Posts

Be part of #TheBigPicture with Graduate Outcomes Consultation

/in /by

On 15 November 2018 the RCVS launched one of its most ambitious consultations yet regarding the future of veterinary education and how the profession can better help support veterinary graduates through the transition into life in practice.

Launching at the London Vet Show 2018 with a call to be part of #TheBigPicture, the Graduate Outcomes Consultation asks for the views of all veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, veterinary students and other stakeholders in a broad range of areas related to how veterinary students are educated and trained, and how recent graduates are prepared and supported into life in practice.

Professor Stephen May (pictured), RCVS Senior Vice-President and Chair of the Graduate Outcomes Working Group which developed the consultation, said: “For some time it has been apparent that there is often a mismatch between the way that veterinary students are educated and their expectations of life in practice, and the realities which they encounter. This can often lead to problems with mental health and wellbeing and therefore recruitment and retention.

“This is not unique to the UK. Veterinary educators around the world are recognising the dangers of ‘knowledge overload’ as veterinary students are exposed to more and more advances in technical and scientific knowledge, in an ever-wider range of areas, which has made the development of crucial professional skills such as communication, decision-making, ethics and reflection more of a challenge within curricula where there is limited space.

“This impression was cemented by the research we conducted with the British Veterinary Association as part of our joint Vet Futures project in which there was a strong message from recent graduates that many of them were struggling with the transition into working life.

“One of the key actions of the Vet Futures Action Plan, published in 2016, was therefore to conduct a wide-ranging, root-and-branch review of outcomes for veterinary graduates and how they could be improved, encompassing the veterinary degree and the important first year in practice.

“Since 2016 we have been busy liaising with stakeholders, organisations, educators and others to work out where we think the key areas for potential change can be found and to develop a series of questions for the profession on how improvements can be made; in particular, how we rebalance curricular content to develop capable professionals. We are now proud to be able to launch this consultation to the profession at large.”

The consultation will encompass four core areas identified by the Working Group. These are:

  • Day One Competences – the skills and attributes required by veterinary graduates to work safely and independently upon entering practice. The consultation will be seeking feedback on a new overarching model for the Day One Competences, and some specific competences, encompassing a greater focus on those critically important ‘professional skills’ such as communication, collaboration, self-reflection and clinical reasoning.
  • The Professional Development Phase (PDP) – a period of structured learning and development for recent graduates that acts as a structured bridge between life as a veterinary student and clinical practice. The consultation builds on research conducted last year with the profession, which identified a need for a more structured PDP programme, and the consultation is now asking for feedback on what this could look like.
  • Extra-mural studies (EMS) – the consultation will be asking questions about how EMS placements should best be implemented, to achieve a more consistent quality and value for veterinary students. The consultation will also explore whether EMS could be revised to fall towards the end of the veterinary degree and act as a bridge between the degree and the Professional Development Phase.
  • Clinical education for General Practice – this element of the consultation will be looking at how the veterinary degree can ensure there is an appropriate balance of general practice and specialist experience so that students are prepared for as wide an array of clinical experiences as possible.

Promoting the consultation over the two days of the London Vet Show and throughout the nine-week consultation period, the RCVS will also be running a social media campaign under the hashtag #TheBigPicture, to help raise awareness of the scale and importance of this review and encourage all veterinary surgeons, nurses and students to take part, as well as those in the broader veterinary team.

Professor Susan Dawson, Chair of the RCVS Education Committee, at the Graduate Outcomes pre-launch in October 2018 “It is fair to say that this is one of the most ambitious consultations the College has carried out in at least the past 20 years,” said Professor Susan Dawson (pictured), Chair of  the RCVS Education Committee and member of the Graduate Outcomes Working Group, “but it will only succeed if we have the support and input of as many veterinary professionals as possible.

“Our ‘Big Picture’ campaign therefore refers not only to the sheer scale and importance of the areas under consultation, but also to the need to encourage everyone to submit their views, no matter what stage they are in their career, or in what sector of the profession they work. Their constructive feedback will be critical to ensure we get this right, as this will affect not just those qualifying in the next few years, but potentially the next generation of veterinary graduates.

“With such a big picture to consider, we sincerely hope that they can set aside some time to send us their views, and I can assuredly say it will be time very well spent.”

The consultation exercise is being carried out on behalf of the RCVS by the independent research consultancy, Work Psychology Group (WPG).

In mid-November, WPG emailed every RCVS-registered veterinary surgeon and veterinary nurse with a unique link to the online consultation. It is expected that respondents will need to set some time aside to answer the consultation in full, so this personalised link will enable them to submit their views in stages, and pick up where they left off.

The RCVS is also hoping that veterinary students, veterinary organisations and all those in the wider veterinary team will also be able to submit their views via a general link to the online consultation.

The deadline for responding to this first stage of the Graduate Outcomes Consultation is Friday 18 January 2019. The second stage of the consultation, in the first quarter of 2019, will consist of focus groups and interviews with selected respondents.

How can we increase the number of veterinary nurses entering and staying within the profession? asks guest blogger

/0 Comments/in /by

‘Where are all the veterinary nurses?’ is the opening gambit of the September 2015 guest blog, which examines the current undersupply of veterinary nurses in the industry and examines what more can be done to increase the number of students and retain experienced nurses.

This month’s blog was written by Laura Kidd, a veterinary surgeon, VN lecturer and clinical skills tutor for veterinary students.

In the blog she argues that, despite year-on-year increases in the number of veterinary nurses, this seems to be insufficient to meet demand and that, furthermore, there is a trend towards people leaving the profession relatively early, with the average age being just over 30.

“Identifying the reasons for VNs leaving the profession at a young age and addressing these, is one potential way of increasing VN numbers in the future,” she writes.

She argues that poor pay, stress, not feeling rewarded or valued and perceived lack of career progression all contribute to people leaving the profession, although she welcomes initiatives from the BVNA, BVA, RCVS and others to increase the status of the profession, create more diverse career opportunities and improve the profession’s mental wellbeing.

However, she adds that “perhaps we may, reluctantly, have to accept that, for the time-being, veterinary nursing is a young profession with a high turnover.”

With this in mind she suggests that training more veterinary nurses will be the key to increasing the number of qualified members of the profession in the immediate future. In order to do this she believes that more practices need to be supported to become RCVS-approved Training Practices offering clinical training and work experience for student veterinary nurses and that an alternative training pathway for veterinary nurses may need to be looked at.

She adds: “The entry requirements for the VN Diploma are relatively low, yet the qualification is academically demanding: the volume and depth of knowledge is considerable for the level and qualification and the requirement to demonstrate critical reflection through academic writing can be challenging.

“It is regrettable that some student veterinary nurses, who appear to have the qualities to be very good VNs, are lost to the profession, unable to pass awarding body exams. Should we be developing an additional VN training pathway which allows more students to demonstrate they have the required skills to provide high quality nursing to their patients?”

In response to her proposal, this month’s poll asks visitors “Is there a need for another VN training option?”

Last month’s poll asked if vets always acted as animal welfare advocates. This was in response to an article by animal welfare expect Professor David Main in which he argues that the profession should do more to demonstrate its animal welfare credentials and introduce safeguards against excessive profit-seeking. Although just 22 people took part in the poll, around two-thirds (67%) of them said that vets do not always act as animal welfare advocates.

Where are all the veterinary nurses? Is there a need for another training option?

/18 Comments/in , /by

Laura Kidd is a qualified veterinary surgeon, VN lecturer and educational consultant who tutors on a post-graduate VN qualification, as well as teaching clinical skills to veterinary students.

Each year the actual number of veterinary nurses (VNs) in the UK increases (RCVS, 2014) yet, anecdotally, there seem to be insufficient veterinary nurses to meet demand.

The 2014 RCVS Survey of the Veterinary Nurse Profession (Williams and Robinson, 2014) indicates that over the next 10 years the demand for VNs will increase: with members believing that there are not too many VNs being trained (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p88).

Veterinary nursing is a young profession: the average age of VNs in full-time employment is only 30.8 years (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p15). Identifying the reasons for VNs leaving the profession at a young age, and addressing these, is one potential way of increasing VN numbers in the future.

Laura Kidd

Laura Kidd

With the main reasons cited for VNs leaving the profession continuing to be poor pay, stress and not feeling rewarded or valued (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p 43), it is to be hoped that the combined efforts of RCVS, VN Council, BVNA and BVA, in introducing a new Royal Charter (RCVS, 2015, a) and  campaigning  to have Parliament change the law to protect the title ‘veterinary nurse’ (RCVS, 2015, b), will  increase the status of the VN profession. As stated by John Blackwell, President of British Veterinary Association (RCVS, 2015, b), this could lead to increased recognition of ‘the skills of qualified veterinary nurses and the unique contribution they make to the veterinary team’.

The VN profession has changed and evolved significantly over the last 20 plus years, with many more postgraduate qualifications and options for career development. However, whilst the number of VNs who think there are opportunities for career progression has increased, many still do not believe this to be the case (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p82). Additionally, for many, the profession is not considered to provide part-time working opportunities or to be ‘family-friendly’ (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p82).

Most VNs surveyed (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p75) felt that their work gives them satisfaction and variety, but is stressful and the majority of VNs also feel that newly qualified nurses need more support in practice (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p 81). When considering these factors, maybe it is not a surprise that VNs leave the profession at a young age. Perhaps we may, reluctantly, have to accept that, for the time-being, veterinary nursing is a young profession with a high turnover.

However, the current focus on wellbeing within the profession, with attempts to identify and address the causes of the stress which makes some VNs leave the profession, and the stage in their career at which this develops, is to be welcomed.

Furthermore, it is promising that 83% of VNs surveyed (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p43) indicate their intention to remain in the profession for the foreseeable future. Is it therefore possible to improve the salary, work-life balance, career progression (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p93) and professional recognition so that even fewer VNs will leave?

The other main way to increase VN numbers is, of course, to train more students; and increase the numbers qualifying annually.

The VN professional qualification has a very strong emphasis on vocational training, encouraging the development of practical skills and Day One Competences. The broad syllabus and rigorous training are of a very high standard: ensuring that VNs acquire the required knowledge, understanding and research skills for veterinary practice. It is essential that these high standards of training are maintained and developed in order to produce veterinary nurses with the skills required for working within the profession, now and in the future.

Yet, in spite of the huge demand and competition for places on further and higher education VN courses, there appears to be insufficient VNs to meet the requirements of the profession. This is not a new problem but, anecdotally, the situation is worse than it has ever been.

The number of students able to commence VN training annually is limited by the availability of Training Practices: this is considered to be one of the main challenges to the VN profession (Williams and Robinson, 2014, p94). While it is admirable that so many approved practices support VN training, many cannot, for various reasons. Can we support more practices to become Training Practices in the future?

Furthermore, while the entry requirements for the VN Diploma are relatively low, the qualification is academically demanding. The volume and depth of knowledge is considerable for the level of qualification and the requirement to demonstrate critical reflection through academic writing can be challenging. It is regrettable that some student veterinary nurses, who appear to have the qualities to be very good VNs, are lost to the profession at this stage; unable to pass awarding body exams. Should we be developing an additional VN training pathway which allows more students to demonstrate they have the required skills to provide high quality nursing to their patients?  Without lowering the standards in any way, can we identify a way of increasing the numbers of students who can start and complete VN training?

The future of the VN profession is exciting: it is hoped that the title ‘veterinary nurse’ will become protected and that there will be more stress-free, valued, competent VNs, providing optimum nursing care.

BUT the issues that are facing the profession need to be addressed now: we need to train more VNs and keep the ones we’ve got!

References:

RCVS (2014) RCVS Facts 2014 (accessed 22.8.15)

RCVS (2015, a) New Royal Charter Comes into effect (accessed 22.8.15)

RCVS (2015, b) Protect the title ‘veterinary nurse’! (accessed 22.8.15)

Williams, M. and Robinson, D. (2014) Vet Futures: The 2014 RCVS Survey of the Veterinary Nurse Profession (accessed 22.8.15)

Read more about Laura Kidd→

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of either the RCVS or the BVA.