VETPARTNERS has awarded its first prizes for excellence in clinical research.
The awards recognise innovation, creativity and excellence in clinical research, whether carried out by colleagues who are dipping a toe in the water for the first time or an established and experienced researcher.
The awards provided an opportunity for colleagues to share what they are doing with everyone across the VetPartners family of practices.
Winners include Rebecca Dobinson, in the main picture, a vet at from Westway Veterinary Group in Newcastle, whose paper on exotic bloodborne parasites and dogs imported from Africa, followed a volunteering spell in Sierra Leone.
Margot Hunter, pictured right, clinical director at Dunedin Vets in Tranent, East Lothian, jointly won the prize for best first abstract with Andreia Mota, from Gortlands Veterinary Clinic in Belfast.There were four awards for abstracts or papers, as well as two awards for new, early stage projects. Although all of the awards were open to people in any role, one was specifically earmarked for nurses, SQPs and vet techs, to ensure colleagues in different roles were recognised. Any project which had begun since January 1st 2021 was eligible to be included.
The awards were judged by members of the VetPartners Clinical Board support team, along with guest judge Pam Mosedale, from RCVS Knowledge.
The work was judged on relevance to practice, whether primary care or a referral practice; quality of the work and it being accessible to the people who would like to use it.
The winners are:
- Best first abstract (awarded jointly): Margot Hunter from Dunedin Vets for her abstract “Canine ovariohysterectomy – a retrospective study” and Andreia Mota from Gortlands Veterinary Clinic for her abstract “The relationship between specific gravity and refractive index for cats and dogs: an equivalence study” which was presented at WSAVA.
- Best first peer-reviewed paper: Rebecca Dobinson from Westway Veterinary Group for her paper “Exotic bloodborne parasites and dogs imported from Africa” which was published in The Veterinary Record.
- Best abstract by a veterinary nurse/ veterinary technician/ SQP: Phillipa Pritchard, from Liphook Equine Hospital, for her BEVA abstract “Progressing the clinical roles of Equine Veterinary Nurses (EVNs) in practice.”
- Project most likely to promote responsible use of medicines (awarded jointly): Christina Ford from Kingshay for her work “Changes in Dry Cow Therapy in Dairy Herds from 2018-2022 – An Antimicrobial Review” and Lucy Clarke, from Ash Tree Vets, for her project “Prevalence of subclinical bacteriuria in dogs with diabetes mellitus.”
- Most innovative project: Alice Addis, from Three Counties Equine Hospital, for her paper “Zuclopenthixol decanoate toxicity in an 8 month old colt causing extrapyramidal neurological signs” which has been accepted for publication by Equine Veterinary Education.
- Changemaker Award: Tom McGinley, from Liphook Equine Hospital, for his project “Measurement of indicators of stress including salivary cortisol and behavioural markers in horses undergoing routine dentistry, with and without intravenous sedation.”
The winner of each category receives a prize of £50.
For media enquiries, please contact Amanda Little, VetPartners PR and Communications Director at amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk or 07970 198492