3 minute read
Grant McCullough, NZVA President
by VetScript
Pride well deserved
NZVA President Grant McCullough applauds veterinarians and others for their work during the lockdown, and looks ahead to the ‘new normal’.
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WHAT REALLY STRUCK me in the past few months of the COVID-19 crisis was the collegiality and professionalism shown by New Zealand’s veterinarians as we faced the virus. I witnessed many examples of veterinarians at all levels in the profession acting for the greater good.
People did things like sharing protocols and other documents so that other veterinary practices could use them during lockdown. These were valuable documents that would not normally be shared. I saw clinics that don’t normally work together sharing after-hours duties. I saw veterinarians and veterinary nurses taking on significantly greater workloads, partly because appointments were taking longer than normal with the restrictions at the higher alert levels. Many people were going beyond their usual roles, as could be seen in Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) veterinarians taking on regulatory roles to inspect veterinary clinics. And in all this, the NZVA national office team continued to provide excellent support to members while working from home.
This spirit of cooperation was also evident in the collaboration between MPI, the NZVA, Massey University and VCNZ during the lockdown. Our involvement with this group has certainly paid dividends for the profession, most notably in our being seen in a great light by the Government and the public. Veterinarians in many other countries haven’t had the privilege of providing an ‘essential service’ during lockdown, and those in New Zealand certainly didn’t take it for granted.
Importantly, New Zealand veterinary practices followed the guidelines for business practice at each alert level. There were no serious incidents or breaches of the guidelines, which is something that can’t be said for several other sectors.
A real highlight during the lockdown was the online discussion forums organised by the NZVA for several sectors. Among the most interesting was a recent veterinary graduates forum; I was very impressed with the Massey University graduates who attended. Many had been in the workforce for as little as a week before the lockdown hit, and their strength and resilience struck me as outstanding.
The NZVA’s education team handled the World Veterinary Association Congress (WVAC) situation admirably. While the congress’s cancellation was a huge disappointment, the team turned the situation around by organising WVAC online.
The special COVID-19 panel discussion highlighted the profession’s ability to work together around the world. I heard a staff member from one of the international organisations comment on how great it would be if the world’s governments could collaborate as well as the veterinarians did during WVAC.
It was a pleasure to honour Vince Peterson in a This Is Your Life-type session on the evening he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The session highlighted the wealth of relationships Vince has developed during his career. You can read more about Vince’s life and achievements on page 20 of this issue.
The NZVA will be part of shaping the post-COVID-19 ‘new normal’ way of practice, and will continue to encourage conversations with members to help us create the change. NZVA staff have already responded to member suggestions in relation to member wellbeing and support for employers. Some of the ways we’re responding include: » member wellbeing: free CPD programmes, webinars and supporting resources. These are all on the Wellbeing Hub in the members’ section of the NZVA website. The Wellbeing
Hub will be regularly updated, and I encourage you to take advantage of these resources » business support: during the lockdown the NZVA enabled members to access an employment lawyer so that employees and employers could get some personal and direct support.
The service was used extensively. The NZVA national office also arranged several Zoom forums for employers to get together and share experiences. These included a Zoom session on human resource challenges. Members were invited to webinars on the economic outlook and strategy, and more recently I suggested that the NZVA start a Zoom series called
‘Lunchtime Chats’ as a place for people with a wide range of experiences to discuss issues on an informal basis. These have now started, and the team is also close to rolling out some additional CPD offerings in the area of leadership.
I feel honoured to have been the NZVA President during this difficult time. I hope the NZVA has helped you in some way, and I look forward to working with you all to further develop the veterinary profession in the brave new post-lockdown world!
