Events

The pace of change is escalating in much of society, directly impacting how veterinary medicine is practised and the expectations placed on the profession. Society expects that veterinarians provide safe, effective, timely, compassionate care for animals. Client expectations, literacy levels, and financial capability vary dramatically, impacting how veterinarians address concerns and issues. Veterinarians are involved in a wide range of practice and non-practice roles protecting animal resources, public health, and the security of communities and nations. Preparing individuals and teams for these challenges requires nimble and responsive educational approaches. Simulation-Based Education (SBE) is a vital and increasingly important approach to enhancing and evolving veterinary training from early student education to continuing professional development.

Join Dr. Julie Cary as our very special guest for the 2024 DC Blood Oration where she will explore ways that simulation can be used to support veterinary training and the profound impact including simulation has on learners, clients, and animals.

DC Blood Oration

The significance of the legacy left by the founding Dean of the modern veterinary school at the University of Melbourne is to be honoured and celebrated. Professor Douglas Blood (Dean, 1962–1968) was highly regarded nationally and internationally, writing seminal textbooks in the fields of large animal medicine. There have been several philanthropic initiatives established to commemorate this visionary veterinarian the most important being the DC Blood Oration. The Melbourne Veterinary School annual event features renowned experts from Australia and overseas. It is a free and open to the public.

As we approach the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it becomes imperative to document and reflect upon the narratives of those directly impacted. This presentation offers an insight into this moment of global significance through the lens of one of the earliest anthologies of Hiroshima survivor testimonies, Personal Accounts of the Atomic Bomb (原爆体験記). Proposed in 1950 by Hiroshima City’s first democratically elected mayor, the anthology contains twenty-nine firsthand accounts detailing the events of 6 August 1945. Yet despite the poignancy of these testimonies, the survivor’s voices underwent systematic censorship during both wartime and the subsequent post-war occupation era, relegating their narratives to obscurity until 1965.

These accounts transcend mere historical documentation, serving as invaluable pedagogical tools for future generations. They evoke empathy, foster understanding and inspire a collective commitment to peace. With the passage of time inexorably claiming the lives of survivors, their written narratives assume paramount significance.

Soon, only their written and recorded accounts will remain as a testament to the events. Against the backdrop of escalating nuclear tensions, symbolised by the ominous advancement of the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight, the accessibility of texts elucidating the horrors of nuclear devastation assumes heightened importance in our contemporary context.

This seminar is part of the Inagaki Seminar series.