BSAVA Congress 2018

April is finally here which means one thing, BSAVA Congress!

The way Easter fell this year worked out really well as I could come home for Easter, see practice and then stay home for Congress which is held in Birmingham.

There were about 15 students from UVM Košice who flew over and I had four friends staying at my house as my parents booked a holiday so we had a free house.

Congress is awesome as there are about 500 sessions (lectures and practicals) spread over 59 streams arranged by subject so truly something for everyone. The ones we found particularly interesting and useful were the Student Stream which covered the transition from classroom to clinic, giving advice on client communication, your first bitch spay and case discussions. It meant we could also socialise with other vet students, not that people did much of that, but I caught up with friends from my undergrad degree and others who I've done EMS with which was nice.

There was a big focus on Brachycephalic breeds (Pugs, Boxers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels) and their associated problems this year; from illegally imported puppies from Europe and Ireland to ocular problems which was really interesting. Vets are working really hard with the media to stop using poor examples in advertising, focussing on healthy dogs and breeding towards individuals with longer noses and faces which can breathe. #BreedToBreathe

It sounds silly but as we study abroad our lecturers are amazing at what they do and their English is great but when you listen to native speakers they crack jokes and keep your focus so much better. My favourite speaker this year was Yolanda Martinez Pereira a Spanish vet working in Edinburgh who has the most awesome accent and had the whole room laughing.

We also attended PetSavers practical workshops on suture practice, placing of surgical wounds and nasogastric tubes.

There is a social event at the end of each day where we caught up with many Košice graduates and definitely had our fair share of the 15,000 complementary drinks served over the weekend! The best one is Thursday evening as we're International delegates we're invited to the Sea Life Centre for drinks and canapes.

Congress is awesome value for money at £94 for students which includes entry to the exhibition, all lecture streams and lunch each day. It is a great chance to speak to recruiters and graduate schemes to learn about career prospects, both in the UK and further afield. We spoke to several companies and hope to bring some out to Košice for talks and workshops which will help raise the international profile of our university.

We were a bit disappointed with the freebies in the exhibition compared to last year, mainly just got pens, but we got some great water bottles and reusable coffee cups. There was a big push to reduce plastic and we didn't take as many leaflets etc which we'll never read - all the drinks served in the exhibition were compostable 'plastic'!

It's surprising how many people you notice walking around, be it from local practices or social media - it's a bizarre concept introducing yourself to people you've spoken to quite a bit on Twitter and Facebook but everyone was really nice. We also saw loads of Kosice graduates who are all loving their jobs so that's a confidence boost.

I popped to see WVS who I went to India with last year and after I hosted a World Spay Day bake sale at vet school raising €222 they surprised me with a certificate...

Overall we had a great week and I can't wait for next year.
Thank you to all the BSAVA staff and volunteers who work hard all year to make Congress what it is.