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.

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, evidence-based mental health projects, research, information and events.  
 
Explore the current programme on the MMI website, or contact the MMI Team via email.  

MMI Symposium 2025:

On Friday 10 October 2025, MMI celebrates its 10th anniversary with a symposium - Advancing veterinary mental health research: learning from the past, considering the present, and looking to the future. We are inviting everyone interested in the field veterinary mental health to participate.

Tickets cost £75.00 per person and attendance can count towards your CPD.  Register by 1 October 2025 at the Symposium event page.

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  

Our Diversity & Inclusion work focuses on improving diversity in recruitment and retention, widening access, and fostering culture change to ensure the professions are inclusive.

Learn more about our projects, campaigns and initiatives on the Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion web pages.   

Let's Talk Adjustments campaign

Our recent survey with the British Veterinary Chronic Illness Society (BVCIS), Disability and Chronic Illness in Veterinary Work and Education (2024), highlighted the need to talk about reasonable adjustments in veterinary workplaces.

From February - August 2025, we ran the Let’s Talk Adjustments campaign in partnership with the Mind Matters Initiative to raise awareness and empower everyone in veterinary workplaces to engage in these important conversations.   
 
The campaign included: 

• Resources on equality legislation and reasonable adjustments
• Real-life stories and insights from veterinary professionals with health conditions and disabilities, including manager perspectives
• A practical guide to having conversations about adjustments at work
• Expert tips and information on occupational therapy at work
• A webinar featuring academic experts and veterinary professionals with lived experience
• Social media posts

Explore the campaign resources at 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. 

For nearly 150 years, the RCVS Fellowship has advanced veterinary standards through its role as a thriving learned society. The Fellowship comprises more than 500 veterinary professionals, from general practitioners to specialist researchers, who contribute their expertise and knowledge to benefit the profession. 

Learn more, including how to apply, in our Fellowship section.  

Under our Strategic Plan 2025 - 2029, Stronger together with Society at Large, the RCVS champions the role veterinary professionals play in One Health and public health. We take a leadership role in environmental sustainability and biodiversity, and aim to look beyond our domestic horizons to make a positive global impact. 
 
As a member of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC), we contribute to key policy working groups that influence government strategies in tackling climate change, including the creation of a just energy transition, building a resilient food system, and reducing the carbon footprint of 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.  

Following the RCVS Workforce Summit in November 2021, we launched a Workforce Action Plan, addressing recruitment, retention, and return.

Seven key ambitions guide this work. They are:

1. To shape leaders at all levels
2. Confidence, culture and recognition 
3. Greater responsibility for veterinary nurses 
4. Welcoming a modern way of working 
5. General practice – a chosen pathway 
6. An attractive career for everyone, including those who have left 
7. 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. 
 
Our Ambitions Revisited webinars are now taking place online. Each session explores one of the original ambitions and reflects on how things have evolved since they were first published.

There are sessions on:

• 15 September 2025
• 17 October 2025
• 7 November 2025

To register or submit questions for the panel discussions, please visit our Ambitions Revisited webpage. 

Learn more  

We are developing podcast content that will explore the upstream regulation of the College. Further details will be shared soon.  

Research on the veterinary workforce continues. In collaboration 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. 
  
To learn more or participate in upcoming research, webinars and podcasts, please email the Advancement of the Professions Team [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.