The BSAVA has announced the winners of the 2024 clinical abstracts, which were presented at BSAVA Congress 2024 at Manchester Central.
Each year, submissions are open for clinical abstracts, which are short research presentations based on high-quality clinical research undertaken in practice, industry and academia. Accepted abstracts are either selected for poster or oral presentation.
These presentations allow the researchers to showcase their research to a wide audience, and delegates can also benefit from seeing the latest advances in veterinary medicine.
Best Medicine Award – George Smith BSc BVetMed PGDipVCP MRCVS
“Predictors of clinically significant bleeding in dogs with severe thrombocytopenia”
George earned a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Imperial College London before graduating from the Royal Veterinary College in 2016. He spent two years in first-opinion practice and then completed a rotating internship back at the Royal Veterinary College. Following a year working as an emergency and out-of-hours clinician in Australia, he began an internal medicine residency at the University of Glasgow in 2020.
“Winning the Best Medicine Award at BSAVA Congress 2024 is a tremendous honour. It validates my dedication to veterinary research and clinical excellence. This recognition not only motivates me to continue striving for advancements in veterinary medicine but also provides invaluable support for my ongoing professional development.”
Best Student Award – Michelle Demkova
“Lifting the flap on otitis externa in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK – the VetCompass view”
Michelle is a final-year vet student at the Royal Veterinary College. Speaking about her award win, she said: “I am absolutely ecstatic! It means being recognised as worthy by a panel of impartial judges who are willing to invest in my future and help me reach my potential. It has given me all the confidence I need to keep working with excellence towards my goals.”
Best Practitioner Award – Kathryn Patel
“Reflecting on first opinion clinical improvement project across 39 UK vet practices to support diagnosis and management of OA”
Kathryn qualified from RVC in 2012 and has completed certificates in small animal surgery (gaining advanced practitioner status) and veterinary business management. She has worked mostly in small animal practice and is passionate about quality improvement and patient welfare. Her clinical interests are joint disease and surgical oncology.
“Winning the BSAVA practitioner award is a real honour. I am passionate that such projects delivered in a way that is practical for real general practitioners to apply within the confines of their busy schedules make wide-scale impact possible, and I am delighted BSAVA have recognised this. I hope it will inspire other vets to look at where small changes could create a real improvement for their patients and consider setting up something similar in their workplaces.”
Best Surgery Award – Sebastian Wylie BVetMed PGDipVCP MRCVS
“Complications and outcomes following surgical management of Achilles Tendon injury”
Sebastian graduated from RVC in 2017 and after working in small animal practice for a few years, he decided to pursue an interest in surgery. He undertook a rotating internship at Langford Small Animal Hospital in 2021 and then completed a surgical internship in 2023 at The Ralph Veterinary Referral Hospital. Currently, he works at the University of Bristol as a Veterinary Clinical Demonstrator, a rewarding position teaching veterinary students.
“This award means a great deal as I have been working on this paper for a long time with lots of help and collaboration from different referral centres. It’s fulfilling to see the hard work paying off and the research appreciated by the wider veterinary community.”
Best Poster Award – Clare Jones RVN ISFMCertFN CertAVN
“Confidence with CPR within veterinary professionals. Would standardised CPR training help confidence within veterinary professionals?”
“My goal was to present a clinical abstract at BSAVA Congress to try and share our findings with peers in a creative way. To receive the Best Poster Award was a shock and a huge honour to be recognised for not only the research but RVN’s undertaking research.”
Have you got any new and novel findings that your fellow vets should know about? Submissions for the 2025 Clinical Abstracts will open on 9th September 2024 and will close on 18th October, and those chosen will present their work at BSAVA Congress 2025 in Manchester on 20th – 22nd March.
Further information will be available in the coming weeks, register your interest on the BSAVA Congress website now.
