Thirteen overseas veterinary surgeons welcomed to the Register after passing examinations

Our President, Professor Stephen May, has welcomed 13 veterinary surgeons to the UK Register after they passed our Statutory Examination for Membership.

Professor Stephen May with successful Stat Exam candidates August 2017 These vets gained their veterinary qualifications from institutions outside the UK that are not recognised by the College, and therefore had to pass the examination to become members of the RCVS and be eligible to practise in the UK.

This year’s successful candidates were:

• Christina Birks DVM, St George’s University, St George’s, Grenada
• Briony Sharon Bray BVSc, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
• Cheryl Lynn Commons Lang, DVM, Ross University, Basseterre, St Kitts
• Niquet Jodi-Ann Charlene Goldson DVM, University of the West Indies, Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago
• Sunaina Gupta BVSc&AH, Rajasthan University, Bikaner, India
• Binaifer Feroze Katila, BVSc&AH, Maharashtra University, Nagpur, India
• Lianna Janine McKirdy, DVM, St Matthew’s University, Georgetown, Cayman Islands
• Amber Rose Segre DVM, St George’s University, St George’s, Grenada
• Valentina Sepulveda Bravo MV, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
• Ran Shan BA, Inner Mongolian Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
• Daniel James Wieser DVM, Ross University, Basseterre, St Kitts
• Claudia Louise Wiseman DVM, St George’s University, St George’s, Grenada
• Ejaz Yaqoob DVM, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

To pass the Statutory Membership Examination, each candidate had to take written papers and then clinical, oral and practical examinations which, this year, were held at the University of Nottingham. This year a total of 35 candidates entered for the exam.

Joined by family and friends, 12 of the 13 successful candidates attended a special ceremony at our offices in Belgravia House on Tuesday 1 August where they were formally welcomed to the Register by Professor May and our Chief Executive Officer Nick Stace.

They also made their professional declarations in which they promised to pursue their work with integrity, accept their responsibilities to the public, clients, the profession and the RCVS and ensure the health and welfare of animals in their care.

Before taking the registrants through their professional declarations, Professor May said: “Practising veterinary medicine is about approaching each situation, each unique case, with care for the client as well as the patient. By passing this exam you have demonstrated your clinical competency and it is now up to you to join the global veterinary network and uphold the high standard and reputation of veterinary surgeons across the world.”

Nick Stace then spoke a few words before calling each registrant up to receive their certificate: “This is both a sad and a cheerful occasion for me, for while this is one of my favourite ceremonies, this is also one of my last ceremonies ever as CEO of the RCVS as I will leave to join the Prince’s Trust in September. You have all worked incredibly hard to pass this exam, and I wish you all the absolute best as Members of the Royal College.”

Binaifer Katila commented on the day: “It has been an uphill journey and quite a daunting task, but it is extremely rewarding and if there are any overseas vets who want to work in the UK, or further their career, I would definitely advise that they take this exam. Not only does it allow you to practise in the UK but it also definitely improves your standards as a vet.”

Pictures of the ceremony and the registrants are available.