Our next guest is the Senior Vice-President of FECAVA, Dr. Wolfgang Dohne! We talk about some very entertaining FECAVA banquets and their unusual special award 'The Athenian Helmet'.

We also talk about Wolfgang's love of endurance sports - particularly cross-country skiing - and his adventures travelling across Europe!

'Wolfgang studied veterinary medicine in both Hannover and in Oslo and after a short spell in mixed practice in his native Germany, he moved to the UK where he worked for six years at a small animal clinic in Surrey before establishing the Virginia Water Veterinary Clinic near London in 1999 where he still remains as Clinical Director. After joining BSAVA’s International Affairs committee he became the UK FECAVA Director in 2009 and was elected a Board member in 2011. In 2017 be became the FECAVA President. Wolfgang is a general companion animal practitioner with a keen interest especially in feline medicine, soft tissue surgery and oncology.'

This week we sit down with Jo Hinde – an incredibly inspiring lady! 

Jo tells us about her passion for rabbit care and how LagoLearn Ltd came to be such an important educational resource for anyone working within the veterinary industry. We also discuss her life outside of work, including the Goodwood Festival of Speed and times when she has badgered parliament (Pun intended 😉). She also shares her experiences with sepsis and how important it is to raise awareness of this life-threatening infection. 

'Jo has worked in the veterinary industry since 2007 and has always had a special interest in rabbits. She owns and runs LagoLearn Ltd, providing rabbit specific CPD to veterinary professionals in both the UK and internationally. She also spends a significant amount of voluntary time working with charities and parliamentary groups to highlight animal welfare and is proud to be Senior Vice President of the BVNA (British Veterinary Nurse Association.) Jo attends many events, gives lectures and writes articles for the veterinary industry as well as the general public and schools. She has received several awards over the years including the Blue Cross Veterinary Nurse of the Year in 2014, an RCVS Innovation Award winner in 2017 and the IFAW Animal Advocate Award in 2017.'

This week we're chatting to Dr Alasdair Hotston Moore about his experiences of working and living in China 🌏✈🇨🇳 

How are Chinese clients different to work with? Was he able to pick up any of the language? Did traditional Chinese medicine impact his work? We answer these questions and discuss much more in this episode! 

'Alasdair qualified from Cambridge in 1990 and has focused on small animal surgery through his career. He has post-graduate qualifications in veterinary radiology, small animal cardiology, small animal surgery and medical education. He received his Fellowship for Contributions to Clinical Practice in 2017 and is an Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery. Alasdair has numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals as well as in continuing education publications.'

Our first interview with a Brit abroad! Our good friend Professor/Dr. Stephen Divers is a British vet living abroad in the United States of America. We discuss the difference between the two cultures and what that means for Steve's working life, Britishisms and how he translates these to his American students and his coral reef fish tank.

Steve is also an endoscopic wizard, and shares his best practices and techniques and how he teaches these to his students.

(Apologies in advance, we had technical difficulties during this episode and the audio quality is not quite up to our usual standard. We're doing all we can to improve our quality with each episode but unfortunately, tech can sometimes get the best of us!)

Jane Davidson is an experienced vet nurse, writer, blogger and educator who has been supporting vets, nurses and students through her blog #PlanetRVN.  She was nominated for UK Blogger for the Year in 2019, a finalist for Pet Blogger of the year in 2018, among many other achievements. If there's one person who proves that there are many routes to success, it's Jane! 

She talks to us about her journey from NVQ to PhD, her best teaching (and learning) techniques and introduces us to her cat Edward.

Jane has been doing some seriously awesome work and has helped many people across the world - check out more of her work on YouTube by searching Jane RVN or Planet RVN!

Most of you will be familiar with the wonderful feline expert and prolific worldwide lecturer Dr. Margie Scherk! 

We were honoured to interview her this week, where we spoke about feline behaviour, handling skills and feeding techniques (including puzzle boxes!).She also spoke to us about the causes and world problems that she is most passionate about - and how she strives to reduce, reuse and repair rather than waste & buy new.

For those of you who know Margie, you'll know that she's a globetrotting superstar in the veterinary world. She is a Canadian private practitioner who founded the first-ever cats only Veterinary Clinic in Vancouver, has authored several papers and textbooks, served on the Board of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and was 2007 President of the organization amongst many other achievements. She's got so many important things to say, so if you get the chance to hear her speak - make sure you take it!

This week we're chatting to renowned animal behaviourist Sif Traustadóttir, a.k.a. Sif the Vet! 

We talk about her Icelandic heritage, including some of the unusual traditional food and how that compares to her new home (and cuisine) in Italy! We also touch on her travels across Europe with a campervan (and canine co-pilot), and her work as a Dog behaviourist -  and explore why dogs bark in this week's 60-second CPD.

Sif initially studied in Biology at the University of Iceland and then went on to graduate from Veterinary School in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2003. A lifelong student, Sif then finished her degree in Small Animal Behaviour Counselling from the University of Southampton, UK.

This week we sat down with the extremely talented and ambitious Helen Ballantyne! Helen is qualified in Pharmacology, Veterinary Nursing and Human Medicine and currently is the Transplant Co-ordinator for the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

We discuss the differences between human and veterinary nursing (as well as the similarities in mammal physiology). Helen also tells us about the nuanced complications that go into arranging and carrying out a delicate organ transplant - such as time vs. location, matching donor to recipient, and more. She was also the first of our guests brave enough to take on the 60-second CPD challenge!

While Helen's current role is working with humans, she also trains vets through her wonderful work with the British Vet Nurse Association (BVNA)! Is there anything she can't do? Geography perhaps...

If you'd like to see more of Helen's work, check out her latest lecture by following this link and registering:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/recording/2328579120963967496

This week we were lucky enough to sit down with Alison Lambert BVSc CMRS MRCVS, She is the founder of Onswitch and an Honorary Associate Professor at University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. She was even given the AVA’s Veterinary Business Thought Leader award in 2019!

We had a great conversation about her career path and the eventual founding of Onswitch. We also discuss differences between vet practices based in Australia and practices in the UK, plus, her thoughts on how veterinary training can be improved for future generations of students!

Georgie Hollis returns to Veterinary Ramblings this week to host an episode whilst Mike is on holiday! 

We discuss Greek myth and history, as well as the uses and dangers of mushroom foraging. We also talk about natural sources to dye material that you might be able to find in your garden!

(Please note, this episode was filmed a few weeks back - Mike didn't take a holiday during a national lockdown).

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