Veterinary Ramblings

This week our guest is Jamil Dowling!

Joining us from Armenia, Jamil talks us through his unique childhood growing up in the jungles of South America, fighting crocodiles and befriending baby animals,  before living on a nature reserve with his mother in Spain. 

A student of life, we discuss his unusual education, from taking his GCSEs and A-levels in an extraordinarily short space of time, to balancing his life as a student with his desire to travel and learn in the field. 

We also discuss the intricacies of testing for TB, the global response to coronavirus in comparison to other deadly diseases and Jamil's love of climbing which led to him being supported by Montane.

Lastly, we ask Jamil what he plans to do after his graduation and he shares a fantastic 60-second CPD with us that is all about trusting your gut and following your instincts. 

Laura is a Companion Animal Veterinary Surgeon who is taking a sabbatical for 6 months to ride around the world with her husband on a tandem bicycle in an attempt to break the Guinness World record, covering 18,000miles in 180days. On their way, they are raising money for VetLife, Mind and Sustrans! You can follow them online from their website at stelatandem.com.

We ask why she wants to attempt such a huge challenge and find out how she has trained and prepared for her journey to circumnavigate the world! We also discuss other cyclists who have broken records and the difficulty of attempting this challenge without a team to support you on your way.  

Laura loves type-two fun, and we were thrilled to learn about the four different (albeit confusing) types of fun you can have.

Lastly, we appreciate the parallels between a career in veterinary medicine and long-distance cycling and Laura shares her fantastic  60-second CPD: Tips For Ultra-Endurance Athletes and Veterinary Professionals.  

This week Veterinary Ramblings is joined by Dr Sean Wensley, author of Through A Vet's Eyes: How we can all choose a better life for animals!

Sean Wensley is a Senior Vet at the UK veterinary charity, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA). He chairs the Animal Welfare Working Group of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe and was President of the British Veterinary Association from 2015 – 2016. He has contributed to animal welfare and conservation projects around the world and is a Director of Vet Sustain. 

In 2017 Sean received the inaugural World Veterinary Association (WVA) Global Animal Welfare Award for Europe. His first book Through a Vet’s Eyes: How We Can All Choose a Better Life for Animals was published on 28th April 2022.

In this episode, Sean reflects on his time as BVA president and the experiences he had from a young age that inspired him to ask difficult questions about ethics and animal welfare.

We discuss Sean's writing style and inspiration for writing his book. We also explore different options for higher animal welfare standards whilst balancing the need for food production. 

Sean delivers a fantastic 60-second CPD about a pre-purchase consultation and the best way to approach people who want to get a potentially problematic pet. We also ask a reflection question for our audience to consider, enhancing their CPD outside of the show.

Matt Rendle (RVN) is back on Veterinary Ramblings!

We discuss his ongoing projects with Wildlife Vets International & WAPCA (West African Primate Conservation Action) in Ghana, working with Mangabeys with a view to putting them back in the wild whilst also helping with a challenge facing sea turtles.

Matt tells us about preventing Malaria and the best way to make sure you stay rested when working abroad. He also shares how a special teacher and supportive family helped him through a difficult time and set him on the path of veterinary nursing.

What exactly is a mangabey? Find out in Matt's 60-Second CPD and have a giggle at some of the antics they get up to.

Head Nurse at Tari Vets and a Conservation Veterinary Nurse at Wildlife Vets International, Matt has a phenomenal amount of experience with many species across the world.

Matt regularly lectures to veterinary nursing and veterinary surgeon undergraduates at the RVC, as well as many other organisations in the UK and abroad.

He’s also the chair and co-founder of the Association of Zoo and Exotic Veterinary Nurses (AZEVN), completed a three-year term on the British Veterinary Nursing Association Council and been featured in many publications. 

Dr Mark Hedberg is known as The Expat Vet and has spent a lot of his working life travelling from country to country. In this episode,  we discuss Mark's time in Saudi Arabia,  where he worked with a host of unusual animals including a crocodile who never forgot him - but has inadvertently got him a free drink!

As someone who is fluent in both English and Hungarian, we are treated to a rendition of Puff The Magic Dragon in Hungarian and discuss the complexities of the Hungarian language.  We also learn about Mark's time in many roles, including at The College of Animal Welfare, where he had the ironic job title of the 'short' course manager and a viral claim to fame. 

Lastly, we discuss different techniques for getting people's attention during early morning lectures and Mark delivers a fantastic 60-Second CPD with advice for getting a sales job outside of clinical practice.

This week, we're interviewing our very own Dr Julian Hoad!

Julian began his life, as most Hoads do, in Kent. As a child, he was an army brat and lived in many different places (although mostly in and around London). Like most vets, he knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a vet.

He eventually arrived at Plymouth Polytechnic where he studied Biological Sciences, Microbiology and Biochemistry. His career took a sudden turn when he found out that he was unable to apply for vet school, and instead turned his sights to a career in Virology after accepting a job at an HIV research lab. 

Later on, he re-applied to become a vet at the Royal Veterinary College and talks a bit about how he managed to fund the degree through various grants and kind donations.

Julian is also an accomplished actor and has had a great deal of experience on stage. In his teenage years, Julian was offered a potentially career-making role in a film - but turned down the opportunity to continue his A-Levels so that he could become a vet. He still takes part regularly in theatre productions, despite it being a surprisingly dangerous hobby!

This week we have a very special episode exploring the life of our co-host Mike Brampton! (We've spent so much time interviewing others that we thought it was about time you got to know our hosts on the same level - tune in next week for Julian's episode!)

Mike had planned to be a few different things before finally landing where he is today: A fighter pilot, a brewer, a rugby player, a competitive cyclist, and a downhill ski racer just to name a few with successes in some fields and rejections in others, Mike went on to study applied biology at the University of Sheffield. 

Mike's keen interest in sports and healthcare led him toward the medical field, where he worked on ambulances and as clinical support with Olympic sports teams (such as the British swimming and cycling teams) before making ventures into the veterinary world. He was the first person to introduce pulse oximetry to veterinary medicine, and his continued passion for accurate and precise anaesthetic monitoring led him to form his own company Thames Medical in 1993. Now known as one of the premier monitoring companies in the Veterinary World, Mike has used the company to revisit some of his older passions, including a sponsored cross-country cycle named "Tour-de-vet", which raised over £35,000 for various veterinary charities.

This week we're chatting to Chris Wilson!

Originally from Aberdeen, Chris graduated from Glasgow Uni in 2012. We discuss how he nearly didn't go to vet school and considered a career in competitive swimming instead!  

Chris shares the difficulties he's faced with imposter syndrome, particularly when it came to his sexuality,  and some of the microaggressions he has faced at work. As a mentor for recent graduates, he shares some fantastic advice for combating imposter syndrome and practicing gratitude.  

We also talk about his time working in India and the local community's unexpected response to their kite festival's impact on the local pigeon population. He also explains the conflicts presented by working with cows in India due to laws regarding their euthanasia.

Lastly, we learn about the unusual, and hilarious, method of removing stones and rocks from a tortoise using vibration therapy and Chris delivers a great  60-second CPD that opens up a conversation about the problem with resilience.

This week we are joined by the fantastic Emily Holmes AKA EmPowering RVN Media!

Emily shares her journey from wanting to be a teacher to becoming a vet nurse and her full-on university experience as she worked whilst studying, all whilst sharing words of wisdom for any potential students out there.

 We discuss what a vet nurse is, how they are a crucial part of the veterinary team and their exceptional communication skills which help clients receive better care for their pets.  Emily explains her favourite (and least favourite) aspects of her work and the difficulties of having your own poorly pet in this profession!

Lastly, we learn about how Emily's business,  EmPowering RVN Media, developed from discussing mental health to empowering people to care for themselves and helping veterinary businesses with their social media content creation so they can take back their time. This week's 60-Second CPD is about practising gratitude and is full of great advice which can help your mental health.

This week Veterinary Ramblings is joined by the fantastic Janika Patel.

Janika is a British-Indian Vet born and raised in South London. After graduating from Nottingham Vet School, she worked in independent practice and Vets4Pets. During her career, she has developed a keen interest in ECC, internal medicine and hospital practice after working at a clinic with its own Out Of Hours service. She is currently locumming in the midlands while deciding where to settle down in the UK.   

We discuss how her uncle inspired her to become a vet and the importance of representation for people of colour in the veterinary industry. She also shares with us some examples of the racial prejudice and gender bias she has encountered throughout her life and career.  Lastly, Janika educates us about microaggressions in her 60-second CPD and we discuss her love of k-pop & k-drama!