College to exhibit at BBC Countryfile Live

We will be exhibiting at the first ever BBC Countryfile Live event at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire this August.

At the event, which will run from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 August, we will be promoting our Find a Vet search tool, our new Practice Standards Scheme (PSS), and providing career advice for prospective veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses.

Our Find a Vet search tool was relaunched earlier this year, allowing users for the first time to search for a veterinary surgeon, veterinary nurse or veterinary practice all in one place. The tool also includes new features such as displaying a practice’s visiting information (including opening hours and car parking); enabling users to ‘get directions’ via Google Maps; advertising a practice’s PSS accreditations and awards; and returning individual profile pages for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses.

To promote the free search tool we will be encouraging visitors to take part in our Find a Vet dice game, as well as hosting a random draw photo competition which will encourage members of the public to find and photograph one of our veterinary surgeons or veterinary nurses who will be lost in the grounds of Blenheim Palace.

Another of the College’s promotional focuses is the new PSS, a voluntary accreditation scheme for veterinary practices in the UK which was first started in 2005 and relaunched in November 2015.

The new PSS provides a greater focus on how practices use their resources to create a positive outcome for patients and clients, and allows for practices to distinguish the areas in which they excel through its awards system. By attending BBC Countryfile Live we are aiming to raise the profile of PSS and make animal owners more aware of the various available accreditation levels.

Ahead of the event, we are running social media competitions to give away 15 free pairs of tickets: on Facebook; Twitter; and our new Instagram account. The competitions ends Friday 29 July, with winners being announced that day at 5pm. Tickets will allow entry on Thursday 4, Friday 5, and Sunday 7 August.