28 Mar 2022
Almost five years ago the Big 6 project broke new ground with a series of hard-hitting articles focused on the six core dynamics shaping the veterinary profession at that time.
Now, Big 6 is back, with a series of in-depth features and long-form podcasts to bring Vet Times readers exclusive insights and analysis about the dynamics driving the sector today, and in the future.
The premise of the project is to put six core areas of the profession under the spotlight to examine some of the driving forces shaping modern veterinary practice.
For the first discussion in the series, we invited business consultant Alison Lambert, IT expert Jack Peploe, innovation consultant Greg Dickens, practice owner Jenny Reason, and vet business owners Thom Jenkins and Jamie Crittall to discuss the impact of technology on the profession.
As expected with the enormous scope of this opening topic, discussions touched on many areas, but generally fell under three broad themes:
For the second of our Big 6 podcasts, we invited veterinary business consultants Alan Robinson and Alison Lambert, innovation expert Greg Dickens, VMG president Rich Casey and practice owner Jenny Reason to discuss the wide-ranging impacts of a fast-evolving client base.
While many areas and topics were debated during the course of our second live forum, the discussion has been grouped under four main headings:
In association with 
For the third article in the Big 6 series, we invited former RCVS president and IVC Evidensia chief medical officer Amanda Boag, Vets4Pets people director Gordon Dunn, VMG senior vice president Rich Casey, business consultant Alan Robinson, SPVS board member and consultant Peter Orpin, co-founder of WellVet and the Vet Mums group Liz Barton, and practice owners Lorna Clark and Cees Bennett to debate some of the key dynamics around employee engagement.
Areas and topics debated during the course of our third live forum have been grouped under five main headings:
For the fourth article in the Big 6 series, we invited chief executive of XLVets Andrew Curwen, founder and director of the Animor vet group Patrick Magrath, SPVS board member and consultant Peter Orpin, and practice owners Lorna Clark and Cees Bennett to debate some of the key dynamics around finance and regulation.
Areas and topics debated during the course of our fourth live forum have been grouped under six main headings:
For this penultimate forum in our Big 6 series, Vet Times invited business consultant Alan Robinson, innovation consultant Greg Dickens, co-founder of WellVet and the Vet Mums group Liz Barton, and practice owners Lorna Clark and Jenny Millington to discuss how practices should approach the many operational challenges and opportunities in a post-pandemic world.
While many areas and topics were debated during the course of our fifth live forum, the discussion has been grouped under three main headings:
In association with 
Our series exploring six core dynamics shaping the veterinary profession today and in the future concludes with a discussion that considers the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, while revisiting our five previous topics and asking our panel the question: “Where do we go from here?”
To help us find the answer, our final panel included former RCVS president and IVC chief medical officer Amanda Boag, veterinary business consultant Alan Robinson, practice owner Lorna Clark, Purina’s scientific affairs manager Libby Sheridan and innovation expert Greg Dickens.
To close out this ambitious series, our final live forum covered, and expanded upon, all key topics discussed in the five previous parts of our Big 6 series:
