FAQs

Yes. If you are listed on the RCVS Register as a practising member, regardless of whether you are practising overseas or in the UK, you are expected to comply with the minimum CPD requirement of 35 hours per year.

You may include CPD undertaken abroad, but you should ensure that your description of this, and the hours involved, are clearly recorded in English so that the details of what you have done are transparent to, and understood by, the RCVS and others with an interest in your CPD record, such as prospective and current employers.

The RCVS does not accredit or otherwise ‘kitemark’ activities designed and marketed by training providers as CPD, as it considers that members should identify and plan their CPD to meet their own individual skills and knowledge developmental needs as practising vets. It is the responsibility of each vet to record the number of hours spent on their CPD activities. CPD providers may find it useful to benchmark their courses against the modules in the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice and make it clear to those who attend whether the course is intended to cover some or all of the learning objectives of the CertAVP modules.

Yes, we ask vets who have been out of practice for 5 years or longer to take part in VetGDP. You will be notified when you apply to return to the Register.

Please note there will be an opportunity for vets in certain circumstances to apply for an exemption from VetGDP, which will be determined on a case-by-case basis. This may include having worked in veterinary practice overseas for the period off the Register.

The VetGDP button will only appear in your 1CPD when you are chosen by your graduate as an Adviser.

If your graduate isn’t on the drop-down list, please ask them to make sure that they have set up a relationship in their RCVS My Account, with the same practice as you.

You can find step by step guides for each party here.

We appreciate that life in practice is very busy and this has not been helped by Covid-19. However, in order to ensure that veterinary graduates are well-supported in developing into experienced professionals as quickly as possible, we are appealing to vets to become VetGDP Advisers.

The training, which will take approximately 20 hours to complete, is available online and must be completed before the veterinary graduate(s) begin work. The training can be counted towards your CPD for the year. 

Providing support for graduates will help them move beyond day one competencies as effectively as possible in the knowledge that they will receive the level of support that reflects their capabilities.

Throughout their first year of practice, these capabilities will develop, lessening their need for support. By providing a supportive environment, building confidence and resilience we envisage graduates will be more likely to stay in their role and retention will increase.

We also anticipate that the VetGDP Adviser role will be highly rewarding, providing an opportunity to motivate and develop the next generation of vets as they establish themselves in their career.

It is now too late to transfer from the 'old' certificate scheme, but you may enrol on the modular certificate system as a new candidate.

All veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses must disclose to us any caution or conviction, including absolute and conditional discharges or adverse findings which may affect their registration, whether in the UK or overseas (except for minor offences excluded from disclosure by the RCVS). Minor road traffic offences, including fixed speeding penalty notices, are exempt from disclosure.

Veterinary surgeons must also disclose any spent convictions.

For further information, please see the RCVS Protocol on Handling Convictions. You may also contact the Professional Conduct Department on 020 3821 1142 or at [email protected] for more information.

Unfortunately not. VetGDP Advisers need to be on the UK practising register and be up to date with their CPD. 

If you are a vet listed on the RCVS Register of Members as inactive and non-practising, then you are not expected to comply with the RCVS requirement of 105 hours of CPD over three years. The same applies if you are a VN who has voluntarily removed themselves from the RCVS Register of Veterinary Nurses. However, if you plan to return to practise at some point in the future, you are strongly advised to keep up-to-date with the profession and your area of practice, as far as possible.

Keeping a record of CPD activities during any period away from practice will help you to plan and prepare for your return to work as a veterinary surgeon or a veterinary nurse. Vets who return to work after a few years out of practice, can if they wish use the PDP section of the online Professional Development Record in order to benchmark and track ‘Year One competences’.

We’re hoping VetGDP will provide greater consistency and help to develop a learning culture across the profession. There shouldn't be any stigma in having a VetGDP Adviser; in fact, it shows more professionalism to ask for guidance when you need it than to pretend everything is fine when it isn't. As a veterinary professional, you are in charge of your own progress and development. The VetGDP Adviser training will include how to deliver feedback effectively and how to provide support. The training will also demonstrate what is expected in this programme so your VetGDP Adviser will understand this.