19 Oct 2021
Winner to be announced during BVA Gala Dinner taking place as part of London Vet Show and will win £1,000 prize money, and a mentoring and engagement opportunity with Zoetis.
Joshua Silverwood
Job Title
From left: Sarah Krumrie, Alex Davies and Sarah Penturn.
Three finalists have been named for the BVA’s Young Vet of the Year competition, aimed at early members of the profession who have made an impact.
The three finalists were selected on 29 September from nearly 100 entrants by BVA president Justine Shotton, RCVS president Kate Richards, Lord Sandy Trees and Edwina Gildea, companion animal veterinary lead at Zoetis.
The first nominee, Sarah Krumrie, was chosen in recognition of her dedication to tackling mental health issues in veterinary students and her work in supporting new graduates from the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medicine.
After her former classmate took his own life in 2019, Sarah initiated a series of new graduate mental health meetings, and identified several positive changes that could be made by the university to support students and recent graduates.
She is also working as a resident in veterinary public health and a trainee clinician in veterinary infectious diseases while studying for a master’s in veterinary medicine.
The second nominee, Alex Davies, has been nominated for his dedication in supporting students considering joining the veterinary profession through his role at Vet Mentor.
Alex has developed and delivered numerous educational projects for students applying for veterinary medicine. The most successful project is the creation of a highly praised, free-to-access virtual veterinary work experience programme, which saw more than 1,000 students viewing real vets interacting with animals and clients, followed by teaching sessions led by Alex.
By driving the growth of Vet Mentor over the past years, Alex has provided opportunities for other veterinary professionals to inspire future vets, including teaching collaborations with the RCVS.
The third nominee, Sarah Penturn, has been nominated for her commitment to dog welfare, and for helping to upskill not only herself, but the veterinary community for the benefit of the dog-owner-clinician relationship.
She has been employed at Dogs Trust since 2017, working as a veterinary behaviourist, and has been responsible for the psychopharmacological needs of dogs across the charity’s 22 rehoming centres, as well as conducting behaviour consultations for dogs post-adoption.
She delivers professional development training on behavioural medicine for rehoming centre staff and the wider veterinary profession, aiming to educate veterinary professionals to become more behaviourally aware, and understand underlying causes and treatment options for behaviour patients.
Dr Shotton said: “It has been an immense pleasure to learn about the nominees for this year’s award, and the standard of nominations has been incredibly high.
“These three finalists have demonstrated determination to succeed and improve animal welfare, and the desire and commitment to not only create a high-achieving career for themselves, but to inspire and support the vets of the future to reach their potential as well.
“Congratulations to all three finalists; it is going to be very difficult to pick a winner.”
All three finalists receive a free ticket to the London Vet Show, which takes place on 11 and 12 November. The winner, who will be announced at the BVA Gala Dinner at the show, will receive £1,000 prize money, and a mentoring and engagement opportunity with Zoetis.
