VMG Congress Main Programme 2025
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| 08.30 onwards | Main Registration | ||
| ‘Kickstart’ Early Sessions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 09.30 – 10.20 | Setting up in Ballroom | CitationEmployment Law Update: What’s new in 2025? | RCVSPractice Standards Update: What’s new in 2025? |
| 10.30 – 11.00 | President’s Welcome & CVLM Awards – Ballroom | ||
| 11.00 – 11.50 | Keynote – Andy Cope, The Art of Brilliance – Ballroom | ||
| Our Purpose | Our Clients | Our Selves | |
| 12.10 – 13.00 | Workshop after keynote: “Shift Happens: Be the Change” Andy Cope, The Art of Brilliance | Using technology to enhance your clients’ experience Susie Samuel, Founder and CEO, Digital Practice | Taxes, savings, retirement, oh my! Take control of your personal finances Ruth Downs, Financial Advisor |
| 13.00 – 14.00 | Lunch | ||
| 14.00 – 15.40 | Turning dreams to reality: How to harness the power of empowerment Helen Silver-MacMahon, Being Human | Social Media Power workshop (bring your laptop/tablet!) Liz Daniels, Custard PR | Who looks after you? How to build a support network as a veterinary leader Liz Somerville, Loch Leven Equine/VMG President |
| Part 1: Using creative self-coaching tools to reconnect with your purpose Rachel Davis & Liz Chan, The Coaching Cabin/RVC | The VMG Leadership Standards 2024: Research results and next steps Rebecca Robinson, Business Development Consultant, Vet Dynamics UK Ltd | ||
| 15.40 – 16.00 | Tea & Coffee | ||
| 16.00 – 16.50 | Part 2: Facilitating a more purposeful practice: Compassionate inquiry and coaching Rachel Davis & Liz Chan, The Coaching Cabin/RVC | Recommendations, reviews and retention: How to turn clients into raving fans! Nicola Kinnard-Comedie | Step up, step across, step out? How to plan your next career move Adrian Nelson-Pratt, Director/Careers Coach, VSGD |
| 17:00 – 18:00 | Exhibition Happy Hour | ||
| 19:00 – Late | President’s Party |
| 08.00 onwards | Walk & Talk along the river Avon Meet in the hotel foyer at 8am In need of some fresh air? Join team VMG for a friendly walk and share learnings from day 1 and plans for day 2! | Day Two Registration and Exhibition open from 8.30am | |
| Tea & Coffee | ‘Kickstart’ Early Sessions | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 08.00 – 09.00 | Walkshop/Walk & Talk Session Meet in the hotel foyer at 8am | ||
| 08.30 – 09.00 | Tea & Coffee | ||
| Our People | Our Workplaces | Our Future | |
| 09.30 – 10.20 | Engaging the disengaged: How to get the whole team on board with your project Calvin Akotuah & Oba Akinwale, Loud Speaker | Pricing with pride: How to decide what to charge for what you do Suzanne Headington, Hazlewoods Accountants | Digital transformation: Working smarter not harder Tracy Dell, NHS |
| 10.20 – 11.10 | Litigation for debtors: What happens when you’ve done all the chasing you can do? Mike Marrs & Eddie Harrison Debts4Vets/APN Group | Understanding the technology: Which AI tools can you actually use in practice? Nico Frisiani, Data Scientist/Co-Founder, Lupa | |
| 11.10 – 11.30 | Tea & Coffee | ||
| 11.30 – 13.00 | Who helps the helpers? How to support those who have a responsibility for supporting others James Russell, President, Vetlife | How to use Agile principles to optimise your work Eleanor Gibson, Innovation and Agile Coach, Tilt | Panel: How can we communicate value to our clients? Miles Russell, VMG President/PM, George Vet Group (chair) Jaime Kiem, Senior Vice President, BVRA Suzanne Headington, Hazlewoods Accountant Tracey Morley Jewkes, Management Consultant |
| Thriving not just surviving: How to collaborate and delegate Tracy Dell, Group Practice Manager, Cleckheaton GPs/NHS | |||
| 13.00 – 14.00 | Lunch | ||
| 14.00 – 14.50 | The power of happiness: Finding joy at work Helen Silver-MacMahon, Being Human | The secrets of 60% uptake: How to build world class health plans with passion and purpose Tracey Morley Jewkes, Veterinary Management Consultant | Getting it done: Turning ideas into plans, & plans into actions Gemma Barmby, VMG/Vet Dynamics |
| 14.50 – 15.40 | The future of team-based veterinary healthcare Julie Dugmore and Jill MacDonald, Director of Vet Nursing/VN Futures Project Lead, RCVS | ||
| 16.00 | Congress Close | ||
| From 08.30 | Main registration – Foyer | ‘Kickstart’ Early Sessions | |
| 09.30 – 10.20 | Setting up in the ballroom | CitationEmployment Law Update: The Employment Rights Bill was published on 10 October, laying out the detail around what is billed as the biggest set of employment law reforms in a generation. From new day-one rights and strengthened harassment obligations to reforming SSP and zero-hour contracts, there’s a lot of change you need to prepare your business for. Hear from Citation’s Professional Support Solicitor, Emma McGrath, as she gives you an overview of some of the key changes set out in the Employment Rights Bill and how you can prepare | VetYogi The Power of Mind-Body Connections for Building Confidence in Leadership In busy veterinary environments it can often be challenging to consistently show up as the leaders we want to be, especially when our nervous systems are dysregulated. Explore some practical tools (including breath work, gentle tension release, and affirmations), for re-connecting you to your true leader self, setting a solid grounding from which your confidence – and positive leadership outcomes – can grow! |
| 10.30 – 11.00 | President’s Welcome & CVLM Awards Rebecca Robinson | ||
| 11.00 – 11.50 | KEYNOTE: Empowering Conversations Calvin Eden, Loud SpeakerEmpowering Conversations is designed to equip professionals with the skills to navigate and enhance their daily interactions. Whether it’s addressing sensitive topics with staff, discussing progress with clients, or collaborating with colleagues, effective communication is key. This dynamic, hands-on session provides the practical tools needed to handle even the most challenging conversations with confidence and clarity. Dive into the nuances of verbal and non-verbal communication. Learn strategies for active listening, clear articulation, and building trust – all essential for fostering a supporting and collaborative environment. Transform every interaction into an opportunity for growth and understanding; and a more positive communication culture. | ||
| 11.50 – 12.10 | Tea & Coffee | ||
| BALLROOM | CHARLECOTE ROOM | HAREWOOD ROOM | |
| Discovering OpportunitiesFinding practical solutions | Building FoundationsUnderstanding good leadership and management | Expanding HorizonsTackling complex leadership challenges | |
| 12.10 – 13.00 | Workshop : Personal Storytelling MasterclassCalvin Eden, Loud Speaker Following his Keynote, Calvin will explore how to take Empowering Conversations to the next level. Focusing on raising aspirations and lifting people – telling emotionally intelligent stories, learning how to share challenges, failures and successes, and learn coping mechanisms and resilience. | “The Financial Truth with Ruth: Your Roadmap to Financial Freedom Ruth Downs, Truth Financial Ready to take the mystery out of your money and make your financial future work for you? Join award-winning Independent Financial Adviser Ruth Downs for an engaging and interactive session that’s all about demystifying pensions, saving on taxes, and creating a financial plan you can actually stick to. 1-2-1 appointments available Fri | Harnessing motivation to tackle stagnation Orly Simkin, VO Professional What’s going on in our brains when we feel motivated? This session will explore the neuroscience of motivation including types, stages, and how we can increase motivation. We will then look at how we can harness this to improve job satisfaction and create happy, thriving and value-adding teams. |
| 13.00 – 14.00 | Lunch | ||
| 14.00 – 14.45 | Using ‘reasonable adjustments’ to boost productivity and retain talentAngharad Belcher, RCVS In this engaging session, you’ll learn about the headline results from the joint RCVS-BVCIS Chronic Illness and Disability Survey, and how the challenges facing colleagues in veterinary with disabilities, chronic physical and mental health conditions and neurodivergence highlight wider issues within our workplaces with retention, wellbeing, and support. | Employment Contracts 101 Emma McGrath, Citation In this session, Citation’s Professional Support Solicitor, Emma McGrath, will look at the minimum legal requirements around drafting and providing your Employee Contracts and Employee Handbooks. She’ll provide her top tips on how to use these documents as effective management tools including rules around conduct and sickness absence, the pros and cons of ‘discretionary’ clauses and introducing/enforcing restrictive covenants | Pugs, drugs and thugs: Tackling illegal activities in your practiceRowena Packer, RVC Zoe Belshaw, Notts Vet School It is estimated that over half the puppies purchased in the UK have been sold illegally, with growing numbers originating overseas. In this session we will discuss why this trade is so rife, learn how to spot potential red flags in puppies advertised online, and think about ways to educate clients about this huge welfare problem. |
| 14.45 – 15.40 | Marketing your clients actually engage with Nicola Kinnard-Comedie Marketing can feel like a chore, and there is so much to consider from social media and an online presence to client evenings or open days and everything in between. This session will run through ideas and marketing strategies that your clients will love, and engage with, and will help contribute towards the growth of the practice. | Compassion Fatigue, Burnout and Moral Injury Dr. Tanya Crawley, Vetlife In this session, Tanya Crawley will launch the Vetlife 2025 resource on compassion fatigue, burnout and moral injury highlighting what these conditions are (and aren’t), how to recognise them, and how to address them in the veterinary workplace. The resource is funded by The Cencora Impact Foundation | |
| 15.40 – 16.00 | Tea & Coffee | ||
| 16.00 – 16.50 | Panel/Debate State of UK Veterinary Leadership Report 2025Chair: Rebecca Robinson, VMG President With Kerrie Hedley and Stephen Baines | The future of team-based veterinary healthcare – where next?Julie Dugmore and Jill Macdonald, RCVS This interactive session will share key findings from the VN Vision project and explore how we can empower nurses to work to their professional capacity, enhancing team-based healthcare, client accessibility, and practice efficiency. | The secrets to great leadership: Managing neurodiverse teamsHelen Allwood and Daniel Keating-Roberts, The Vet Project With a focus on neurodiversity, we’ll explore how you can expand your leadership and communication skills to benefit the whole team. We’ll demystify some challenges of communication, and give you a practical framework to help every team member thrive. |
| 17:00 – 18:00 | Exhibition Happy Hour | ||
| 19.00 – ——– | President’s Party | ||
| 08.00 – 09.00 | Walk & Talk along the river AvonMeet in the hotel foyer at 8am In need of some fresh air? Join team VMG for a friendly walk and share learnings from day 1 and plans for day 2! | Day Two Registration and Exhibition open from 8.30am | |
| Tea & Coffee from 8.30am | |||
| BALLROOM | CHARLECOTE ROOM | HAREWOOD ROOM | |
| Discovering OpportunitiesFinding practical solutions | Building FoundationsUnderstanding good leadership and management | Expanding HorizonsTackling complex leadership challenges | |
| 09.30 – 10.15 | WORKSHOP: LEADERSHIP REBOOT Jonathan PeachArt of Brilliance half day workshop The Leadership Reboot is a leadership toolkit for right now. It’s not a total rethink, just a rinsing out of the tired old leadership habits that don’t work anymore, and a reminder of some new principles that have come into play.Organisations that get leadership right will cultivate internal relationships that impact positively on the customer experience as well as the bottom line. Leaders create a ripple effect that is felt way beyond working hours. But ‘getting it right’ won’t happen by accident. ‘Leadership’ is too important to be left to chance.(Includes coffee break at 11.10am) | Uncovering your biases: Inclusive leadership Helen Silver-MacMahon What does inclusive leadership mean to you? How can you identify any biases you have and make sure everyone feels safe to speak up? In this session we will consider how to foster a culture of inclusivity, providing a safe space for sharing knowledge and empowering every member of the team to contribute and thrive. | The business value of veterinary social work. Part One: Theory Hamish Morrin, Vet Values Veterinary social work is already employed and working to assist veterinary teams in America. Learn about the potential scope and value of social work in practice. Consider where it could apply in your practice and how it could be implemented. |
| 10.20 – 11.10 | Understanding neurodiversity: The untapped goldmine Helen Allwood and Daniel Keating-Roberts In this session we will explain what neurodiversity is, how it can show up at work, and what your legal obligations are as a leader. We’ll show you how you can help your ND colleagues shine whilst giving them support, and where you can get help when you need it. | The business value of veterinary social work. Part Two: Practice Hamish Morrin, Vet Values Rebecca Robinson, VMG/Vet DynamicsDetails coming soon | |
| 11.10 – 11.30 | Tea & Coffee | ||
| 11.30 – 12.10 | Talkin’ ’bout our Generations Chris White; VMG and Mongrel Training and Consulting In which we discuss… | Emotional safety: Why managing our patients’ fear, anxiety and stress is good for everyoneKatrin Jahn, Trinity Behaviour Managing our patients’ fear, anxiety and stress levels in the veterinary setting is not a ‘nice to have’; it is essential for clinical outcomes, protecting patient welfare, customer loyalty and compliance, and, importantly, team satisfaction. In this session, you will understand why protecting and treating our patients’ mental, emotional and behavioural health is no longer an area that veterinary teams can or should shy away from, but rather an area to enhance all aspects of veterinary care. | |
| 12.15 – 13.00 | Building Great Workplaces – getting the best for your team and business Liz Mullineaux – BVA President Great Workplaces by BVA is an innovative new accreditation scheme helping to build a thriving veterinary workforce by recognising and rewarding positive workplace culture. Using the Great Workplace framework, this session will guide you through what it takes to create a happy, healthy workplace for everyone. Learning outcomes
| Generational differences in perceptions of meaningful workSimon McCabe, Aston University This session focuses on generational approaches to work. How does work fit into the lives of different generations? Why do these differences exist? And what makes work meaningful for different generations? Taking a psychological perspective, this session aims to connect what’s going on at a broader societal level to the practical workplace and the ‘future of work’. | |
| 13.00 – 14.00 | Lunch | ||
| 14.00 – 14.45 | EDI workshop Claire Hodgson, Olivia Anderson, Leah Morely, Tshidi Gardiner We all want our workplaces to work for us – but how do we get there? We will give you the tools to transform yours into the best version of itself by tackling sticky situations head on. In this eye-opening session, you’ll learn about the root causes of common difficult conversations and how to avoid or unpick them before they escalate. We will show you how to facilitate open and honest conversations to turn these around and build a forward-thinking, compassionate workplace culture. Our innovative Cards Against Inclusivity will be your gateway to leading with curiosity. You’ll leave the session empowered to turn problems into progress with a toolkit of simple ways to ensure your staff can thrive by creating policies and procedures suitable for everyone. | The transformative power of self-leadership Katie Ford – Vet Empowered Join Katie Ford, co-founder of Vet Empowered and RCVS Inspiration Award recipient, as she explores the transformative power of self-leadership in veterinary practice. Drawing not only from her experience as a veterinary surgeon but her extensive years of coaching others, Katie breaks down what self-leadership truly means and provides science-based, actionable steps to develop this essential skill. This engaging session will equip you with practical techniques to navigate doubt, reflect, explore, make decisions, and create positive change in both your professional and personal life. Whether you’re a veterinary surgeon, nurse, or practice manager feeling uncertain about your direction or seeking to inspire yourself, Katie’s authentic approach will help you harness your internal compass and lead with purpose (and compassion!). KLOs
| Data Doesn’t Bite: Simplifying Success in Your Veterinary Practice Gemma Barmby Let’s face it most of us didn’t enter the veterinary world because we love spreadsheets or dream of crunching numbers. But when used effectively, data insights can transform your clinic and elevate your success. |
| 14.50 – 15.40 | Utilising the RCVS Academy to support your team with their professional development. Charlotte Rodia RVN Launched in 2022, the RCVS Academy is a digital learning platform which aims to support vets and vet nurses to meet professional standards. This session will explore how the RCVS Academy can be utilised to support the professional development of your team. | Non-violent communication: Strategies to diffuse difficult situations Helen Silver-MacMahon In this session, we will explore the core principles of non-violent communication, and learn practical diffusion techniques to navigate challenging situations with clarity, empathy and composure. You will leave with actionable skills to transform potential conflicts into opportunities for understanding and collaboration. | |
| We wish you all a safe journey home – see you next year! | |||
