The veterinary profession is facing changes and challenges that require all stakeholders to unite to build healthy vet practices and profession.
Veterinarians work long hours, often struggle with mental health, and need to continuously learn to stay up to date and helpful.
The Royal Canin 2022 Vet Symposium was an opportunity to gather together and create synergies to respond to these pressing concerns.
On 20 to 21 September, a range of international experts, along with some of Royal Canin’s voices, shared their knowledge and the latest trends in fields such as practice management, pet nutrition, dermatology and feline cardiology.
Today, visiting the website means getting another chance to join the conversation and take part in this community of passionate advocates, learn about retaining exceptional talent, increasing resilience in vet professionals, taking care of a veterinary career and the latest trends in consultation journeys for puppies and kittens in dermatology, nutrition and cardiology.
Cécile Coutens, global Royal Canin president, said that “this forum is an open forum. It is made for conversation, sharing, and learning. It is about uniting around the topics that matter to us. […] We not only care about the health of our pets but also of the vet profession which is the first line of care.
“My brother is a vet; however, I don’t think that in his childhood dreams he imagined what it meant to be a vet. The long days, the first loss of a patient, the serious conversation it involves with the pet parent, and the continuous learning needed to stay at the top of his profession.
“This is a very stressful environment, so it is a part of the conversation we want to have. The suicide rate in the vet profession is 3.5 times higher than the general population. What is important is how do we support the wellbeing of vets.”
Coutens added: “At Royal Canin, we believe that we can make a better world for pets through nutrition, we want to partner with professionals and make it healthy.
“This cannot happen without a healthy planet, and therefore we committed as a brand to become carbon neutral by the end of 2025. We are aiming for a healthier world for vets, pets, and the planet.”
From now until March 2023, the entire Royal Canin 2022 Vet Symposium programme is available for free online.
The dedicated website includes:
- The Replay: eight-panel discussions with leading international experts in pet health and veterinary management on uniting to nurture a healthy ecosystem, covering topics that range from clinical cases and practice management to talks about mental health and well-being in the field
- Vet Lab: lectures on eight clinical cases from many boarded specialists. Clinical cases address “Five Ways to Improve your Practice of Canine Atopic Dermatitis”, “The Elimination Diet: Details Matter”, “Managing the Intestinal Barrier in Chronic Enteritis”, “Feline Preclinical Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy”, “Feline Clinical Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy”, “Feline Adverse Food Reaction”, “A Tailored Approach for the FIC Cat: Diagnostics, Drugs and Diet” and “Renal Health in Cats: Source and Dose of Dietary Phosphorus Matter”
- Clinic Lounge: three masterclasses on wellness as preventative care for pets, owners, and clinics alike, with topics such as building a feline-friendly clinic and protocol implementation in clinics to maximize efficiency and wellbeing, by renowned institutions such as Banfield Pet Hospital USA and the UK veterinary group Linnaeus
- Innovation Hub: a space to wander and learn about the latest innovations, powered by Royal Canin, Ceva, MSD and Veterinary Focus
