Welcome to the latest edition of BoardTalk.

I am sure many of you will head straight to the Complaints Committee Report but I believe, as always, that there are many articles in this issue which may be of benefit to you now or in the future.

We have contributions from the Department of Primary Industries, Department of Local Government, Racing NSW and the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission with important information for the profession and the Board greatly appreciates the opportunities available to work with other authorities to assist all veterinarians.

Continuing professional development is something we think about year round and in this issue there is information on courses in relation to emergency diseases, wildlife treatment and antimicrobial stewardship and I am sure many of you will want to follow up these opportunities.

We have recently redeveloped guidelines on the use of compounded medications and hospital requirements.  The Board’s new compounded medication guideline is available on its website and within this issue is a re-release of its Compounding FAQs which I encourage everyone to read carefully. It is vital that veterinarians update their protocols and procedures to ensure they are compliant with the relevant legislation and this guideline.

Glenn Lynch notes in his report that we have released a new Self Assessment Checklist for Hospital Superintendents.  I strongly recommend you download a copy and complete it before he inspects your hospital and together discuss any concerns, deficiencies and achievements.

We held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) Monday evening 11 November in Campbelltown this year and in addition to the standard discussions on activities of the Board, finances of the Board and fees there were presentations on complaint investigations and the demographics of the profession.  All these materials are available from our website under the News section AGM.

Through an obscure course of events around the time of our AGM I realized that I have now been a member of the New South Wales Veterinary Practitioners Board for a decade. I have enjoyed the opportunities to grow personally from this experience and to witness improvements in the processes of the Board over that time but it is the collegiality and friendships that I will treasure most of all. 

I do hope you manage to spend some time with loved ones during the holiday season and on behalf of all Board members and staff I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

Mark Simpson
President