Royal College Day 2025 speeches: Tim Parkin, new RCVS President for 2025-26

And now, as I take up the role of RCVS President, I would just like to share a few thoughts with you all.

I have to say, standing here today is not something I ever imagined for myself - nor was it an aspiration until a few years ago.

But the truth is, once you start to work on Council, and start working with the amazing team at the College, the importance of what we are able to do and the sheer range of influence that the Royal College has, creates a desire to want to do your own bit for our great professions.

I would like to acknowledge quite what incredible role models Linda and Sue have been. I have learnt so much and observed – with some trepidation – the hard graft they have put into this role over the last couple of years. I would also like to thank Lizzie for her unstinting dedication to the cause – I have not met a more hard-working, inspirational leader anywhere – we are very lucky to have her at the helm.

I am not going to have a theme for my year in post – there is too much ‘business as usual’ to be getting on with – but I am going to ask that collectively we all try to do two things – I will come to those later.

Many of you will, I am sure, have no real idea who I am – I took a very circuitous route to the veterinary profession and have been very lucky in my career choices.

I spent 9 years in Bristol as an undergraduate, first studying Zoology - my Biology A’ Level did not go as planned - and then, after a year working on farms etc, Veterinary Science - finally becoming MRCVS at the age of 28 in 1998.

I was due to be a farm animal vet with a job offer on the table at my EMS foster practice, but two weeks prior to graduation I pivoted and a few weeks later started a PhD at Liverpool being supervised by the team that had taught and inspired me to think like an epidemiologist.

So transformative was that early teaching that, when asked to revamp the epidemiology teaching at Bristol last year, I immediately went to the teaching booklet I still had in my possession from 1994.

The current students of Bristol can ‘thank’ Professors Cripps, Morgan, French and Green for their problem-based learning sessions on epidemiology and statistics!

The impact of early influence on career choice from key mentors can never be underestimated.

So, to the first of my requests of all of us:

Find a route to mentorship – pass on ‘your good’ to those who aspire to follow. We can all play our part in doing that – whether that be through chatting to school kids about the myriad of options available in our professions or more formally through work with veterinary schools or via VetGDP. Please reflect on how each of us can inspire and influence those who will do better than us in the future.

There are clearly some very big on-going challenges we face – from the CMA investigation and workforce issues through to pushing for a new Veterinary Surgeons Act.

If we think not more than 10 years ago – EU-Exit had not yet happened, COVID was not a word (for most of us at least) and hybrid working was difficult to make work – trying to get more than one person onto a Skype call seemed to be beyond most.

Our working lives have changed enormously over that period, but it is clear that further change is on the near horizon.

So, as these changes crystalise - my second request:

Be respectful in all forms of dialogue.

Our professions should be a no-tolerance zone for abusive or aggressive words or behaviour.

There will be many discussions to be had over the next few years – in particular related to legislative reform and much of our direction of travel will be taking us away from the modus operandi of the last 50 years – but we all have to recognise the need for change and that none of us will get everything we want.

Please do not shy away from engaging – but please do so in a manner that is respectful of those working on your behalf.

As President you only get 12 months to make your mark and it is probably true that some make more of a mark than others – but personally I have no aspiration to be a President who is remembered as he who did X or pushed through initiative Y.

An architect, who was engaged to modify the flat I was living in at the time, told me that ‘None of us truly own the property in which we may live – we are simply custodians waiting for the next inhabitants to come along’ – ‘the aim should be to leave the place in a slightly better state than when you arrived’.

Similarly, I am simply custodian of this chain of office – and I hope to make a small positive difference to our professions and the work of the College.

I cannot promise that I will succeed in everything – especially in what appears to be an ever more unpredictable world – but what I can promise is that I will work hard for you all and provide as much support as I can to the hard-working teams at the College to enable them to be as effective as possible.