Entering the veterinary profession is an acceptance of lifelong learning. Aside from the mandatory RCVS requirements, veterinary knowledge is changing at such a pace that vets and veterinary nurses need to keep up to date with the latest learnings for everyday practice. As such, CPD is integral to the veterinary profession. With the launch of My Veterinary Career, Improve Veterinary Practice sat down with David Babington, BVetMed, MRCVS, one of the founders of Improve Veterinary Education (IVE) and current academic and product development director, to discuss all things education in the veterinary profession.
How is the CPD landscape changing and how does the My Veterinary Career pathway sit in this?
I think we need to look at the wider state of the profession – 40 percent of vets working in the UK are currently considering leaving the profession, which is a very worrying number. Of these, 40 percent cited a lack of career progression as one of the main factors for considering leaving (Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, 2019). Veterinary practice is becoming more technical – from advanced imaging to client communication, as well as in CPD – and there is a growing need for vets to develop special interests in selected subjects rather than being a “jack of all trades”. The My Veterinary Career pathway provides a structured route for vets to develop and enhance their knowledge and skills in a chosen area of interest, while the My Veterinary Nurse Career pathway provides a similar route for veterinary nurses.
Given the significant proportion of vets and nurses wanting to leave the profession, how do My Veterinary Career and My Veterinary Nurse Career support vets and vet nurses and address the high levels of burnout and pressure on the industry?
Learning new skills is a vital part of career progression. The act of learning helps to build confidence, and this ultimately creates happier vets and nurses. Feeling better able to cope with those more difficult clinical cases makes the working day more enjoyable. My Veterinary Career and My Veterinary Nurse Career provide a signposted way for ambitious and driven individuals to develop as professionals.
The act of learning helps to build confidence, and this ultimately creates happier vets and nurses
So, how can vets and nurses progress their career through the programmes?
The career pathway is broken down into a number of courses, each carrying points/credits and some leading to additional qualifications. Vets and nurses can select from a mixture of compulsory and optional courses and study over a period of time to achieve a Master General Practitioner award from the International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS) or a Lead Veterinary Nurse Practitioner award.
The final qualifications sound impressive. Can you tell us more about them?
So, vets will need to achieve 180 points for the Master General Practitioner award and nurses will need 60 points to gain the Lead Veterinary Nurse Practitioner. We believe that they represent some of the highest clinical awards available to vets and nurses working in first opinion practice. Achieving one of these awards will demonstrate that a vet or nurse is practising at a very high standard, supporting them in taking the next step in their career be that in a new or existing role.
Achieving one of these awards will demonstrate that a vet or nurse is practising at a very high standard, supporting them in taking the next step in their career be that in a new or existing role
What are the CPD routes currently available in these career pathways?
All of the clinically orientated courses that make up My Veterinary Career have been designed to be relevant to practice. Small animal medicine, small animal surgery and diagnostic imaging were chosen as the first three designated routes for vets undertaking My Veterinary Career as these subjects are the most popular areas within clinical practice. For nurses we currently have anaesthesia as a full designation, which has proved very successful as a Nurses Certificate and Advanced Certificate programme. In 2024, we will be launching follow-on courses for nurses in medical nursing and surgical nursing. These will be more advanced courses to complement the Nurses Certificate programmes, which already exist.
As well as the clinical skills, My Veterinary Career aims to focus on non-clinical skills too. Both vets and nurses will be able to select from a range of wider courses covering areas such as clinical communication and health and well-being, plus other important skill areas in the future. I think this mix will help address some of the “softer” skills needed for career progression – including leadership and management positions. Further, it is a step towards tackling the wider issues around mental health and burnout we were discussing earlier.
How do practices benefit from My Veterinary Career? For instance, what is their return on investment in funding CPD longer term versus short term?
Newly learned skills can be applied straightaway and typically we would anticipate up to a 10-times return on the investment in training. This may be as a result of performing more complex surgical procedures, carrying out more extensive case investigations and making fewer external referrals. This will benefit the patient, client and ultimately the practice. Nurses undertaking My Veterinary Nurse Career will be better able to support the veterinary team and will derive greater job satisfaction as a result.
We would anticipate up to a 10-times return on the investment in training […] as a result of performing more complex surgical procedures, carrying out more extensive case investigations and making fewer external referrals
So, more would be able to be done “in-house”. Are there any other benefits the pathway may provide?
I would say flexibility in study options plus the ability to learn at your own pace are two additional great benefits. The range of courses available allows vets and nurses to build their own training plan which is tailored to their specific interests. It is also possible to take a study break during My Veterinary Career and still gain the final award – this is important as we know life in and out of practice is busy.
You need to be able to balance your professional development with other commitments, but we want to support vets and nurses to excel. In founding Improve International, now Improve Veterinary Education, our purpose is to “provide veterinary professionals with the skills and confidence to deliver compassionate animal care through advanced training and qualifications”. We believe that My Veterinary Career delivers on all of these objectives.
The veterinary CPD arena is well populated; what is different about the IVE/ISVPS approach versus any other CPD providers?
IVE has vast experience of producing digital learning products for the veterinary sector. We have an in-house team of professionals producing highly engaging online material. The online training courses all involve interactive elements which really support the learning process. Moreover, content is produced by recognised experts in their field and a supportive group forum will run throughout the duration of study.
Combined with our leading online learning delivery, we also have the most extensive practical training facilities in the world, with training centres based in Swindon, Sheffield, Madrid and Frankfurt. These facilities host the latest equipment and enable vets and nurses to put their training into practice so they can go back to practice with confidence to carry out procedures on live animals.
Our international presence also ensures that vets from many different countries are able to join a standardised study programme and achieve peer-recognised awards along the way
From a qualification perspective, the ISVPS awards are recognised worldwide, creating a benchmark for the profession. We invest significantly in business and product development and are always looking to introduce the latest ideas and thinking into our CPD. Our international presence also ensures that vets from many different countries are able to join a standardised study programme and achieve peer-recognised awards along the way.
Time is a real pinch point for vets and nurses and time away from practice and clients can be difficult. How do your new Focus 20 programmes fit into this and into the career pathways?
We have launched the new Focus 20 programmes to cater for busy vets and nurses who are wanting high-quality CPD but who cannot commit to a longer modular qualification programme. The Focus 20 programmes are shorter (five or six) modular courses that cover both clinical and non-clinical topics – from parasitology and nephrology to clinical communication skills. They will enable vets and nurses to go into greater depth in a particular area.
The majority of the Focus 20 programmes will have online, video-based teaching elements and some will also have practical instruction sessions to help consolidate the learning. Upon successful completion of the programme, they will enable vets and nurses to also gain 20 ISVPS points and 20 Harper Adams University Academic Credits towards the My Veterinary Career and My Veterinary Nurse Career pathways. In addition, these programmes will provide 40 CPD hours and give access to the RCVS Knowledge Library and one-year’s free access to the Improve Veterinary Practice membership.
| If you would like to find out more about Improve Veterinary Education’s CPD programmes and the My Veterinary Career pathway, you can do so here! |
