Alex impressed judges with his commitment to inspiring future vets.
Dr Alex Davies has been named the winner of the BVA's Young Vet of the Year Award 2021, for his work empowering students to access virtual work experience placements within the profession.
Alex, who is a practising veterinary surgeon alongside his work as a vet mentor, has created and delivered several educational projects for students applying for veterinary medicine.
One such programme is a work experience programme, allowing future veterinary surgeons the opportunity to virtually shadow a practising veterinary surgeon as they interact with clients and animals.
Over 1,000 students benefited from this free-to-access programme, which allowed them to see practising veterinary surgeons demonstrate clinical and diagnostic problem solving, as well as other workplace interactions and skills. The virtual work-experience was also followed by teaching sessions, which were led by Alex.
Commenting on the honour on the BVA's news page, Alex said: “Thank you so much for this incredible honour.
“I graduated during Covid restrictions in 2020 and quickly decided that I wanted to change my professional identity to somebody who would work with the future generation of vets and raise aspirations towards veterinary careers.
“I am committed to ensuring that our future profession is one that I am proud of, and one that is sustainable and diverse.
“Thank you to everyone here and at home that has helped me on this amazing journey, and of course thank you to my family for your constant support. I would encourage anybody who wants to give back to applying students and shape our future veterinary profession to join me on this amazing journey and get involved!
“Thank you to the BVA, Zoetis and the judging panel for this tremendous honour.”
BVA President Justine Shotton added: “It has been a challenging year for the veterinary profession and Alex has made a significant difference to the vets of the future, inspiring and supporting them as they work towards their careers.
“He is a very deserving winner of BVA’s 2021 Young Vet of the Year Award. Congratulations Alex, you should be very proud of yourself, and your hard work and dedication has really paid off.
“I would also like to congratulate our two brilliant finalists, Sarah Penturn and Sarah Krumrie. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make and we know they also have bright futures to come.”
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