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- Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons
- Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses
- Contact the Advice Team
- XL Bully dog ban
- 'Under care' - new guidance
- Advice on Schedule 3
- Controlled Drugs Guidance – A to Z
- Dealing with Difficult Situations webinar recordings
- FAQs – Common medicines pitfalls
- FAQs – Routine veterinary practice and clinical veterinary research
- FAQs – Advertising of practice names
- GDPR – RCVS information and Q&As
Standard 1 - Learning culture
Standards
The learning culture prioritises the safety of people, including clients, students and educators, and animals enabling the values of the Code of Professional Conduct to be upheld.
Education and training are valued and promoted in all learning environments, with diversity and inclusion at the forefront and a clear commitment to sustainability.
Requirements
Accredited education institutions, together with delivery sites and training practices, must:
- demonstrate that the safety of people and animals is a primary consideration in all learning environments.
This may be evidenced through:
- Health and safety policy
- Clinical and delivery site audits
- Staff induction policy
- Standard Operating Procedures
- Risk assessments
- E-safety policy
- Safeguarding policies and procedures
- Student inductions
- Policy for onsite animals utilised for veterinary nurse education
- Fire safety protocol
- Radiation Protection Advisor (RPA) reports
- Compliance with IRR 2017
- prioritise the wellbeing of people.
This may be evidenced through:
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Peer reviews
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Continued Professional Development (CPD) policy
- CPD records
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Staff Inductions
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Staff reviews
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Nominated staff members for wellbeing
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Pastoral support
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Staff Code of Conduct
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Wellbeing policy
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Wellbeing information (physical and online)
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Wellbeing initiatives
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Mental Health First Aider Training
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Mental health support procedures
- Risk assessments for display screen equipment/workstations
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- ensure that facilities and physical resources, including those used for clinical learning, comply with all relevant legislation including UK animal care and welfare standards.
This may be evidenced through:
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Training practice (TP) and Auxiliary Training Practices (aTP) lists and risk assessments
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VMD Registration
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Policy for storage and disposal of POM-VS
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Standard Operating Procedures
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Policy for onsite animals utilised for veterinary nurse education
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Facility audits
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List of locations where qualifications are delivered
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Schedule of quality monitoring activity
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Inventory of clinical equipment and consumables
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Student feedback
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- ensure clients understand the remit of the student veterinary nurse’s involvement in the care of their animals and have the opportunity to withdraw consent.
This may be evidenced through:
- Standard Operating Procedures
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Poster regarding consent
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Consent guidance within pre-operative paperwork
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Website content
- Consent forms
- TP/aTP approval and monitoring records
- maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the provision, ensuring client, public and animal safety and welfare is promoted.
This may be evidenced through:
- Job descriptions
- Staff reviews
- Student feedback
- Monitoring of teaching and learning
- General Data Protection Regulation policy
- TP/aTP approval and monitoring records and risk assessments
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Social Media policy
- ensure students and educators understand how to raise concerns or complaints and are encouraged and supported to do so in line with local and national policies without fear of adverse consequences.
This may be evidenced through:
- Minutes of student meetings
- Minutes of student representative meetings
- Programme/qualification handbooks
- Induction policy and timetables for students and staff
- Complaints procedure
- Whistle Blowing policy
- Social Media policy
- Safeguarding policy
- Wellbeing policy
- ensure any concerns or complaints are investigated and dealt with effectively, ensuring the wellbeing of people and animals is prioritised.
This may be evidenced through:
- Complaints review board
- Complaints procedure
- AEI/delivery site fitness to practise policy
- Safeguarding Policy
- Wellbeing Policy
- Examples of complaints
- ensure incidents are fully investigated and learning reflections and actions are recorded and disseminated.
This may be evidenced through:
- Minutes of meetings
- Clinical audit reports
- Complaints procedure
- Disciplinary Policy
- Risk assessment and policy reviews
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Accident records
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Evidence of outcomes/actions and dissemination
- Examples of incidents or complaints
- promote student engagement with the RCVS Codes of Professional Conduct to develop open and honest practitioners.
This may be evidenced through:
- AEI/delivery site fitness to practise procedure
- Student feedback
- Module/qualification handbook
- Monitoring of teaching and learning
- Day One Skills Recording Tool
- Learning logs
- Reflective diaries
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Tutorial records
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Learner reviews
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Student handbook
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Clinical practice handbook
- develop a learning culture that is fair, impartial, transparent, fosters good relations between individuals and diverse groups, and is compliant with equalities and human rights legislation.
This may be evidenced through:
- Monitoring of teaching and learning
- Staff training records
- CPD records
- Self-assessment reports
- Student feedback
- External examiner reports
- Equality, diversity and inclusion policy
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Reasonable adjustment policy
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Conflict of interest declarations
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Complaints procedure
- National Student Survey (NSS) results
- utilise information and data to promote and enhance equality of opportunities and widening participation.
This may be evidenced through:
- Self-assessment reports
- External examiner/adviser reports
- Student feedback
- Stakeholder feedback
- Minutes of staff and/or student meetings
- National Student Survey (NSS) data
- Office for Students (OfS) data, access and participation plans
- Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) Conditions of Recognition reports
- work to promote inter-professional education and inter-professional practice and support opportunities for research collaboration.
This may be evidenced through:
- Programme level intended learning outcomes
- Module/qualification handbooks
- Secondment policy and examples
- Guest (expert) speaker timetables
- Research committee meetings
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Expert witness documentation
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Group project work
- Knowledge summaries
- Poster presentation
- promote evidenced-based improvement in education and veterinary nursing practise.
This may be evidenced through:
- Research committee meetings
- Programme/qualification level intended learning outcomes
- Module/qualification handbooks
- CPD policy
- Secondment policy and examples
- Guest (expert) speaker timetables
- Journal clubs
- Clinical audits
- Clinical governance
- Quality improvement policies and procedures
- Inter-professional research opportunities
- demonstrate a reasonable commitment to environmental sustainability, including consideration of the impact of delivering the programme on the environment.
This may be evidenced through:
- Environment sustainability policy
- Waste disposal contracts
- Accreditation with external partners e.g., green credentials
- TP/aTP approval and monitoring records
- Sustainably sourced materials
- Evidence of internal teams/groups promoting environmental sustainability