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VetGDP statements and exemptions

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Who must enrol in the VetGDP?

You must enrol in the VetGDP if you are about to start a new job in the UK and are:

  1. A veterinary graduate who:

    • Qualified in or after summer 2021
    • Is starting your first professional role
    • Has not yet completed the VetGDP
  2. A UK-qualified vet returning to the UK Register after a break of 5+ years. 
  3. A vet who qualified overseas – or a UK-qualified vet who practised abroad after graduating – with less than 18 months’ experience in a role comparable to the one you will be undertaking in the UK.

Other non-exempted vets

If you are a Member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (MRCVS) or use your veterinary degree in your work, and you qualified after 2021, you must enrol in the VetGDP if you haven’t already done so.

This includes: 

    • Official Veterinarians (OVs) employed by the government, Food Standards Agency (FSA) or Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) 
    • Researchers or policy makers requiring MRCVS status
    • Locums or part-time vets working while studying 

If you need guidance on how VetGDP applies to your specific situation, please email [email protected]. 

Choosing your VetGDP statement

When joining the UK Register, you must choose a VetGDP statement through your My Account. This tells us whether you ready to begin the programme. It is important to complete this step even if you are not yet ready to start so that we know whether you are being supported. Please remember to update your statement if your circumstances change.

How do I make my statement? 

  1. Log into your RCVS My Account
  2. Ensure you have a relationship with your practice (if applicable) - see adding a relationship with your practice
  3. Click the red VetGDP statement bar and choose the relevant statement
  4. Click submit

Making a declaration if you are a new UK graduate

When joining the UK Register, you must select one of the following VetGDP statements:

  • I have started/will be starting a professional veterinary role with a clinical element in the UK - most new graduates will choose this.
  • I am going to work overseas - you cannot participate in the VetGDP while working abroad. If you return to work in the UK, you will only be exempt if you have over 18 months' experience in a comparable role. 
  • I haven't begun a professional veterinary position yet - you're taking a break or haven't secured a role yet. Remember to update your statement once you start working. 
  • I am continuing my studies - for example, you are undertaking a PhD or Master's degree. If you work while you are studying in a role that requires RCVS membership, such as locum work, you must complete the VetGDP.
  • My role has no clinical element - if your role requires RCVS membership or knowledge from your veterinary degree, you must complete the VetGDP. The programme can be tailored to your role, even if only one or two Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) apply. 

Video: A guide to the VetGDP declaration for UK graduates

This short film will guide UK graduates through making the VetGDP declaration.

Video transcript

Hello, my name's Britta and I'm going to quickly show you how to do your VetGDP declaration.

I'll just show my screen. Okay, so the first thing you would do is log in to your My Account. This can be found in the top right hand corner of the RCVS homepage.

Click on My Account. Log in using your username and password. Click on sign in, this will take you into your My Account, and you will see a red bar with a VetGDP statement on it.

You read through the information, and what it's asking you to do is please select the most appropriate statement. So these are your choices: I have started/I will be starting a professional role with a clinical element within the UK; I am continuing my studies; my role has no or little clinical element; I'm not yet starting a professional veterinary role; I'm a trainee toxicological pathologist; or I'm going to work outside the UK.

Please click the one which is most appropriate for you. It's worth noting at this point that if you click on 'My role has no or little clinical element', this means that your job does not require you to be MRCVS and does not require you to use any part of your veterinary degree. So if you click on this one it will ask you to put in your job title, your place of work and a brief job description. This will then go to the VetGDP subcommittee, who will decide whether or not you're exempt.

Most people will probably click on 'I have started or will be starting a professional role'. Once you submit this, it will allow you to log in through your 1CPD account to your VetGDP e-portfolio, so you log in to your 1CPD and then click on the gold VetGDP button.

Thank you

Making a declaration if you are an overseas graduate

Choose one of the following statements:

  • I have started/will be starting a professional veterinary role with a clinical element within the UK. 

    If you graduated overseas with less than 18 months of comparable experience, you must select this statement and sign up for the VetGDP.
  • I have more than 18 months of experience in a role similar to that which I will be undertaking in the UK

    If you have more than 18 months of experience in a similar role, you can select this statement. You will not be required to complete the VetGDP. However, you may choose to do so 

Video: A guide to the VetGDP declaration for overseas graduates

This short film offers guidance to overseas graduates on making the VetGDP declaration. 

Video transcript

Hello, my name is Britta and I'm going to quickly show you how to make your VetGDP declaration.

Let me just share my screen.

Okay, so first of all, you need to log into your RCVS My Account. This can be found in the top right-hand corner.

Click on My Account, and you put in your username and password and sign in. You will then find a red bar saying VetGDP Statement. Click on this.

You will then be given a choice. Does your work have a clinical element? It's worth remembering at this point that if you are employed using your MRCVS or whether you are using your veterinary degree, if that's the case, then you have to press 'yes'.

If your work has no clinical element whatsoever, then you can click on 'no'. This will bring up further information which will ask you for your job title, your place of work and a brief job description.

This information will then go to the VetGDP subcommittee, who will decide whether or not you're exempt from the VetGDP. They may email you to ask you for further information.

And then you click 'submit'.

Alternatively, you can click 'yes' and submit, and this will allow you to log into the VetGDP. You do this by going into your 1CPD account and clicking on VetGDP.

Thank you. 

 

Making a declaration if you are returning to the register

Vets returning to the UK Register after a break of 5+ years are required to undertake the VetGDP.

If you have been working overseas for at least 18 months in a comparable role to the one you are taking up in the UK, you are not required to participate in the VetGDP, but you must still submit a declaration.

Please log into your My Account to make the declaration which best describes your situation.

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