President welcomes successful membership exam candidates

At a special registration ceremony at Belgravia House yesterday, the RCVS President welcomed to the Register eight veterinary surgeons who had passed the RCVS Statutory Examination for Membership this year, having previously qualified from universities outside the UK.

President Neil Smith (pictured above with the registrants) conducted the short ceremony and presented certificates of membership to the newest members of the College, in the presence of their friends and families.

“You have every reason to be very proud of your achievement; you don’t need me to tell you that passing our statutory exam is not easy!” Neil told the registrants, adding: “It has required a huge amount of work, and I am sure it has not been a smooth pathway for all of you. But, it is also something that you have not done alone, but with support from your family, friends and teachers, as well as other vets and vet nurses.”

Neil went on to emphasise the concept of the veterinary team and how the support offered to new veterinary surgeons was very much key to the profession, something he hoped the new registrants would take forward with them in their future careers.

Becoming an MRCVS is very prestigious and will open up all sorts of opportunities for me. I will now be able to work in many different countries, not just the UK.

Pratul Patil MRCVS

“I strongly encourage you to throw yourselves into all aspects of the profession, take part in local and national veterinary associations and commit yourselves to lifelong learning,” Neil said, before wishing the registrants all the best in their future careers as fellow professionals.

The statutory exam is set to enable any veterinary surgeon with a qualification not currently recognised by the RCVS to be able to practise in the UK.

Candidates often have a wide variety of backgrounds and experience, and this year was no exception. All but one had qualified some years previously and practised elsewhere in the world, and six already had postgraduate qualifications.

Pratul Patil MRCVS qualified from the University of Bombay and currently works in the Perak Turf Club in Malaysia.

“It was a very tough exam,” he remarked. “I have specialised in racehorses for some years now, so I had to learn all about the different species again.

“Becoming an MRCVS is very prestigious, though, and will open up all sorts of opportunities for me. I will now be able to work in many different countries, not just the UK,” he said.

Khadije Hette MRCVS, from Brazil, echoed the President’s comments, saying: “The mental pressure was the hardest part of the exam, and at times I felt like giving up, but I had many people supporting me.”

A 2003 graduate of the Sao Paulo State University, with both a small animal residency and MSc in orthopaedics to her name, Khadije only came to the UK whilst travelling, but after falling in love with London, she decided to stay and sit the RCVS exam.

Following a successful interview at a south London small animal practice the day before, she was due to start work at the end of the week.

“It’s been a year-and-a-half of study and part-time work, so I was delighted to pass first time, but if it wasn’t for the support of my friends and family, I wouldn’t have done it,” she said.

View all the photos from the ceremony on our Flickr photostream.