This month we are delighted to congratulate our own consultant editor, Perdi Welsh, on achieving the College of Animal Welfare Professional Development Award for Outstanding Service to the Veterinary Nursing Profession. Her efforts are significant and include such achievements as helping to implement the first block-release veterinary nursing course in Northern Ireland; helping to set up the UK's first Veterinary Skills Centre; and, by delivering higher education within the Graduate Diploma in Veterinary Nursing which equips veterinary nurses with the skills and confidence to provide best practice veterinary nursing care.
Perdi is also to be commended for promoting the importance of academic writing skills to her students and has assisted a number to publish and contribute to the growing body of evidence that is driving the profession forward into a new age of professionalism. This act in itself cannot be underestimated as our profession is, at its heart, a developing profession and each contribution is significant in that it adds to the growing body of knowledge that supports evidence-based processes and best practice guidelines of care.
Leaders such as Perdi are critical to the future of veterinary nursing. We must have strong representation and guidance, particularly now with our global community, to ensure we are working together and advancing our profession. Good leaders drive us forward, they inspire us to improve, and they help us to build on the foundations set out by those that came before us. However, leadership is an area that is under-developed in our profession and likewise in all other areas of society. Never before has the world seen such a lack of leadership as we have in the last century. Is it because our global view makes the task of leading seem daunting? Is it because we no longer have strong charismatic mentors? Is it because we aren't nurturing leadership skills at a young age?
Regardless of the reasons, the future of our profession is in our hands now. Our actions will determine whether our profession struggles or whether it establishes a sustainable future for those who follow in our footsteps. Take a moment to imagine how we can improve the future for our profession. For instance, instead of newly qualified nurses being isolated when they go into practice, we can establish a network of mentors, and offer leadership workshops to promote the importance of these skills in our profession and in our own individual careers. We can encourage charismatic leadership from the first day of education through to advanced study. We can present our profession with abundant opportunities for emerging leaders and make it easier to see the rewards of contributing and volunteering.
There are many potential leaders in our profession, the challenge is in how we nurture these individuals in a way that will allow them to progress and develop. Even if you have never thought of yourself as someone who could contribute to the professional community, as a leader, mentor or support person, your voice is important and our future depends on people like you taking a stand as Perdi has done. People like Perdi, myself, and many others, are eager to help, to offer mentorship and to see the future of the profession present itself in your faces. Come forward. Talk to us. We look forward to seeing your name here in the years to come!
We hope you enjoy this issue.