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Some current projects

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The action plan includes our current operational activities and these are subject to regular update and review. The following examples, while not exhaustive, give a flavour of current projects:

Workstreams/Focus

  1. Recruitment to vet/veterinary nurse training and education
  2. Retention and support within the vet/VN schools at under- and post-graduate levels
  3. Recruitment within the profession
  4. Retention and support within the professions
  5. DIG member organisational (internal) policies and procedures
  6. Culture change

Promote

  1. Recruitment to vet/veterinary nurse training and education

    • Develop case studies, ambassadors and careers materials and communicate to children from a young age
    • Review work experience requirements
    • Update RCVS documentation around access requirements
    • RCVS consultation on new legislative requirements
  2. Retention and support within the vet/VN schools at under- and post-graduate levels

    • Update RCVS veterinary school standards to reflect our diversity and inclusion aspirations
  3. Recruitment within the profession

    • Encourage take up of workplace awards/ standards, for example, Stonewall, Disability Confident, Race at Work
  4. Retention and support within the professions

    • Develop case studies and positive role models
    • Strengthen standards regarding staff support within RCVS Practice Standards Scheme
  5. DIG member organisational (internal) policies and procedures

    • RCVS and other organisations to ensure policies around membership/registration, standards, complaints, meetings & events, grants & awards, marketing & outreach, and employment promote and support diversity and inclusion (where applicable)
  6. Culture change

    • Work to improve diversity of governance and leadership via visibility, demonstration of core values and review of recruitment/nomination processes

Understand

  1. Recruitment to vet/veterinary nurse training and education

    • Commission new research to better understand the barriers
    • Host joint RCVS/VSC roundtable to better understand issues
  2. Retention and support within the vet/VN schools at under- and post-graduate levels

    • Implement outcomes of RCVS/VSC Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority student support roundtable and host similar for VN students
    • Training for faculty on diversity and inclusion, and how to support individuals
  3. Recruitment within the profession

    • Help employers understand the business, moral and societal case for diversity and inclusion
    • Understand first-hand the barriers faced
  4. Retention and support within the professions

    • Encourage members of the veterinary team in a wide variety of workplace types to attend diversity and inclusion training eg via RCVS Leadership MOOC
    • Produce materials that support difficult conversations
  5. DIG member organisational (internal) policies and procedures

    • Develop a toolkit to support in-house conversations around diversity
  6. Culture change

    • Ensure diversity and inclusion is included on congress agendas, within CPD etc and that outputs are disseminated

Support

  1. Recruitment to vet/veterinary nurse training and education

    • Work with organisations that support university applications from those from diverse backgrounds
    • Consider mentor schemes
  2. Retention and support within the vet/VN schools at under- and post-graduate levels

    • Clear reporting systems and support for those who suffer from discrimination on extra-mural studies
    • Encourage setting up of student-led support networks
  3. Recruitment within the profession

    • Work with employers to develop toolkit to support better recruitment advertising and practices and encourage people to call out poor examples
  4. Retention and support within the professions

    • Inclusion of strong wording in the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct to enable more confident reporting of poor conduct and behaviour
  5. DIG member organisational (internal) policies and procedures

    • Encourage all veterinary organisations to have regular discussion around diversity and inclusion and to have a visible statement
  6. Culture change

    • Enable, via DIG, a safe space for organisations to discuss their progress and where they need help going forward; to support and communicate each other’s efforts

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