In this career Q & A, Paul Wood, a highly experienced and passionate veterinarian, shares his insights and thoughts on the importance of embracing the educational elements of all our roles in the veterinary industry. With his extensive background as a farm clinician and his current role as the Programme Director for the BVSci veterinary degree at SRUC Aberdeen, Paul has gained a wealth of knowledge and experience in veterinary education and training.

During the talk, Paul encourages attendees to come to the VetEd conference, which is a valuable event for veterinarians to learn and share their knowledge with colleagues from all over the world. We discuss how the conference offers opportunities for veterinarians to network, discover new research, and learn about innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

As someone who has always enjoyed teaching and supporting staff throughout his career, Paul’s passion for mentoring and supporting students is reflected in his part-time PhD research, which is focused on preparing veterinary students for the various transitions in their training.

Overall, this career talk with Paul Wood is an informative and inspiring session, as he shares his extensive experience and encourages veterinarians to embrace the educational elements of their roles and to continue learning and growing throughout their careers

About Paul:

I graduated from the RVC in 2005 and then spent time working in various clinics across the whole range of species. I then completed an MSc in Wild Animal Health before joing the RVC as a farm clinician. Throughout my career as a vet I have always enjoyed teaching students and supporting staff, so after 14 years working as a clinical farm vet across 3 universities (and a brief foray into industry) I took the decision to step completely into an academic role at R(D)SVS. I have recently joined the new team at SRUC Aberdeen as Programme Director for the BVSci veterinary degree and am relishing the opportunity to join this enterprise at the start. My passion in teaching, support and mentoring is echoed in the topic of my part time PhD looking at preparing veterinary students for the various transitions in their training. I am also excited to be part of the VetEd2023 organising committee as VetEd is a conference that I have always highly valued and enjoyed.