Not My College ?

  In April the results of the RCVS Council were announced. Three candidates were elected, Zara Kennedy, Sinéad Bennett and David Barrett. All of the candidates made it clear in their manifestoes that they were completely opposed to an appointed Council. Looking at the manifestoes of all 14 candidates, it appears that most were opposed to an appointments system, some vehemently. Scroll forward six weeks to the 10th of June and the first day of the RCVS consultation on Governance. What do we find ? An acceptance of the membership's near total rejection of an appointed Council ? Far from it. Instead we have page upon page of biased 'recommendations' and a tone deaf video by Sue Patterson  here  which is billed as 'An Introduction to our Good Governance Consultation.'  In reality it's a one-sided propaganda piece in which we're told that we must move to an appointed system because it is the norm .  An example of the norm she used was the  GMC - the General M...

The government’s Inclusion at Work panel, convened by Kemi Badenoch last year, unveiled its report into UK employers’ Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (DEI) practices. Composed of private and public-sector experts and advised by a Harvard professor, the panel noted that 10,000 EDI jobs in the public sector are estimated to cost the British taxpayer £557 million per year. According to the report, many EDI initiatives have little evidence behind them, are often ‘polarising’ and in some cases ‘unlawful.’ As Badenoch put it, concepts like ‘unconscious bias’ and ‘white privilege’ regularly employed in diversity training, are ‘bunkum’ . The report joins existing research on diversity training in finding that by calling attention to differences and casting whites as oppressors and blacks as oppressed, such initiatives often increase racial tension. And few will many be surprised to learn that many of these initiatives are often little more than virtue-signalling. According to the report, on...

No, I was imagining it, sadly. After years ... nae decades ... of minimal communication, obfuscation and opacity, the RCVS appeared to have turned over a new leaf.  Two of their recent newsletters were generally more informative than before.  Ditto the plans to actually invite the membership to participate in consultative meetings. Had they ditched the habits of a lifetime, were they actually listening to the real (practicing) profession for once - alas not. Their latest 'consultation'   - 'An Introduction to Good Governance' is accompanied by pages of one-sided propaganda and a tone deaf video by the outgoing president  here in which we're told that we must move to an appointed system because it is the norm. If this is the norm count me out -  College thinks 'Dysfunctional' GMC is a good model to adopt. No thanks. If you want to read more posts, click on the arrow 🠈 on the top left of the page or on the 'MORE POSTS' button at the bottom. If you w...

  ' The  Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has introduced environmental sustainability requirements as part of the  Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) . These requirements aim to address the global climate crisis and encourage veterinary practices to lead the way in sustainability.  The key points include a w ritten environmental sustainability policy for all practices and nominating a d edicated sustainability champion or team.' More virtue signalling from the College, more pointless paperwork for overworked vets. Good for big corporations with HR departments. Bad for the smaller practice tied up with inconsequential, non-essential trivia such as ... oh, I dunno ... patient care ?  But don't be downhearted, help is at hand. China might be building two large coal fired power stations per week, but the  Greener Veterinary Practice website has some useful hints to help us all do our teeny tiny bit. These include,  'reducing the use of disposable surgical...

Update; So the Cass Report and the WPath files have confirmed what 99.9% recurring of us knew - that puberty blockers and irreversible surgery performed on minors is child abuse. What genius (geniuses) in the College thought it was acceptable to allow our good name to be associated with this abomination ? The College needs to concentrate on the profession, not chase after every stupid progressive butterfly that catches its passing attention. The RCVS has announced (albeit very quietly) that as of 2023 it will no longer be a Stonewall Champion. This is tremendously good news for everyone in the profession, the reputational damage of continued association cannot be overstated. It's particularly good news for all the profession's Gay/Straight biological women (adult human females). When Stonewall's  CEO Nancy Kelly can describe lesbian girls declining to have relations with male bodied trans-women (men) as 'sexual  racism,' it really is time to go.  All in all we'...

 'In the UK, over 60% of Veterinarians are women and the majority of Veterinary students studying today are also female! Say goodbye to the old ‘James Herriot’ days and say hello to the new, more diverse side to the veterinary profession. In recent headlines, the presidential team currently leading the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) are all female. I feel that this is a very exciting milestone that needs to be celebrated and shouted from the rooftops!'  L***** W*****   BVSc. BSc. MRCVS Am I the only one confused by the writer's cognitive dissonance (wittering?). How can a profession almost completely dominated by women be 'more diverse.' Does 'diverse' now mean no men ? Seems so. Mind you she's got a point about getting away from the Herriot image. Imagine dedicating your working life to your patients and clients instead of bunking out after 4 years (45% of all leavers have been qualified for less than four years). Fun Fact: None of the abov...

   (with apologies to Trollope)