As of the beginning of next year, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) will no longer be allowing veterinary surgeons or veterinary nurses to enter undocumented continuing professional development (CPD) on their records.
The Veterinary Nursing Education Committee decided to discontinue the annual allowance of five hours of adhoc, undocumented private study for veterinary nurses. This is in line with a decision made by the RCVS Education Committee in May to discontinue the equivalent allowance for veterinary surgeons of ten hours per annum.
It is a requirement of the RCVS Codes of Professional Conduct that veterinary surgeons record a minimum of 105 hours of CPD over a three-year period, while veterinary nurses are expected to carry out 45 hours of CPD over the same period.
The Education Department is also in the process of reviewing the information available to veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses regarding what counts as CPD, in order to clear up uncertainty and provide more specific examples for each learning category.
Information about CPD for veterinary surgeons can be found here, and for veterinary nurses here.