Growing the veterinary voice: developments in Vet Record

It is now six months since I became editor of Veterinary Record, BVA’s leading journal, so I feel you are probably due a progress report. What has changed and what changes are afoot?

Some of you may have noticed that the Gazette section towards the back of the journal has gone – instead we cover interesting events that BVA Officers attend in our news section. The BVA Officers are still listed on the contents page.

We have changed our approach to obituaries and instead of including them within the Gazette section, they now have their own page  and, we believe, this provides a more respectful treatment.

You will have probably noticed, too, that our news stories tend to be original and follow the traditional form of writing news, with the key findings in the first paragraph.

As a team at Veterinary Record, we have also decided to spend more time with vets. The thinking here is that we will deliver a better product for BVA members if we better understand what you do and the daily challenges you face. Since March, we have welcomed an EMS student every month to our offices and we have gone out to visit vet practices across the UK.

We are also inviting vets to compete to become a columnist. A column is basically a short essay or argument with some opinion thrown in. Pick up a copy of Veterinary Record to find out more about our small pool of new columnists, writing about veterinary practice and the profession from their point of view.

And next?

Vets have told us they want this journal to be more browsable and engaging. They were clear about their challenging cases and workloads, so we need to come up with a design that satisfies a quick professional update at work or a more considered read off-duty. There will be better use of images, fewer words on each page, helpful boxes, and more bullet points to provide shortcuts.

So, later this year Veterinary Record will undergo a redesign to refresh its look and feel. It will be informed by in-depth research carried out with vets across the UK on their reading habits and what they want from this journal.

The vets we have interviewed so far told us they liked the idea of being connected to the profession – they would like to hear more vet voices, read more debate and controversy, as well as personal stories from ‘people who get us’. That’s why we are launching this column competition – so we can find those vet voices.

Remaining a top benefit for members

I am very aware of the high regard in which this journal is held and BVA tells me that members consider the journals their number one benefit. Clearly, there is nothing wrong with our current offer and we will not make change for change’s sake. But, like any successful journal, we must connect with our audience and reflect its changing interests and needs.

Since I took up this post I have received feedback and suggestions in letters and e-mails from vets across the UK. Based on this, as well as the other sources already cited, we need to shift the perceived personality of this journal from being ‘academic and obscure’, which is how some vets regard it, to something more progressive – authoritative and helpful.

We also need to up our game to offer compelling content online, as well as in print, and work on this is in progress. At the end of the year, when we launch our redesigned journal, we will also change the journal’s name to Vet Record to reflect what the profession and the veterinary industry have called it for years.

In my first editorial (VR, February 18, 2017, vol 180, p 160), I promised we would respect your time – we would aim to give you information as clearly and helpfully as possible, to be precise and concise. That ambition remains.

I fully expect some people to dislike some of the changes we make. Also, we may not get everything right first time so it will be good to hear negative opinions as well as positives – it keeps us on our toes and I believe healthy challenge can only lead to a better result. You can give feedback or offer suggestions using [email protected]