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EMS requirements

Information on how much EMS students have to do and the responsibilities of vet schools.

On this page:

About the RCVS EMS Policy

The EMS requirements laid out on this page summarise key parts of the RCVS EMS Policy.

There are currently two policies in use:

  • Existing students and those who started their veterinary degree before August 2024 are covered by the 2023 EMS policy.
  • Students starting their degree from August 2024 onwards are covered by the 2024 policy.

Read full versions of the policies

Students who started their degree before August 2024

Veterinary students must do a total of 38 weeks of EMS over the course of their degree before they can graduate.

Of these 38 weeks:

  • 12 weeks must be devoted to animal husbandry EMS (AHEMS).
  • 26 weeks must be undertaken as clinical EMS.

At least one week of AHEMS must take place in each of the three main disciplines:

  • Equine
  • Production animal
  • Small animal

Students starting their degree from August 2024

Veterinary students must do a total of 30 weeks of EMS over the course of their degree before they can graduate.

Of these 30 weeks:

  • 10 weeks must be devoted to animal husbandry EMS (AHEMS).
  • 20 weeks must be undertaken as clinical EMS.

There are no species requirements within the new policy.

Animal Husbandry Extra Mural Studies (AHEMS)

Students should complete AHEMS during the pre-clinical years of their degree programme (usually the first and second years). On extended or intercalated programmes, students may be able to do AHEMS during their third year.

Clinical EMS

Students should do regular clinical EMS during the final three (clinical) years of their degree programme. A recommended minimum of six weeks of clinical EMS is advised to be completed per year.

Where appropriate, some clinical EMS may be completed before the third year. However, in these cases, students must have first completed an animal husbandry assessment for the species relevant to the clinical placement. This is to ensure the safety of the student and animals.

Responsibilities of the vet school

The vet school must:

  • implement the RCVS EMS policy, and
  • have final sign off on all EMS placements.

Where there is flexibility within policies, the veterinary school has the final decision on what is acceptable. If any exemptions or reasonable adjustments are made for students, this must be clearly recorded and available for audit at an accreditation visit.

Read the full RCVS EMS policies

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