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What is the format of the exam?

The examination consists of two components: a written examination and a practical examination (Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

The written component consists of best-of-5 multiple-choice questions which will assess your clinical knowledge and will include an open-book paper assessing your familiarity with the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.

The OSCE will assess a range of practical skills. For more information on the format, please refer to section 6 of the guidance document.

Related FAQs

  • The examination guidance includes an extensive reading list covering the main subject areas, links to websites that give information about current legislation of relevance to veterinary surgeons, as well as some recommended veterinary journals and publications.

    Candidates are eligible for a special RCVS Knowledge library membership category. 

    Confirmed exam candidates will be given access to a formative quiz containing 110 questions in the same format and of the same standard you will be faced with in the written examination, this will be provided in the run up to the final exam dates.

  • Once you submit a completed declaration of intention to sit you will be eligible to ‘see practice’ in accordance with the provisions laid out in the Veterinary Surgeons Act.

    This affords you the opportunity to gain practical, clinical experience, as part of your preparation for the examination and is strongly recommended. Further information about the regulations around ‘seeing practice’ can be found in the examination guidance and on the website.

     

  • At present there is one exam per year. The written component is normally held in Spring and is run remotely, allowing candidates to take the examination securely using their own computer from a suitable location of their choosing.

     

    The OSCE is held at Harper Adams University in Autumn.

     

    Specific dates are provided to candidates once they are available.

  • If you can demonstrate that you have been granted humanitarian protection by the British Home Office then you may be entitled to financial support, including support with examination fees. Please contact the examinations manager at [email protected] if you would like to apply for this assistance.

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