Three young vets are in the running to be named the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) Young Vet of the Year for 2024. Clio Rudgard-Redsell, David Charles and Rose Thompson-Turcotte are through to the final stages of this year’s prestigious award, which is sponsored by Zoetis and celebrates inspirational vets in the first stages of their professional career.
The award judging panel – BVA President Liz Mullineaux, Linda Belton, RCVS President and director of the George Veterinary Group, Colin Penny, Medical Affairs Manager for Ruminant POM V at Zoetis, and last year’s Young Vet of the Year Dr. Henry Lamb – shortlisted the finalists for the award based on their outstanding career achievements so far. This includes their hard work supporting their clients and colleagues; providing outstanding and consistent high levels of care for their patients; giving back to their community; championing causes in the veterinary profession; or going the extra mile.
BVA’s Young Vet of the Year Finalists 2024
Dr. Clio Rudgard-Redsell MRCVS
Vet Clio Rudgard-Redsell is nominated for her commitment, compassion and willingness to learn new skills and to go above and beyond for her patients and team members. Having graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2022 and starting her career at Chine House Veterinary Hospital in Leicestershire, she moved on to become part of the founding vet team at Creature Comforts in Notting Hill, London, where she is helped set up its first clinic and establish practice protocols that have been successfully rolled out to later clinics. She is incredibly passionate about marine animals and is also a volunteer vet for the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), where she aids dolphin and seal rescues.
Clio said: “I am deeply honoured to be nominated for this award, let alone shortlisted. It is a privilege to be a representative for young people in our profession – I hope to live up to everything this award stands for and be a champion for this incredible industry. I wouldn’t be in this position without the amazing support from my peers and colleagues both at Creature Comforts and at Chine House Veterinary Hospital, where I could not have asked for a better foundation to start my career. Looking to the future, I hope I can be a positive example to aspiring vets while continuing to develop my business and leadership skills.”
Dr. David Charles MRCVS
Vet David Charles is nominated for his enthusiasm, commitment and his resilience. A 2019 Bristol University graduate, David worked in mixed practice before joining Scarsdale Vets’ farm animal team in early 2020 where he developed a passion for small ruminant work & completed his CertAVP(Sheep). He went on to relaunch the ‘flock health club’ and secured funding for new advanced breeding services to support sheep farms across the Midlands. After being seriously injured in a car accident, he was forced to step down from clinical work but set up his veterinary consultancy, offering CPD training for vets and students working with The Webinar Vet and Vet Times. This year, he joined NoBACZ Healthcare as their International Business Development Manager, helping them bring their innovative and sustainable products into the livestock health markets globally. He continues to offer sheep advisory services to farmers and teach students, and recently supported APHA as an OV during the current BTV-3 outbreak.
David said: “It’s an enormous honour to have been nominated for this award, and I would never have dreamed that I would make the final three – it’s incredibly humbling. Whilst I very much still enjoy getting on farm and talking to farmers and working with their animals, my experiences throughout the last five and a half years have really shown how many doors the MRCVS qualification can open, and varied our careers can be.”
Dr. Rose Thompson-Turcotte MRCVS
Small animal vet Rose Thompson-Turcotte has worked at the Bury St Edmunds Veterinary Centre (BSEVC) since graduating from the University of Surrey in 2023. She has been nominated for her excellent clinical skills and dedication to her profession, patients and their owners. As well as spending her spare time volunteering for her local RSPCA centre, she always goes the extra mile to look after not just her patients – but also their owners, in particular over 75s; making sure that they have the support they need when making tough decisions in the hospital setting or with chronic health concerns in their pets.
She said: “I am so honoured to have been short-listed for this award but am even more delighted to have the backing of my wonderful colleagues. I am so lucky to work at a practice that encourages community engagement and compassionate, evidence-based medicine. My main interest is inpatient care – I love medical puzzles and developing strong bonds with clients and patients. There isn’t much special about the way I practise vet medicine, but I genuinely feel unbridled joy to be able to call myself a veterinary surgeon, and I am lucky to have been raised by kind, enthusiastic and knowledgeable vets at the RSPCA and BSEVC.”
On behalf of the judges, BVA President Liz Mullineaux said: “This year has brought us our highest number of BVA Young Vet of the Year nominations yet, with each singing the praises of incredible young vets from around the UK. Rose, Clio and David stood out: they all have their unique passions and causes but their dedication, commitment and compassion shines through. Congratulations on being named finalists in this year’s award, it really is an amazing achievement and you should be so proud of yourselves already. We look forward to following your future careers.”
The winner of BVA Young Vet of the Year will be announced on 14 November at the BVA’s Awards dinner,which takes placeduring London Vet Show. They will receive a prize package which includes £1,000, a year’s free BVA membership, a mentoring/engagement opportunity with sponsor Zoetis and career development opportunities.
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