17 Nov 2020
RCVS and Veterinary Schools Council launch joint survey to see how pandemic has affected their employment prospects.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
A Joint survey has been launched to assess the employment impact on recently graduating veterinary surgeons of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey by the RCVS and Veterinary Schools Council (VSC) has been sent to 984 vets who graduated from one of the UK’s eight veterinary schools in 2020 to measure how the pandemic impacted them.
They will be asked to measure impact on areas including employment prospects, clinical and non-clinical skills, and resilience in the workplace.
Graduates have until 16 December to respond, with their responses treated in confidence and helping to inform future policy on graduate support.
Linda Prescott-Clements, RCVS’ director of education, said: “We know the coronavirus pandemic has had a disruptive impact on the final stages of education for the 2020 cohort, in terms of clinical placements for EMS, as well as teaching.
“This survey aims to gauge whether this has, in turn, had a deleterious impact on their confidence with both clinical and non-clinical skills, as well as their resilience, for example, in asking for help and support from colleagues, managing their time effectively, and managing complex and stressful situations.”
Dr Prescott-Clements said: “Employment is another area of concern, and in any typical year almost all graduate vets would find work or go on to further study after their veterinary degree had finished.
“Some anecdotal reports have suggested a perceived or real change to employment prospects this year, and so we are hoping to gather some further data to see if there has been a discernible impact on this cohort.
“We are mindful that the pandemic is having a significant impact on all students and we are keen to understand how best we can support them moving forward.”
Graduates who have not received the survey or who need further information can email the RCVS.
