Welcome to the RCVS!

As a veterinary professional in the UK, your voice matters in shaping the future of leadership in the profession.

Whether you’re currently working in clinical practice or have done so in the past, we want to hear your insights. You don't need to be in a management role - we welcome perspectives from all team members to help understand what effective leadership training and development should look like at every level.

Get involved

If you’d like to help shape change in this area, we'd welcome your participation in small group discussions, where you'll be able to share your views on leadership and management with like-minded professionals. Your input will directly inform the development of a training and support package for veterinary leaders.

If you're interested in participating or would like to know more, contact the research team at [email protected].

Continuing professional development (CPD) helps you maintain and improve your knowledge and skills. It's a professional responsibility and is compulsory for all vets and veterinary nurses (RVNs) on the RCVS Register. 

In order to assist you in planning, recording and reflecting on your CPD, we created the custom 1CPD app. All veterinary professionals are encouraged to use it to enhance their learning and growth.

Learn more about CPD and the 1CPD app on our CPD page. 

The RCVS Academy is a free digital learning platform designed to support vets and vet nurses in meeting professional standards. It offers engaging, interactive learning resources developed with expertise from across the College. 

The Academy supports students, vets and vet nurses with topics including leadership, coaching, resolving complaints, animal ownership, and CPD reflection. 

The RCVS Academy brochure

The RCVS Academy brochure provides a detailed guide to all courses, giving veterinary professionals an overview of what the Academy has to offer.

View the brochure 

To explore the full programme, visit the RCVS Academy website, and log in using your RCVS My Account details. 

Academy Live sessions

Join the new Academy Live sessions - perfect for people who thrive in an interactive learning environment. These sessions offer a unique opportunity to engage in real-time discussions with experts and fellow professionals. For more information and dates, view the RCVS events listing.

The Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) is a voluntary initiative that promotes the highest standards of veterinary care. Participating practices are regularly assessed to ensure they meet RCVS standards. 

Practices that successfully complete the assessment receive RCVS-accredited status, with accreditation awarded depending on the size and type of the practice. Practices in the scheme can also apply for additional PSS awards in areas such as client service and in-patient care. 

Visit the PSS section to find out more.  

Launched in 2021, the Veterinary Graduate Development Programme (VetGDP) provides a period of structured, work-based support for all new veterinary graduates, as well as vets returning from overseas or after a break from the Register. 

Each graduate is supported by a trained VetGDP Adviser within their practice, who helps develop the graduate's clinical and professional capabilities.

Visit the VetGDP section to find out more about the programme, including information on how to become a VetGDP Adviser.

Mind Matters Initiative 

Established in 2015, the Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) is a programme funded and delivered by the RCVS which supports the mental health of veterinary professionals at all levels and in all settings. It does this through accessible, high-quality, evidence-based mental health projects, research, information and events.  
 
Details of MMI’s current programme of activities can be found on the Mind Matters Initiative website. You can contact the MMI team via email on [email protected].  
 
Interested in increasing your knowledge around mental health?  
 
In May 2025, MMI launched its Applied Mental Health Science series, offering a collection of bitesize content, developed by a range of experts in partnership with the MMI team to make high-quality, practical mental health information more accessible across the veterinary professions. Current guide topics include Stress, Anxiety, Depression, OCD, PTSD and Perinatal Anxiety & Depression. Check them out on our web page Applied Mental Health Science Series - Mind Matters.
 
MMI’s first RCVS Academy course 'Civility Fundamentals', was launched in November 2024. It highlights the critical role civility plays in creating a positive, respectful and supportive workplace within the veterinary professions. The course consists of six engaging, interactive sessions and is available for free on the RCVS Academy. 

New MMI CPD 

MMI, in partnership with the RCVS Academy, has launched two new courses. Written in collaboration with experts, the courses provide accessible and high-quality learning to support the mental health of the veterinary team. These are:  

Managing mental health in the workplace - This introductory course is for aspiring and current managers and leaders.  It explores the necessity of preventative approaches to mental health at work, how to recognise when mental health challenges may arise, and how to respond constructively to create a safe, inclusive and supportive environment. 

Suicide awareness fundamentals  - Learn about the factors that contribute to suicide, particularly within the veterinary field, and explore practical ways to help create a safer, more supportive workplace. The course covers how to talk about suicide responsibly, reduce stigma, and how to respond to suicide-related situations with sensitivity. 

For more information on the RCVS Academy, the courses listed above, and other available courses, log into the Academy using your RCVS My Account details at: https://academy.rcvs.org.uk/   

Applied Mental Health Science series

Launched in May 2025, the Applied Mental Health Science series offers bitesized content developed by a range of experts in partnership with the MMI team. It makes high-quality, practical mental health information more accessible across the veterinary professions.

Current guides cover: stress, anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, and perinatal anxiety and depression.

Explore the full series: Applied Mental Health Science Series – Mind Matters webpage.

Civility Fundamentals course

MMI’s first RCVS Academy course, Civility Fundamentals, launched in November 2024. This free course highlights the critical role of civility in creating a positive, respectful and supportive workplace within the veterinary professions.

The course consists of six engaging, interactive sessions and is available on the RCVS Academy. 
 
More MMI courses are due to be launched by the RCVS Academy in October 2025. Visit the RCVS Academy website for updates. 

The 2024 VN Vision events gave veterinary nurses a platform to share their aspirations for the profession and the future of veterinary healthcare. In June 2025, we published the VN Vision snapshot report.

The first project following this work, entitled A vision or a necessity? Strengthening the role of veterinary nurses in team-based veterinary healthcare, began in 2025, and is expected to run over the next 2-3 years. Building on our impactful VN Vision work to date, it aims to inspire a cultural shift, improving how veterinary nurses are integrated within multidisciplinary veterinary teams and exploring why this is essential for the future of veterinary healthcare.

In the initial stages, stakeholders from across the UK will be brought together in a series of in-person workshops. These sessions will define long-term goals, agree the practical steps needed to achieve them, and determine how success will be measured and shared with the wider profession and public.

The workshops will be small, informal and engaging, offering participants an opportunity to share perspectives and learn from the diverse viewpoints.

The sessions are open to all veterinary team members, not just vet nurses.

This is more than a conversation – it’s a national effort to strengthen the RVN role through collaboration, clarity, and confidence. For the profession, with the profession

Leadership skills matter at every level of the veterinary team - not just for managers. 

The RCVS Leadership Library offers learning opportunities for anyone wanting to develop and reflect on their leadership skills. These opportunities also count towards the yearly CPD requirement for vets and vet nurses.

The Leadership Library is free to use and offers self-paced veterinary resources alongside trusted non-veterinary content. Learners can explore presentations, interviews, video clips, blogs, articles, and webinars covering key leadership topics, including:

• Delegation skills
• Difficult conversations
• Quality improvement
• Inclusive leadership
• Leading and working in teams
• Leading and managing change  

The RCVS’ Diversity & Inclusion work focuses on improving diversity in recruitment and retention, widening access, and engendering culture change to ensure the professions are inclusive. For information about our projects, campaigns and initiatives, visit the Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion pages.  

In October we celebrated the Black History Month theme of ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride’ with a social media campaign highlighting Black veterinary professionals and students excelling in their fields. 

You can find out more from our blog: Black History Month 2025. 
 
Recent survey work with the British Veterinary Chronic Illness Society (BVCIS), Disability and Chronic Illness in Veterinary Work and Education (2024), showed a need to talk about reasonable adjustments in veterinary workplaces. From February-August 2025 we ran our 'Let’s Talk Adjustments' campaign, in partnership with the Mind Matters Initiative to raise awareness and empower everyone in veterinary workplaces to engage in important conversations about reasonable adjustments.   
 
The campaign consisted of: 

• social media posts; 
• resources covering equality legislation and reasonable adjustments; 
• a series of real stories and insights from veterinary professionals with health conditions and disabilities and manager perspectives; 
• a practical guide on having conversations about adjustments in the workplace; tips and information on Occupational Therapy in the workplace; and
• a webinar discussion featuring academic experts and veterinary professionals with lived experience.  
   
  To view our resources, visit Let's Talk Adjustments.

The RCVS recognises and celebrates outstanding achievements across the veterinary profession with a range of honours and awards.

Our awards recognise not only vets and vet nurses, but also students and laypeople contributing to the field of animal health and welfare. 

To find out more, visit our Honours and awards section. 

The RCVS Fellowship has existed for nearly 150 years. It aims to advance veterinary standards by providing a resource of independent knowledge for the benefit of the veterinary professions through its role as a thriving learned society. There are over 500 Fellows, from GPs to specialist researchers, all contributing to veterinary medicine.

Visit our Fellowship section for more information, including how to apply and our current activities.   

To help address the issues of climate change, under section C of the RCVS Strategic Plan 2025 to 2029 – ‘Stronger together with society at large’, the College aims to champion the role that veterinary professionals play in One Health and public health, take a leadership role on environmental sustainability and biodiversity, and continue to look beyond our domestic horizons to have a positive impact upon the world around us. 
 
The RCVS is also a member of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC) which coordinates action, provides leadership, and amplifies the voice of health professionals across the UK. As members of UKHACC the College has participated and contributed to key UKHACC policy working groups which have produced reports to influence government policy in tackling climate change across a range of areas, including a just energy transition, building a resilient food system, and mitigating the carbon footprint associated with surgical practice. 

We offer two postgraduate qualifications:

• CertAVP - for veterinary surgeons
• CertAVN - for veterinary nurses

Both are designed to deepen skills and expertise in specific areas of practice.

Explore modules, providers, and full course details in our postgraduate qualifications section. 

Advanced Practitioner status

The List of RCVS Advanced Practitioners highlights veterinary surgeons who have demonstrated knowledge and experience in a particular area beyond their initial veterinary degree.

Visit the Advanced Practitioner status page for further details and application information.

Specialist status

To be listed as an RCVS Specialist on our Find a Vet tool, a vet must: 

• Hold a postgraduate qualification at Diploma level or higher
• Make an active contribution to their specialty
• Achieve national and international recognition
• Publish widely in their field

For further information, visit the Specialist status page. 

Veterinary Clinical Career Pathways (VCCP)

The RCVS Council has recently approved an ambitious and exciting project to expand and diversify the career options available to veterinary surgeons working in clinical practice. As part of this work, we are holding in-person and online focus groups. If you are interested in participating or would like further information, email [email protected].

Graduates report that extra-mural studies (EMS) placements were one of the most valuable parts of their undergraduate education.

In response to feedback on improving the accessibility and organisation of EMS placements, the RCVS launched a national booking database in 2025. The database supports students, vet schools and placement providers in organising EMS placements.

EMS providers can showcase their placements and facilities on the database, while students can search for placements, connect with providers, and set learning objectives

Fine out more or sign up to the database in our EMS section.

RCVS Knowledge, the charity partner of the RCVS, empowers and supports veterinary teams to provide evidence-based, quality care and improved animal health and welfare outcomes.

Find out more about RCVS Knowledge and how it can support you at the RCVS Knowledge website.  

The RCVS Workforce Summit held in November 2021, aimed to address a key challenge facing the veterinary sector: how to tackle the workforce crisis. Following this, the RCVS published the Workforce Action Plan, which identified seven key Workforce Ambitions:  

• To shape leaders at all levels 
• Confidence, culture and recognition  
• Greater responsibility for veterinary nurses  
• Welcoming a modern way of working  
• General practice – a chosen pathway  
• An attractive career for everyone, including those who have left  
• Improving client interaction and communication  
   
  Through these ambitions, we aim to support the veterinary workforce by focusing on the three Rs: Recruitment, Retention, and Return. 
   
  Throughout 2025, we hosted a series of 'Ambitions Revisited' webinars, each focusing on one of the original ambitions and examining how it has developed and evolved since its initial publication. To access the recordings and resources, please visit the Ambition Revisited webpage. 
   
  We’re also creating new content for the recently relaunched RCVS Podcast, which will delve into the upstream regulation of the College. In our first episode, Vicki Bolton, RCVS Research Manager, shares insights into research from the College’s perspective and helps dispel some common myths along the way. Find the podcast here or search ‘RCVS Podcast’ on your preferred streaming platform.  
   
  Research on the veterinary workforce continues. With the Institute for Employment Studies, we have published a workforce model, predicting the shape of the veterinary workforce for the next decade. We are also establishing a cohort study with the aim of better understanding the transition from veterinary student to independent vet. 
    
  If you would like to know more, or participate in upcoming research, webinars and podcasts, please email the Advancement of the Professions team at [email protected]. 

In 2025, Defra led a working group with RCVS, representative associations, and government veterinary services to develop recommendations for a potential replacement for the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. These discussions build on RCVS’s own recommendations for legislative reform, and government consultation is expected soon. 

Stay tuned for RCVS updates. 

Are you a veterinary student interested in social media and content creation?

Apply to become an RCVS student social media ambassador and help promote the RCVS’ work to other veterinary students.

Email [email protected] to find out more and tell us why you’d like to participate.