From the start of 2016, the RCVS will no longer allow veterinary surgeons or veterinary nurses to enter undocumented continuing professional development (CPD) on their records.

Under the RCVS Codes of Professional Conduct, veterinary surgeons are required to record a minimum of 105 hours of CPD over a three-year period, while veterinary nurses are expected to carry out 45 hours of CPD over the same period.

Historically, vets and nurses have been able to record 10 and 5 hours as undocumented private study per annum respectively. The RCVS Education Committee decided to discontinue the allowance for vets in May and the Veterinary Nursing Committee followed suit in June.

Julie Dugmore, RCVS Head of Veterinary Nursing, said: “As with the veterinary surgeons, this decision was made because it was felt that all CPD, including private study, should be properly documented on the CPD records of veterinary nurses.

“This change, however, is not intended to discourage private study which we recognise extends across a range of different types of learning, including reading, and can be very valuable for personal development, but merely that it should be properly documented.”

The College says it hopes the changes will also clear up uncertainty around the respective allowances for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses, as some were under the impression that private study, even if it was documented, could only be classed within that category.

The Education Department is also in the process of reviewing the information available to veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses regarding what counts as CPD, in order to clear up uncertainty and provide more specific examples for each learning category.

Information about CPD for veterinary surgeons can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/cpd, while for veterinary nurses the information is available at www.rcvs.org.uk/vncpd

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