Speaker bio page for Ruth Serlin

Bio

Ruth Serlin B Vet Med Cert VA PGCAP MA (Appl Ling) FHEA MRCVS Ruth has had a marvellously ‘squiggly’ career since she graduated. She calls herself a charity vet, applied linguist and educator. She has worked as a clinician in the RSPCA, PDSA, Blue Cross, and primary care emergency practices. Prior to her current role as a Training Consultant, in which she helps veterinary teams develop their communication skills, Ruth was a Lecturer in Veterinary Professionalism, concentrating mainly on interpersonal communication. As a lifelong ‘word nerd’, Ruth completed an MA in Applied Linguistics in 2023, looking at the structure and function of language in everyday life, including in medical and veterinary interactions. In 2020, Ruth joined a group of veterinary colleagues with interests and expertise in veterinary science and the Humanities and Social Sciences. The aim of this Veterinary Humanities UK group is to explore the veterinary challenges that science alone can’t solve. As part of this group, Ruth has co-authored discussion pieces for the Veterinary Record, introducing and expanding upon the concept of veterinary contextualised care. She has presented on the topic in local BVA groups, to Cert AVP students and at LVS and is currently co-editing a book on veterinary humanities which includes further discussion of contextualised care in veterinary practice. Ever the charity vet, Ruth has kept her interests current by being on the committee for the Association of Charity Vets up to 2019 and has been involved with Streetvet from its inception.