FAQs

The CertAVN has allowed the providers to develop niche areas for further training and development, so you now have the option to train in the specific area of your choosing. The programme subjects will be available on the providers’ websites.

Module content will be released to you upon enrolment to the programme.

To become a VetGDP Adviser you need to be a veterinary surgeon and have been on the UK-Practising Register for a minimum of three years.

If you wish to discuss your eligibility, please contact us by emailing [email protected].

RCVS Education Department

T 020 7202 0702 or 020 7202 0791

E [email protected]

Information on who has access to PDP records is included under ‘Terms and Conditions of use of the Professional Development Record’. It is up to the graduate to decide whether they want to give their employer access to their online record. There is no compulsion to do so, as some may feel inhibited from recording their personal notes and reflections in their PDP record if they think their employer has unrestricted access. However, they can email a link to any page of their PDP or CPD record to anyone else of their choosing. This email link provides third-party access to a non-editable ‘snap shot’ page of the record, so could be useful when preparing for an appraisal meeting or other performance review. 

Currently, all veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses can access the Academy. Towards the end of this year, our student veterinary surgeons, nurses and those who are moving to the UK will also be provided with access to support their preparation to be UK-registered professionals.

Once a veterinary surgeon has met their ‘under care’ obligations pursuant to the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 (as amended), and Chapter 4 of the supporting guidance to the Code of Conduct, they may delegate the dispensing/supply of those POM-Vs or veterinary medicinal products under the cascade to a team member.  In order to do this, the prescribing veterinary surgeon must authorise each transaction individually before it is supplied (see next section for further information) and be satisfied that the person handing it over to the client is competent to do so. For the veterinary surgeon to be satisfied the person dispensing must have knowledge of practice protocols (i.e. trained) and there must be a SOP in place.

The prescribing and delegating veterinary surgeon will remain ultimately responsible, and their responsibilities associated with the prescription and supply of POM-Vs and veterinary medicinal products under the cascade, is set out at paragraphs 4.37 - 4.41 of Chapter 4, as follows:

4.37  A veterinary surgeon or veterinary nurse who is also an SQP who prescribes a POM-VPS veterinary medicinal product, or supplies a NFA-VPS veterinary medicinal product, and a veterinary surgeon who prescribes a POM-V or a veterinary medicinal product under the cascade is required:

1. before they do so, to be satisfied that the person who will use the product is competent to use it safely and intends to use it for a use for which it is authorised;
2. when they do so, to advise on the safe administration of the veterinary medicinal product;
3. when they do so, to advise as necessary on any warnings or contra-indications on the label or package leaflet;
4. to not prescribe (or in the case of a NFA-VPS product, supply) more than the minimum amount required for the treatment

4.38 The VMRs do not define 'minimum amount' and the RCVS considers this must be a matter for the professional judgement of the veterinary surgeon in the individual case.

4.39 The prescribing veterinary surgeon or SQP is required to be present when POM-Vs, POM-VPS, or NAF-VPS are handed over unless they have authorised each transaction individually before the product is supplied and is satisfied that the person handing it over is competent to do so.

4.40  Veterinary medicinal products must be supplied in appropriate containers and with appropriate labelling.

4.41  It is illegal under the VMRs to use or supply a veterinary medicinal product that has passed its expiry date.

Schedule 2 Controlled Drugs (CD) must be destroyed in the presence of a witness. A witness can be a veterinary surgeon who is independent from the practice where the CD is destroyed. This also applies to Schedules 3 and 4 CDs that have been prepared extemporaneously for use under the Cascade. To be considered independent this vet:

• Must not demand or accept any form of payment, beyond that which is reasonable to cover travel costs.
• Must record their RCVS number and confirm their independence in the CD register.
• Must have no personal, professional, or financial interest in or relationship with the veterinary practice where the drug is being destroyed (for example, temporary staff and family members of staff are not considered to be independent; ‘family member’ refers to spouse, partners, parents, siblings, children or other relatives).
• Must not share stock with or provide services (with exception of the function as a witness to the destruction of CDs) to the practice where the drugs are being destroyed.
• May work for the same franchise or corporate group provided the practices have a different owner and are separate legal entities.

To maintain independence, the vet destroying the CDs should not use the same witness repeatedly for the destruction of CDs at their practice.

The VMD guidance on the disposal of controlled drugs provides further examples of when a vet would be considered “independent”.

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR), including the registration and inspection of veterinary practice premises. All newly registered premises will be inspected within 6 months of registering. The frequency of further inspections is determined using a risk-based approach with the most compliant premises inspected every 4 years. However, less compliant premises may be inspected more frequently. The statutory fee for a VMD inspection of a vet practice premises is £350. If a practice is in the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) then a Practice Standards Inspector will be responsible for ensuring that the practice is compliant with the VMR during the PSS inspection.

Anybody involved with the practice may register it as a veterinary practice premises with the RCVS, but it would be helpful if within the practice there is agreement about who is to be the point of contact.

All newly qualified graduates and those with less than one year’s clinical experience are required to complete the PDP, regardless of where they qualified in the UK or overseas. Anyone who is returning to work after a career-break is also encouraged to use the system until they feel they have adequately refreshed their skills.