Highlights of 2022
5 December 2022
What a year it’s been! As we come to the end of our five-year strategic period, here at RCVS Knowledge we are proud of all that we’ve achieved over the last 12 months. To celebrate, we want to look back at some of the highlights – new launches, milestones and breakthrough moments – that show the difference that we’ve made to the veterinary sector this year, and our ongoing drive to advance the quality of veterinary care for the benefit of animals, the public, and society.
This is not a comprehensive list (it would be too long if it was), but one that aims to give a flavour of our impact. And give you an opportunity to find out about any big moments you might have missed or were not aware of.
This year, the RCVS Knowledge Library and Archive team performed the mammoth task of moving the entire collection to different interim locations while RCVS and RCVS Knowledge wait to move into their permanent new home in late 2023. Hundreds of boxes were filled with documents, books and journals, and numerous precious objects of great historical significance were meticulously catalogued and stored away in a matter of a few, intense months. And they did it all while continuing to support the needs of many professionals getting in touch to find the evidence they needed to provide targeted, high-quality care to their patients and answer enquiries around the historical collection. Read more about what the move entailed.
At the start of 2022, Veterinary Record published an article co-written by RCVS Knowledge staff focusing on the need for consistency and cohesion in the terms we use when talking about Quality Improvement. It’s through shared understanding that QI methodologies will be most effective, which is why this piece was so pivotal in bringing the veterinary sector closer to achieving that understanding. If you missed it then, have a look at the article now.
Following the success of EBVM Learning in 2021, this year we launched EBVM for Practitioners, a new CPD resource to support busy veterinary professionals to develop their knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine. Developed in a non-linear way, the course can be accessed any time and in no particular order, making it ideal to fit it around other commitments. The course provides a practical understanding of the ‘five As’ – Ask, Acquire, Appraise, Apply and Assess – and provides a framework to write answerable clinical questions. The course is accessible for free on RCVS Knowledge’s Learn platform.
This year the content on QI Boxset grew considerably, with the launch of two new series focusing on benchmarking and guidelines, in March and September respectively. QI Boxset is RCVS Knowledge’s unique CPD resource on all-things Quality Improvement. Each series, focusing on a different area of QI work, enables learners to access content in bite-size chunks and a time that suits them, using a variety of formats – webinars, articles, videos and podcasts. And there is more coming in 2023!
This new tool, launched in May, complements the award-winning Farm Vet Champions CPD course, and was carefully designed to support veterinary professionals take practical, achievable and measurable steps towards fighting antimicrobial resistance. As RCVS Knowledge’s work within antimicrobial stewardship will continue in 2023, the launch of the SMART goals tool and the completion of Farm Vet Champions as a resource pack for farm vets was a key milestone for us as an organisation and unique new offering for the sector. The SMART goals tool is available on the RCVS Knowledge’s Learn platform.
In June, our independent journal Veterinary Evidence was accepted as a member of Committee on Publication Ethics, meaning it has been recognised as meeting the highest standards of publication ethics. Veterinary Evidence underwent a rigorous process of assessment over 18 months, which looked at editorial processes, peer review, editorial and production process, publication ethics and author misconduct policies, among other aspects. In five years, Veterinary Evidence has developed into a totally unique offering – the only free, open access, peer-reviewed journal for veterinary professionals that publishes evidence based on clinically relevant questions that respond to specific information needs. Visit Veterinary Evidence.
This summer, RCVS Knowledge awarded the second Plowright Prize since inception to Professor Herman Barkema, of the University of Calgary, for his research on mastitis, Johne’s disease and antimicrobial resistance. Professor Barkema leads the AMR – One Health Consortium at the University of Calgary, which brings together research teams from across the world and across disciplines to address global challenges impacting the health of people, animals, and the environment. Through this year’s Prize, RCVS Knowledge has been able to support global efforts in the fight against antimicrobial resistance beyond our own work, enhancing our impact and those of others in the field. Listen to Professor Barkema in conversation with Amanda Boag, RCVS Knowledge’s Chair of Trustees.
This June marked the fifth anniversary of the launch of inFOCUS, RCVS Knowledge’s bi-monthly journal watch. The team behind inFOCUS reviews the content of over 100 veterinary journals and other key sources, compiling a shortlist of the most important articles with the potential to positively impact patient care, across a broad range of disciplines. As a resource, it constitutes a key part of RCVS Knowledge’s work as a charity – assessing and translating the latest evidence for practitioners, supporting the care they provide with authoritative, precise and measured information for immediate practical use. To read inFOCUS and subscribe to the service, visit the website.
In November, RCVS Knowledge launched Managing Veterinary Medicines, a new course to help veterinary teams improve medication safety in practice. Working jointly with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) in the creation and promotion of this new resource, RCVS Knowledge has produced yet another practical, targeted, multimedia course that feeds directly into supporting the delivery of veterinary care, and tackles some of the most urgent challenges the professions face. The course can be accessed for free.