BSAVA appoints two new roles for Continuing Education (CE) team

5 December 2022

The BSAVA has appointed two new members of the Continuing Education (CE) team in the roles of Head of Education and Academic Manager.

Like much of the rest of the veterinary professions, the BSAVA have found the recruitment environment challenging recently, forcing creative thinking, and reviewing the requirements of the senior leadership of the education offering. This led to the creation of two part time positions, widening the pool of candidates to those who may have relevant skills and experience for senior roles but are not able to work full time.

BSAVA’s new Head of Education, Dr Claire Vinten, started her career as a small animal vet, and then returned to Nottingham University to complete a PhD in Veterinary Education, researching the development of clinical reasoning in students and young vets. She then went on to spend a year at Surrey Vet School, developing the new non-clinical skills curriculum, moving on to become a Lecturer in Veterinary Education at the Royal Veterinary College. Claire has worked on a diverse range of programmes including the MSc Veterinary Education, BSc Veterinary Medicine, and Postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Veterinary Practice.

Speaking about the role, Claire said: “I am very excited to be joining the BSAVA, which already has a brilliant portfolio of postgraduate programmes and CPD opportunities for members and non-members alike. The field of professional education is changing rapidly, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic; my job now is to ensure we continue to develop and deliver innovative, high-quality educational offerings for the veterinary community.”

Another new role to BSAVA is the Academic Manager, this position focuses on quality, continuous improvement, and student experience of the Postgraduate Certificates that the BSAVA offers in a range of subjects such as ECC and Ophthalmology. The new Academic Manager, Dr Laura Haddock, qualified as a vet from Bristol University in 2006. She went on to work in general practice for six years, and after studying for a PGCE in 2012/13, spent the following 10 years working within education. Prior to this role, Laura spent two years working in a fast-paced clinical management role within the NHS Covid response, leading a team who provided public health guidance and support.

Laura said: “BSAVA have always been on my unwritten list of organisations that I admire, and I was thrilled when I was offered the chance to work for them. I have felt welcomed and appreciated from the minute I arrived, and the team are exceptional both in their dedication and achievements.”

“BSAVA endeavours for excellence in everything they offer, including the well-respected Post Graduate Certificates that my team manage. I look forward to leading the ongoing development of these, striving for an innovative and evidence-led approach to Post Graduate education for our incredible profession.”

Amanda Stranack, Chief Executive Officer at BSAVA said: “We were delighted with the number of excellent candidates these roles attracted and even more to have Claire and Laura join our team. For BSAVA this has demonstrated that with a bit of creative thinking and flexible approach to the skills we want to attract we can do things differently and have a very positive outcome.”

To find out more about BSAVA’s Education offering, visit the website: https://www.bsava.com/education/.