Another year, another RCVS election. The excitement is ... well, under whelming.
The turn-out for RCVS elections is terribly low - only around 18% of eligible Veterinary Surgeons make the effort to vote. Given that you are reading this site - you are probably amongst the 4041 vets who did vote last year - so this is probably preaching to the converted.
Actually they do. Potentially they could dramatic affect your livelihood. For example continuing to require the provision of 24hr veterinary care makes life in practice difficult to manage & complaints resulting from failure to provide the cover could lead to DC hearings. However - removing the requirement could dramatically increase the numbers of small "lock-up" vaccination & neuter clinics, operating on minimal margins and this could also seriously affect your ability to continue practice. This is just one of the many issues RCVS deals with. RCVS really does matter!
In fairness to the RCVS - what else can they do to make it easier? Members can vote on line, or simply return the slip in the post-paid envelope.
Personally I regret the decision not to include supporting statements from the two proposers of candidates (if I could only persuade them to say nice things that is!). These did help convey an impression of the candidate from others. I am sure all of the candidates will welcome questions during the campaign. The vetsurgeon.org discussion portal (if it doesn't get bogged down in Raw Meaty Bones diatribe) can also help elicit views.
I'm always happy to discuss issues with anyone. The MRCVS Discussion List on Yahoo is probably the easiest place, but I'm often found at Congresses (BSAVA, SPVS, BVHA) and always willing to chat. Also I regularly lecture at Improve CPD Dental Courses and lunchtime discussions are often wide ranging. Of course feel free to Contact Me via this site.
PLEASE don't do this. If you can only find one candidate that you wish to vote for (hopefully it might be me) then PLEASE just make ONE vote. In 2008 only 6 votes separated elected from non-elected councilors - please don't those votes simply be random.
PLEASE see if we can boost the turnout for 2010. Perhaps spend one of your lunchtime practice meetings discussing the pros and cons of the candidates - then get the practice manager to stick the voting slips into the post. Your vote to RCVS can make a difference.
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