The impact of CPD on our professional community

Welcome to all of the new readers seeing this issue at the BVNA Congress. We congratulate you on taking the time to continue your education and professional development. By joining your colleagues in this worthwhile event, you are making certain that the latest nursing, medical, and scientific advancements will benefit your workplaces, colleagues, clients, students, and patients. Your dedication will bring enthusiasm for the profession back to your local communities. The increased public awareness that results from your positive promotion of our expertise will foster respect and appreciation for the achievements of veterinary nursing and will encourage more people to join the field. It is you who are doing more than anyone else today to ensure that our profession continues to thrive, and you, who are making sure that the veterinary nursing profession has a bright future indeed.

I frequently like to remind my students that they are at the top of their game when they are studying toward their qualification. What they lack in experience, they make up for in currency so after graduation they need to work hard to stay up to date with progress in our field. In the decades since veterinary nursing first took hold as its own profession, we have advanced by leaps and bounds and now it is not uncommon to see the same type of care plans for animals as one would see for humans. We can truly be proud of the research that has gone into advancing veterinary nursing practice but more importantly, we should be delighted that we have been able to implement these advancements throughout our profession. From the largest teaching hospitals, to the smallest remote practices around the world, we are able to share new knowledge quickly and thoroughly. The reason for this success is simple; it is our dedication to continuing education.