Dr Claire Vinten has been appointed by the BSAVA as head of education.

Dr Claire Vinten and Dr Laura Haddock will join the Continuing Education team.

BSAVA has announced the appointment of two new members to its Continuing Education (CE) team.

Veterinary surgeons Dr Claire Vinten and Dr Laura Haddock will join the department as head of education and academic manager, respectively.

The announcement follows a review of the requirements of BSAVA's senior leadership of its education offering, leading to the creation of two part-time positions. 

Small animal vet Dr Vinten holds a PhD in veterinary education, in which she researched the development of clinical reasoning in young vets and students. She was responsible for the new non-clinical skills curriculum at Surrey Vet School and later became a lecturer at the RVC.

Claire's extensive experience in continuing education also includes work on various programmes, including the MSc Veterinary Education, BSc Veterinary Medicine, and Postgraduate Certificate of Advanced Veterinary Practice. 

Claire said: “I am very excited to be joining the BSAVA, which already has a brilliant portfolio of postgraduate programmes and CPD opportunities for members and non-members alike. The field of professional education is changing rapidly, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic; my job now is to ensure we continue to develop and deliver innovative, high-quality educational offerings for the veterinary community.” 

Bristol graduate Dr Laura Haddock worked in general practice for six years before studying for a PGCE in 2012/13. She then spent the following 10 years working within education and later spent two years working within the NHS Covid response, leading a team who provided public health guidance and support.

Laura's role of academic manager is a new position focusing on quality, continuous improvement, and student experience of BSAVA's postgraduate certificates.

Laura said: “BSAVA have always been on my unwritten list of organisations that I admire, and I was thrilled when I was offered the chance to work for them. I have felt welcomed and appreciated from the minute I arrived, and the team are exceptional both in their dedication and achievements.

“BSAVA endeavours for excellence in everything they offer, including the well-respected Post Graduate Certificates that my team manage. I look forward to leading the ongoing development of these, striving for an innovative and evidence-led approach to Post Graduate education for our incredible profession.”

BSAVA chief executive officer Amanda Stranack said: “We were delighted with the number of excellent candidates these roles attracted and even more to have Claire and Laura join our team. For BSAVA this has demonstrated that with a bit of creative thinking and flexible approach to the skills we want to attract we can do things differently and have a very positive outcome.”

Image (C) BSAVA.