RCVS Council elects new Junior Vice-President for 2018-19

Members of RCVS Council have elected Dr Niall Connell as the new Junior Vice-President for 2018-19 and confirmed Amanda Boag as President for the same year.

Members elected Niall as Junior Vice-President at a meeting of Council on Thursday 8 March 2018 where a number of other appointments were confirmed for 2018-19, including Amanda as President, Professor Stephen May as Senior Vice-President, Dr Kit Sturgess as Treasurer, Professor Susan Dawson as Chair of Education Committee and Dr Kate Richards as Chair of Standards Committee.

Niall (pictured right) qualified from the University of Glasgow’s School of Veterinary Medicine in 1982 and worked in mixed practice in Fife before joining the PDSA in 1984. He was Senior Veterinary Surgeon at the Glasgow East PDSA PetAid Hospital for 15 years during which time he was an Honorary Lecturer at Glasgow vet school and an Examiner. Niall took ill-health retirement from clinical practice in 2009 due to multiple sclerosis and now works as a Clinical & Professional Skills Instructor at Glasgow vet school tutoring on veterinary professionalism and ethics and assessing objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and direct observation of procedural skills (DOPS) as well as online student portfolios.

He was elected to RCVS Council in 2013 and has served on the Audit & Risk and Education Committees, as Vice-Chair of Veterinary Nurses Council and as a veterinary assessor during the two alternative dispute resolution (ADR) trials with Ombudsman Services and, latterly, the Veterinary Client Mediation Service (VCMS).

In asking for RCVS Council members’ votes, Niall said: “I am passionate about highlighting RCVS’ work, achievements and ethos in person and on several social media platforms to maximise engagement with our professions and with undergraduates. I have an excellent relationship with RCVS staff which is very important. I relish the prospect of working with my fellow Council members, College staff and our professional colleagues in the field for the best outcomes.

“The College is immersed in many important projects such as Vet/VN Futures,Mind Matters, graduate outcomes, career pathways and One Health, as well as Brexit, global positioning and the Veterinary Surgeons Act. I would devote all my time and energy to being RCVS Vice-President/President.”

Niall, along with other members of our Officer Team, will take up their positions for 2018-19 at RCVS Day 2018, which takes place at the Royal Institute of British Architects on Friday 13 July.

Biographies and further details, including declarations of interests, of all RCVS Council members are available to view.