the knowledge of the entire veterinary profession, and are delighted that our Research Fund was able to support you in sharing your findings with the rest of the veterinary industry – well done!

 

​​​​Take a virtual tour of Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital

Since its opening in November 2023, Blaise has made a name for itself for being one of the largest, specialist-led, multi-disciplinary veterinary referral hospitals in the UK. And thanks to technology, we're delighted to take you on a virtual tour of this state-of-the-art hospital. To enjoy this interactive experience, please click on the link that was provided in the We Share email.  

Andrew Kent, Clinical Director and Internal Medicine Specialist, said: "Since opening, we have seen phenomenal growth at Blaise owing to the ever-increasing demand for specialist referral services within the veterinary industry. Having collectively treated over 3,000 patients since opening our doors, we're proud to provide a collaborative, supportive and professional veterinary referral service."

A huge thank you to more than 100 colleagues working hard at Blaise together – your contribution helps to provide exceptional care to patients, clients and referring vets.

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IVC Evidensia Spain colleague contributes to Ettinger's Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine

There's a new celebrity over at IVC Evidensia Spain – our very own Juan Borrego, co-director of Auna Especialidades Veterinarias and American Oncology Specialist, has contributed two chapters to the 9th edition of Ettinger's Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine.

Popularly known as the bible of veterinary internal medicine, this edition also celebrates its 50th anniversary. A big congratulations to Juan on this amazing achievement, and thank you for sharing your knowledge with veterinarians around the world.
 

 

​​​​Supporting the next generation of veterinary professionals with the Ethnic Diversity Scholarship

We're always looking to help people fulfil their dream of becoming qualified vets and nurses, and we're delighted to announce the launch of our Ethnic Diversity Scholarship 2024. With many Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students still vastly under-represented in the veterinary professions, we're helping by offering financial support, mentorship and early networking opportunities to undergraduate students with the aim to increase their numbers.

Since its launch back in 2021, the IVC Evidensia scheme has seen 36 scholars realise their ambitions of attending vet school, while the Ethnic Diversity Nurse scholarship launched by Vets Now, has helped 10 nursing scholars achieve their career goals. Hear from two of our vet student scholars, TJ McIntosh and Megan Doughlin, as they share their experiences.

TJ McIntosh said: "Without this scholarship, I wouldn't have been able to embark onto vet school, and thrive as I have thus far. Not only has it been a hugely vital financial aid but I am being empowered consistently through their IVC Ethnic Diversity Scholarship Board mentoring scheme. Through their 'buddying within vet school' scheme, my leadership qualities and confidence have improved greatly, and the scholarship has also given me the freedom to follow my passions and partake in extracurricular activities, privileges I wouldn't have had before. This was all possible through this scholarship, for which I am extremely thankful."

Megan Doughlin said: "Becoming a veterinary surgeon had always been my passion, but having taken an untraditional route into the course as a mature student, it felt financially impossible to achieve. By being awarded the IVC scholarship, the financial burden to attend university has been significantly reduced and I have been given the opportunity to pursue a passion and career I have always wanted to achieve. Connecting with qualified vets from similar backgrounds who have overcome their own obstacles within the profession has helped inspire and push me to make an influence in the industry myself."
 

IVC Evidensia Netherlands shows colleague appreciation for World Compliments Day 

On 1 March, our team in The Netherlands had a surprise in store for its staff – as it was World Compliments Day, they gave all of their employees an envelope containing 10 compliments. A special day about showing personal appreciation, it was also a fun and unique way to spread some happiness.

With the compliments packaged in an envelope, they were sent out to every IVC Evidensia Netherlands location, with one package per employee. In this package there was a special note to the manager encouraging them to hand out a package with compliments to each employee and 'wrap' the gift up in a personal compliment specific to that employee.

It went down extremely well, with several team members delighted with this act of positivity. Clinical Director at Hart van Brabant, Miyuki Yokoi, said: "Giving your co-workers compliments works great for the team spirit and wellbeing, because giving is more satisfying than receiving! It was a lovely concept, the simple act of a great gesture wrapped in a small card."

Communications Manager for IVC Evidensia Netherlands, Imke Sikkema, explained her reason for coming up with this idea: "Celebrating World Compliments Day was inspired by the recognition of the incredible efforts of our colleagues. We wanted to foster a culture of appreciation and gratitude within our workplace, and it's truly rewarding to see this initiative come to life and positively impact our team dynamics."

A huge thank you to you too Imke for organising this brilliant initiative! 

 

Special mention goes to...Brownlow and Park Issa Farm vets! 

This month saw a team of vets come to the aid of dozens of cattle after the lorry that was carrying them suddenly overturned. The incident, which saw 40 cattle flip over at Gobowen, Shropshire, prompted an urgent call to the veterinary teams and Brownlow and Park Issa Farm vets.

Their swift response, supported by local farmers and the emergency services, resulted in the successful rescue of 33 cattle under hugely challenging conditions.

David Martin, Clinical Director at Brownlow, which is part of IVC Evidensia Farm Vets, and the on-call vet who received the emergency call, praised the actions of everyone involved.

He said: "Responding to emergencies like this is always stressful, but seeing our training in large animal rescue come to life in collaboration with the emergency services and the local farming community was extraordinary.

"Our deepest thanks go to everyone involved, especially our off-duty Brownlow and Park Issa large animal team, for their remarkable dedication and immediate action. They are all absolute heroes."

Lets's hear it for the incredible staff at Brownlow and Park Issa Farm vets! 

UPCOMING: Share your 'Coming Out' story for Pride

We're incredibly proud of all our people here at IVC Eivdensia, which is why we're excited to celebrate Pride month this coming June. It's all part of our People promise, to make IVC Evidensia a great place to work.

To do this, we're asking people to tell us about their 'Coming Out' stories with the hopes of inspiring others. For many LGBTQIA+ individuals, coming out as their true gender or sharing their sexuality comes with some apprehension over how loved ones and others might react, but by sharing these experiences, we hope to help others who may be concerned about coming out themselves.

If you'd like to tell us about your coming out story, you can do so by completing this quick survey by Monday 27 May. You have the option to share as much as you like or you can be completely anonymous, and the stories will be shared across both our internal and external channels throughout June. Keep an eye on our intranet where we'll be sharing more about our upcoming Pride celebrations.