RCVS seeks volunteers for extended CPD pilot
The majority of the 3,357 people who responded to the College’s consultation agreed with the proposed changes.
The RCVS is seeking volunteers to take part in an extended pilot for proposed changes to measuring continuing professional development (CPD).
The volunteers will be required to give their views on a new model for CPD, which focuses less on hours logged, and more on interactive, reflective learning. It also measures the impact of CPD on the individual’s practice and patient health outcomes.
A decision to extend the pilot was reached by RCVS Council in November 2017 to increase the breadth of views on the changes and gather further evidence on its impact. Around 115 veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses have already taken part in the trial, with 60 attending an induction day at the RCVS headquarters last year.
“As a general practitioner involved in the initial phase of the CPD pilot I was thrilled that we had so many from the profession engage with the consultation, and later with the pilot,” said Shona McIntyre, the practitioner representative on the CPD Pilot Working Group.
“By extending the pilot further we are looking to get an even wider range of views on board and fine-tune how we will be asking members of the profession to engage with the reflection element of the proposals.”
She continued: “We are looking for a mix of those who support the proposals and those who have a ‘healthy scepticism’ about them and I can only encourage those not yet involved to consider signing up for the extended pilot and make their voice heard.”
The proposed CPD model consists of four components: planning, doing, recording and reflecting. While the majority of the 3,357 people who responded to the College’s consultation agreed with the proposed changes, some elements received less support than others.
The lowest amount of support was received for the ‘reflection’ component with 35 per cent of respondents disagreeing with it.
Those interested in volunteering for the trial are encouraged to contact Naila Hassanali, RCVS CPD Officer, via cpd@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0701.
The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.
