RCVS updates day one competences

The RCVS has today (2 July) published a new set of “day one competences” – the skills and knowledge expected of graduates entering practice.

A new competency model and the day one competences that underpin it were developed following detailed feedback from the profession in the Graduate Outcomes consultation.

Outcomes

The Graduate Outcomes consultation, by the RCVS and UK veterinary schools, explored how students could be better prepared for life in practice and better supported in their first few years.

Feedback collated from significant feedback shaped the finalised RCVS Day One Competences.

Four key areas

The four key areas were:

• Personal leadership – attitudes and behaviours expected of a professional veterinary surgeon are set out and includes knowledge of the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, recognition of one’s own abilities and limitations, and how to react and/or act in different situations and circumstances.
• Professional commitment – encompassing the graduate’s professional capabilities around the business aspects of veterinary practice. Competences in this domain recognise that graduates are not expected to have full knowledge of how to run a successful business, but that they should be aware of the way the profession operates, both in terms of businesses that exist within the profession and outside the profession in related areas.
• Reflective relationships: these concern professional relationships, including with those who graduates work directly with, and those in other locations and areas of the profession, as well as allied professionals and with clients. Understanding how to communicate and collaborate effectively is key for the competences within this domain, as they are central to forming and maintaining the relationships that will exist within a veterinary surgeon’s professional life.
• Vet capability: this domain describes the clinical competences, and encompasses the practical skills, techniques and underlying veterinary scientific knowledge veterinary surgeons must possess on graduation. By meeting these competences, graduates demonstrate they are ready to carry out clinical procedures independently (to a day one competence standard). The majority of the competences lie within this domain.

Central focus

RCVS council member Stephen May, who led the Graduate Outcomes working party, said: “Developing new day one competences was one of the key strands of the Graduate Outcomes consultation and we are very glad that we can now deliver on this important work.

“While clinical and scientific skills will always be a central focus of a degree in veterinary medicine, the new framework recognises that professional (‘non-technical’) skills – such as effective communication, relationship-building, reflective practice, business acumen and professional responsibility – are as important in successful practice as technical aspects of veterinary work.”

He added findings from the earlier Vet Futures project had shown a divide between technical learnings and realities of practice life.