Welcome, contents & contributors
What's inside this month's magazine,plus meet our expert contributors.
Welcome to our bumper wellbeing edition of The Cube, which begins with the results of our Big Chill campaign, featuring top tips for calming anxious pets and staying calm at work. We also delve into the advantages of embracing neurodiversity within your practice and provide a guide to the best wellbeing resources and support available. In our regular features, find inspiration from the sustainability initiatives at The Mayne Veterinary Clinic, understand the building blocks of a modern veterinary practice with Jack Peploe, CEO of Veterinary IT Services and learn how to maximise the benefits of your PMS in farm practice with Tony Houghton from VetIT. We present the second instalment in our practice management series from Vetpreneur’s Brian Faulkner, focusing on how to craft a veterinary business plan, while Sandra Wells from NationWide Laboratories shares her expertise in disease management, diagnostics, and the care of senior pets.In our Product Focus section, Kara Franklin from VetWay Ltd explains the crucial role of veterinary-grade 4% chlorhexidine scrub in surgical hygiene, while John Bennet from Infusion Concepts provides a guide on selecting the best infusion pumps and drivers for your practice. We discuss canine health and wellbeing with Zoe Russell, Nutrition Officer for Skinners, as she reflects on obesity and weight gain in dogs, and examine the importance of dental chews in maintaining oral health with Nova Dog Chews. Finally, Cheyenne Somerfield from Essity discusses infection prevention and treatment in wound care.
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We hope that you enjoy reading this issue and would love to hear your thoughts or suggestions, please get in touch.
Kind regardsThe Cube Editorial Team
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#1 Is stress still a problem in the veterinary profession?
#2 Embracing neurodiversity in your veterinary practice
#3 Finding wellbeing support for your practice
#4 Sustainability profile: Meet Lindsey Raven Emrich
#5 Sustainability profile: The Mayne Veterinary Clinic - Our sustainability success story so far
#6 Fetch the future: Building blocks of a modern veterinary practice
#7 A day in farm practice: Getting the most out of your veterinary PMS
#8 How to write a veterinary practice business plan
#9 Disease, diagnostics and the care of senior pets
#10 Case study: Possible feline injection-site sarcoma in a 13-year-old domestic shorthair cat
#11 The critical role of veterinary grade 4% chlorhexidine scrub in surgical hygiene#12 Infusion pumps and drivers: Make an informed choice
#13 The bigger issue: obesity and excess weight gain in dogs
#14 The role of natural dental chews in oral health
#15 Infection prevention and treatment in wound care
Find out a little bit about this issue's expert contributors.
Gemma Vardy, Senior Category Specialist, NVS
Gemma has been an integral part of NVS's Category Team for the past six years. In her role as Senior Category Specialist, she oversees the large animal and equine categories, ensuring a diverse range of high-quality products with consistent stock availability. Passionate about new product development and innovation, Gemma also plays a crucial role in developing the Select from NVS product line. She collaborates with veterinary practices to understand their product needs and works with NVS's trusted manufacturers to bring those products to market.
Jack Peploe, Veterinary IT Expert and CEO, Veterinary IT Services
Jack is a Veterinary IT Expert, Certified Ethical Hacker and CEO of Veterinary IT Services, he has worked alongside the veterinary sector since he set up his first business at age 16. He has made it his mission to help veterinary clinics across the UK utilise their technology so that they can function in a secure, professional and efficient manner, leaving vets to focus on patient care. He is passionate about ensuring he has created something that outlives him and supports other businesses to be efficient and profitable. Jack is an animal lover, describing his labrador Puffin as the apple of his eye.
Tony Houghton, Managing Directorof VetIT
As the visionary behind VetIT, Tony Houghton has drawn on his extensive commercial and software expertise to create a system that is helping to transform veterinary practices. His deep understanding of technology, honed across various industries, coupled with his knack for building strong client relationships, has been instrumental in VetIT’s success. A true animal lover, Tony shares his home with several dogs and he even owns a few sheep. Outside of work, you might find him skiing, water skiing, or enjoying a round of golf.
Brian Faulkner, Veterinary Clinician, Business Consultant and co-founder of Vetpreneur
Brian Faulkner, BSc (Hons), BVM&S, CertGP(SAM), CertGP(BPS), MBA, MSc(Psych), FRCVS, is co-founder of Vetpreneur, a community which connects entrepreneurs and experts in order to access the knowledge and resources required to start-up and scale-up a successful veterinary practice. Brian is an Associate Professor of Veterinary Business at Nottingham University and has been involved in the set up and launch of at least 11 new veterinary practices, including Aldeburgh Vets in Suffolk, where he currently works as a clinician at least 3 days per week.
Sandra Wells, Head of Operations, NationWide Laboratories
Sandra Wells, BSc (Hons) Applied Biology with Biochemistry, is the Head of Operations and Head of the Sustainability Committee at NationWide Laboratories. Sandra is responsible for the smooth running of the three NationWide Laboratories sites - Poulton-le-Fylde, Cambridge and Newton Abbot. Sandra has worked in the veterinary industry for 25 years and works with zoo clients to develop tests and profiles most suited to their needs. Sandra is passionate about conservation of species and sustainability and is part of the sustainability committee for the NVS Group.
John Bennett, Service Engineer, Infusion Concepts
John "Ben" Bennett began his journey with Infusion Concepts in February 2012, bringing extensive expertise and dedication to his role as a service engineer. Operating from a state-of-the-art workshop facility in York, Ben is entrusted with the vital responsibility of managing all repair work on infusion pumps and an array of other medical equipment.
#12 Infusion pumps and drivers: Make an informed choice
Dante Meza Ruiz, Assoiate Pathologist, NationWide Laboratories
Dante Meza Ruiz, DVM, M.Ed., DVSc, Dipl. ACVP/ASVCP graduated from Universidad Científica del Sur in Peru. He started in general veterinary practice before moving to academia, where he worked in microbiology and immunology, discovering a passion for teaching. This led him to deliver lectures, which he greatly enjoyed. Dante later completed a residency in clinical pathology at the University of Guelph (Canada), gaining expertise in haematology, cytology, and flow cytometry, ultimately becoming an American board-certified veterinary clinical pathologist.
Kara Franklin, Managing Director, Vet Way Ltd
Kara Franklin is the Managing Director of Vet Way Ltd, a well-established company specialising in the manufacture and distribution of large animal chemical products and consumables. With over a decade of senior leadership experience, Kara has been instrumental in driving the company’s commitment to quality and compliance, empowering UK distribution partners and guiding them through tailored private label solutions. She prioritises technical support and education, ensuring that partners are equipped to deliver the best possible products to UK Vet practices.
#11 The critical role of veterinary grade 4% chlorhexidine scrub in surgical hygiene
Zoe Russell, Nutrition Officer, Skinner’s
Zoe Russell, BSc (hons), ANutr graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2019 with a degree in Animal Biology. During this time she co-authored a published paper (2020) – Drugs, dogs and driving: the potential for year-round thermal stress in UK vehicles. Since graduating, she has worked as the Nutrition Officer for the Skinner’s group. She is the proud owner of her rescue dog, Buzz, whom she does regular agility and cani-cross with.
Cheyenne Somerfield, Inside Sales Specialist, Essity
Cheyenne is a Registered Veterinary Nurse with clinical interests in emergency and critical care, wound management, and nurse clinics. She has a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Chinese and Spanish, also being trilingual in these languages. Originally from Washington D.C., she has spent a large amount of time travelling and studying around the world, before settling down in the UK. Cheyenne is the Essity Inside Sales Specialist and is on hand to deliver wound management education and provide support on the Leukomed and Cutimed advanced wound care ranges available at Essity.
