RCVS appoints two new Postgraduate Deans

We have now appointed two new Postgraduate Deans to help guide recently graduated veterinary surgeons through their first few years in practice.

Mary de Las Casas and Shona McIntyre were appointed to the positions at the beginning of August and will help graduates during the Professional Development Phase (PDP), a period of structured learning and development to help the transition between student and practice life.

Mary (pictured right) graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2003 and has worked as a mixed animal veterinary surgeon both in the UK and New Zealand. Until recently she has been in practice at Chapelfield Vets in Norfolk. She has recently been appointed as a lecturer for the veterinary nursing course at the Central College of Animal Studies in Ipswich where she will also be helping to develop a course aimed at graduate vets.

Speaking of her appointment as Postgraduate Dean she said: “I have always enjoyed and gained a lot of satisfaction helping the new graduates who have started at our practice. It saddens me to hear of vets leaving the profession early in their career. As a Dean, I hope I can use my experience to become part of a structured development phase to help and support new graduates develop the skills and experience they needed to enjoy a life in the veterinary profession.”

Shona (pictured right) graduated from Glasgow University in 2006 and has primarily worked as a small animal practitioner since then. She is currently the clinical standards manager and a small animal clinician at a mixed practice in Fife, Scotland where she is involved in training veterinary nurses, performance management for clinical staff and assisting new graduates in their transition into practice.

Regarding her appointment Shona said: “Having reached the 10 year milestone in my career I wanted to start giving back to the profession and help new graduates develop into the veterinary surgeons of the future. I want to help provide them with the best start they can have in their career and felt becoming a Dean was a stepping stone to achieving this.”

A Postgraduate Dean is allocated to each graduate when they register to use our PDP system. They are then responsible for monitoring progress and are the main point of contact for assistance.

Once the graduate has completed the PDP – which they will normally do within three years of entering clinical practice – the Postgraduate Dean is responsible for reviewing and signing off the final record.

A video about the Professional Development Phase and the role of Postgraduate Deans is available to view on our YouTube channel.