The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has begun the hunt for this year’s BVA Young Vet of the Year Award to find an early career vet who has already made a difference and positive contribution to the veterinary profession.
The BVA Young Vet award, which is supported by Zoetis, recognises and celebrates vets in the early stages of their career for many reasons: they may have provided outstanding and consistent care for their patients, shown great support for their clients and colleagues or perhaps given back to their community or gone above and beyond the normal call of duty.
The award also looks for vets who have championed causes in the sector, where their commitment has shown a significant impact and where they have inspired others in the veterinary community.
BVA President Justine Shotton said: “The last few years have been challenging. Not only have vets had to cope with workforce issues related to Brexit and COVID-19, but there has been a huge increase in demand for services following the unprecedented boom in pet ownership in the last few years.
“But veterinary professionals across the UK, including young vets, have stepped up and met these challenges head on and we applaud them all. We are excited to announce that now is the time to celebrate the contributions of those vets in the early stages of their careers.
“We know there are going to be so many inspiring entries [to the BVA Young Vet Award] this year, highlighting the hard work of those who have shown exceptional dedication through a very difficult time and we are already anticipating finding it difficult to choose an overall winner.”
Sarah Heming, director of public affairs and communications at Zoetis added: “At Zoetis we aim to create a habit of recognition and we know how important it is to recognize a variety of achievements and successes both at a team and individual level.
“Creating and launching these Young Vet awards with BVA we see as such a positive step to calling out inspiring young veterinary professionals working hard to make a difference. We do this to help motivate, reward and recognize these valuable contributions made by so many young professionals and we feel proud to be able to do this. “
This prestigious BVA Young Vet award is the only one of its kind in terms of cross-community reach and is open to all those who are registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and in the first eight years of their careers. Applications can be from those working within any veterinary sphere, including clinical practice, research, education or veterinary politics.
The winner of the BVA Young Vet award will be announced in November at the London Vet Show BVA Gala Dinner and will receive a prize package which includes £1,000 prize money, a year of free BVA membership, a mentoring/engagement opportunity with Zoetis and career development opportunities such as becoming a BVA ambassador.
The BVA Young Vet of the Year Award is open to self-entry and nominations. The deadline for entries is Monday 29 August 2022. To find out more or submit an entry, visit the award page on the BVA website.