RCVS approves new accreditation standards for vet degrees

Landmark changes to the accreditation standards for UK veterinary degrees have been agreed by the RCVS and come into effect from 2023.

RCVS council voted on 11 November to adapt contemporary standards and methodology for degrees, the culmination of two years of research and development.

The college’s Graduate Outcomes consultation between November 2018 and January 2019 formed a key part of the evidence base for the changes, with stakeholders in the profession heavily involved in the work.

Purpose

The purpose of the reforms is to ensure the RCVS’ accreditation process is in line with international best practice and secures the quality of veterinary education.

Key changes include an increased focus on evidence of positive outcomes, beyond input measures and processes alone. A greater focus on clinical education work in the “general practice” context will also now have to make up at least 70% of students’ studies, following widespread calls from vets, employers and students themselves.

The college said the changes will ensure its accreditation of vet degrees is fit for purpose, with implementation set for January 2023.

Six key areas

The college’s education committee is to further work on defining specific terms within the standards, including what “general practice context” means.

The new standards are split across six key areas:

• The learning environment: standards outline what facilities, equipment and resources students must have at their disposal.
• Organisation, culture and values: this covers steps each vet school must take to champion and encourage diversity within its student intake, and how to ensure students have supportive, inclusive and healthy environments for students to learn in.
• Educational governance and quality improvement: standards covering make-up of the leadership, governance and quality assurance measures a vet school must have in place.
• Supporting students: systems each vet school must put in place to support students in their studies, and care for their physical and mental well-being. These also outline what should be provided so that students can achieve Day One Competences.
• Supporting educators: the support measures required to be in place for educators, to ensure they are equipped for – and supported – in their roles.
• Curriculum and assessment: standards outlining what the vet school’s curriculum needs to provide for its students and how this is delivered, in addition to how students’ achievement of the Day One Competences need to be assessed in a robust manner.

Robust

Sue Paterson, who chairs the RCVS education committee, said: “I want to thank council members for a robust debate on the proposed accreditation standards. However, I am glad that council voted to support these proposals and I’m confident that their implementation will be a huge asset to the veterinary profession.

“We recognise there is a need to clearly define specific terms within the standards, such as ‘general practice context’, and to provide guidance around what a transition period to the full implementation of the standards will look like. These areas will now be discussed further by our primary qualifications subcommittee and education committee.”

Thanks

Dr Paterson added: “I also want to thank all the veterinary schools, employers, veterinary practices and vet students who took part in the accreditation consultation.

“I know there have been some concerns raised by vet schools about the move to a 70% target for GP education for veterinary students, but this is very much the direction of travel that has been asked of us by the wider profession following the Graduate Outcomes consultation and the consultation on these new proposals, including from practitioners, employers and new graduates, all of whom have strongly indicated that the veterinary curriculum needs to have a stronger focus on general practice.”

The full plans are available on the RCVS website.