RCVS Veterinary Clinical Career Pathways stakeholder focus group - Belfast

This event is for stakeholders who wish to contribute to the further development of clinical career pathways for veterinary surgeons in the UK.

The Veterinary Clinical Career Pathways (VCCP) project comprises three workstreams:

1. Curriculum development for specialty training in Veterinary Primary Care
2. Definition of veterinary clinical roles
3. Developing flexible routes to specialist training.

The project will be carried out across two years, and there will be multiple opportunities for stakeholder input throughout. This stakeholder focus group will consider some of the objectives of Workstream 1 “Curriculum development for veterinary primary care specialty training” and Workstream 2: “Definition of veterinary clinical roles”. There will be further focus groups both in person and online throughout 2024 and in 2025.

The aim of this event is to gather stakeholder’s thoughts and insights on the content of the specialty training in primary care and to consider potential learning environments for the training. Stakeholders will also discuss the definition and scope of different clinical roles and the future names of the different clinical career ‘statuses’ available to veterinary surgeons.

Focus Group Objectives

Participants will hear about the proposals for the further development of veterinary clinical career pathways, the individual workstreams and any co-dependencies between them. Following this introduction, participants will discuss several specific questions in small groups, which will help the RCVS address the following objectives:

• To identify the intended learning outcomes of the training in terms of the clinical and professional knowledge, skills and behaviours required to fulfil the role of Specialist in Primary Care / General Practice. (Workstream 1)
• To identify suitable learning environments for the training. (Workstream 1)
• Develop a clear definition of the different roles and clinical career ‘statuses’ available to veterinary surgeons, and a summary of the educational, training and / or professional development requirements associated with each (workstream 2), including:

a. General practitioner veterinary surgeon

b. Vets who have completed a postgraduate certificate and a clinical case / professional portfolio (potential new name/status, currently ‘Advanced Practitioner’).

c. Specialist

Agenda for the day

09:30 - 10:00 - Registration and refreshments
10:00 - 12:30 - Morning session
12:30 - 13:15 - Lunch
13:15 - 15:20 - Afternoon session
15:20- 15:45 - Afternoon break
15:45 - 17:00 - Afternoon session
17:00 - Programme concludes

The focus group session will be:

• Interactive: no one is here just to listen – please let us know your views, and share your insights.
• Solution-oriented: not just narrating the problem but finding options for potential solutions, and aim to enhance the profession for all.
• Future-focused: discussions should consider the potential positive impact, as well as any risks or unintended consequences to be mitigated.
• Democratic: everyone in the room has equal voice, and should feel able to contribute.
• Engaging: this is a serious topic but we want people to go away energised and engaged.

Joining instructions

Final programme details for the event will be sent out with joining instructions ahead of the event.

Attendance

We want to gather the insights and experiences of vets from across the profession, and will try to ensure each stakeholder event has a good mix of individuals representing different areas, including:

• Representatives from independent practicing vets
• Representatives from corporate practices
• Representatives who have completed a postgraduate certificate
• Representatives who have achieved Advanced Practitioner status
• Representatives who are Specialists
• Representatives working in general practice
• Representatives of recent graduates and early career vets
• Representatives of veterinary students
• Representatives from education and / or training environments
• Representatives from employers

In order to hear from as many stakeholders as possible and allow a wide range of participants to contribute, priority for spaces at the event will be given to those who have not attended a previous focus group for this work. If you attended a previous sessions, and would like to attend this event also, please email [email protected] to add your name to the waiting list.

Registration

Register here

Event enquiries

If you would like to find out more about the session or have a query, please contact the RCVS Events team directly.