28 Apr 2023
The BVA has branded the current time-based approach “an anomaly”, but college officials say scrapping it would only benefit students with the “time, means and connections” to secure placements.
Allister Webb
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The RCVS has rejected calls for the abolition of weeks-based EMS requirements, warning the measure could create even greater division among veterinary students if it was implemented.
Fears were also shared that the move to a student-led, outcome-based programme, which the BVA has proposed, could discourage practitioners from offering placements at all.
But the association claimed time-focused rules are “an anomaly” and the present system does not properly assess the role of placements in developing overall competence.
The debate about the future shape of veterinary education has intensified once again, following the recent publication of a BVA policy paper calling for the abolition of the time-based approach to EMS.
Although the RCVS intends to cut the length of time students spend on placements from autumn 2024, the association’s EMS working group argued that does not go far enough.
Instead, it proposed the development of a student-led work placement system with no time stipulations, which it said will offer greater flexibility and control for students.
The document, which has already been backed by the Association of Veterinary Students, brands the present system “outdated” and identifies 14 separate areas of opportunity it said should be supported by EMS.
They include development of clinical and non-clinical skills, case management capability and confidence, plus team working, exposure to different clients and career paths, as well as developing understanding of the profession’s role in policymaking and wider society.
The association argued that a lack of “meaningful reform” has made the role of EMS increasingly unclear, as other aspects of veterinary education moved into areas that were once specific to EMS.
The paper adds: “Without a clear set of objectives that are understood by all stakeholders, it is impossible to have an effective system which is providing outcomes to a consistent standard.”
In a statement responding to the document, RCVS director of education Linda Prescott-Clements said the BVA’s recommendations were “largely aligned” with the findings of the college’s own EMS consultation.
She also revealed it had considered scrapping minimum-week requirements within its own reforms, which are due to come into force next year.
However, Dr Prescott-Clements added: “We do not agree with the main recommendation of the paper to remove the required minimum weeks of both pre-clinical and clinical EMS.
“We feel that this would have a high risk of unintended consequences that would be detrimental to students and new graduates entering the profession, creating further divisions in the system in terms of both equality, diversity and inclusion, and learning and professional development outcomes for veterinary students.
“While our new EMS policy reduces the minimum required amount of pre-clinical and clinical EMS, and allows for greater flexibility in meeting the requirement, we believe getting rid of it entirely would not create a level playing field and, instead, would unduly advantage those students with the time, means and connections to find placements.
“We look forward to working with the BVA and other representative and student groups, as well as the vet schools and placement providers, to implement our EMS policy over the coming months.”
But the BVA paper argues its approach could be brought into line with the entrustable professional activities model, which is part of the VetGDP graduate programme launched by the college last year.
The association also pointed out that, while EMS is currently measured in terms of completed weeks, there is no specific means of assessing the contribution it makes to overall competency.
It said: “This rigid requirement of number of weeks is an anomaly in the otherwise outcome-focused approach of the veterinary degree course.”
The call for an outcomes-based approach has also been backed by SPVS leaders, although they have raised questions about how, and by whom, placement outcomes will be monitored.
The paper argues the college should maintain oversight of vet schools to ensure consistent delivery of outcomes.
But the society said ongoing monitoring would be required, including updated surveys of providers who it said had shown no desire for greater formality in its own opinion-gathering exercise.
It added: “The unintended consequences of this could be to drive providers away rather than improve by training.”
The group has also called for “essential” support, financial investment and training for provider practices, amid ongoing concern about the burdens placed on them by EMS placements.
The Veterinary Schools Council, which has also been approached for comment on the BVA’s proposals, is surveying EMS providers on the costs they face as a result of taking part in the programme.
