FAQs

A designated certificate is a specific modular route leading to a named qualification - for example CertAVP (Equine Stud Medicine) or CertAVP (Small Animal Practice). To obtain a designated certificate, you will need to choose your modules carefully from a limited list. Most designated certificates will also require a separate final assessment (synoptic assessment) once all the modules have been passed.

Applicants must provide evidence of their good standing.  There are two ways you can provide this. 

If you are registered as a veterinary nurse elsewhere then you must ask the organisation you are registered with to provide a ‘Letter or Certificate of good standing’.  They will confirm that you:

• are or have been registered with them as a veterinary nurse;
• have not been the subject of any disciplinary enquiries and that there are no disciplinary findings against you.

If you are unable to provide a ‘Letter or Certificate of good standing’, you will need to demonstrate evidence of your good standing by completing an affidavit or declaration. 

The affidavit or declaration is made by you on oath, or in solemn form, before a competent judicial or administrative authority or notary public. The affidavit will confirm:

• The school and date you obtained your qualification;
• The specific reason you are not currently registered with a regulatory authority outside the UK eg there is no regulator authority equivalent to the RCVS in the country you trained in;
• You have not been found guilty of serious professional misconduct or employment disciplinary proceedings in the UK or elsewhere;
• You have not been convicted of any criminal offences in the UK or elsewhere.

A T28 exemption certificate is what practices need in order to be able to denature controlled drugs for disposal in compliance with the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. Practices can register for the exemption online through the Environment Agency here. Some corporate bodies will register all their practices, and other practices will need to do so on an individual basis. The registration process is free of charge and lasts for 3 years.

Having a T28 certificate does not change the requirements for witnessed destruction.

Find a Vet is one of the leading online veterinary practice databases with around 15,000 searches for practices made every month. If your premises is open to the public, a basic Find A Vet listing will be created for you when you register (unless you choose otherwise). Find A Vet is not an exhaustive list of all premises on the Register of Veterinary Practice Premises (RVPP).

To update your details on Find a Vet, please email [email protected].

The annual renewal for vets is due for completion by 1 April each year.

The annual renewal for VNs is due for completion by 1 November each year.

Vets: If you pay your fee after 30 April the fee amount will increase by £35.00.  If the fee is not received in full by 31 May your name will be removed from the Register. Should you, at any point, need to restore your name to the Register then you will need to pay an additional restoration fee.

VNs: If you pay your fee after 1 November, the fee amount will not change. However, if we have not received your payment or confirmation of your registration by 1 January your name will be removed from the Register of Veterinary Nurses.

It is illegal to practise in the UK whilst your name is not on the Register, and any professional indemnity insurance may also be invalidated. You will no longer be able to use the post nominals MRCVS or RVN.

Should you, at any point, need to restore your name to the Register then you will need to pay an additional restoration fee.

The CertAVN will allow RVNs to gain an accredited qualification at graduate level, whereas the DipAVN was at undergraduate level.

The CertAVN also comprises fewer credits allowing for a potentially shorter programme and more specific modular content.

The examination consists of two components: a written examination and a practical examination (Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

The written component consists of best-of-5 multiple-choice questions which will assess your clinical knowledge and will include an open-book paper assessing your familiarity with the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.

The OSCE will assess a range of practical skills. For more information on the format, please refer to section 6 of the guidance document.

CDs are subject to additional legal requirements as they have been identified as at risk of abuse or misuse. For acute conditions, the maximum quantity of CDs prescribed should not exceed 30 days’ worth; exceptionally, to cover a justifiable clinical need and after consideration of any risk, a prescription can be issued for a longer period, but the reasons for the decision should be recorded in the animal’s clinical notes.

If more than 30 days’ worth of treatment is prescribed, the prescribing veterinary surgeon must be sure that the owner is competent to use the medicine safely.

Please see the Controlled Drugs Guidance – A to Z for more information on prescribing for chronic conditions.

When you feel that you are ready to submit your e-portfolio, you should sit down with your VetGDP Adviser to check that they agree that you are ready to submit or whether they feel have some areas where they feel you should record further evidence that you have achieved your EPAs.

Once you have both agreed, click on 'manage e-portfolio' and then 'submit'.

Your VetGDP Adviser will receive an email saying that you have submitted and they will be asked to sign in and approve the submission.

The e-portfolio will then be checked by the RCVS to see that there is content for each EPA and allocated to a peer reviewer.

The peer reviewer has 2 weeks to agree to review the e-portfolio and then a further two weeks to do the actual review.

You will then receive confirmation that your peer reviewer agrees that your e-portfolio is complete or feedback on which areas need further additions.

If you do need to make additions to your e-portfolio, you may do so and then follow the submission process again.

There is a progress bar within your e-portfolio to let you show you where you are in the sequence.

The PDP is a self-assessment system that aims to instil a conscious and conscientious approach to professional learning. It provides a structure for new and recent graduates including overseas graduates (and for others returning to practice after a break), to reflect on their progress in developing their confidence and competence across a number of clinical areas, measured against the general RCVS Professional Development Phase (PDP) Competences.

The PDP provides a logical link between undergraduate and postgraduate development. The veterinary degree equips graduates with the essential Day One Competences needed for safe practice immediately on graduation, but these are only a starting point. Professional competence needs to be further developed in a structured manner during the first year or so in clinical practice*, until a recently qualified vet can perform confidently as a fully-effective professional in the work place. The PDP is the first step in the recent graduate’s continuing professional development (CPD).

To complete the PDP, new and recent graduates must keep a brief, accurate and honest record of their clinical cases against a list of clinical skills and procedures, and must reflect on how they are progressing in meeting the PDP Competences. They should use the PDP component of the Professional Development Record to record their progress in achieving the PDP Competences. The CPD component of the Professional Development Record can also be used alongside PDP to record participation in other CPD activities, such as attendance on courses.

* For the purpose of PDP, ‘clinical practice’ means offering clinical services direct to the public or to other veterinary surgeons. For reference, see definition in the Code of Conduct at paragraph 3.2.