RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice
Your guide to the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP)
The new RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice has been much discussed in recent months but perhaps not well understood by many in the profession. There are major changes and it is of no surprise that it can be difficult to come to grips with them and what they mean to candidates, examiners and the RCVS.
Two fundamental changes have been made to the old certificate system. The first change relates to the modular format of the examination/assessment process – more about this later. The second change is that the examination/assessment process is now run by accredited universities rather than the RCVS.
Who does the examining?
Under the old system, RCVS subject boards chose suitable examiners from their discipline and the RCVS coordinated the examination process in all certificates including collecting the examination fees from candidates and paying the examiners. The examinations often occurred around the country and at various veterinary colleges using relevant academic staff. However, the RCVS was the central coordinating body and the veterinary colleges had no official role in the assessment process – individual academic staff chose to be involved if they were interested.
In the new certificate the examination/assessment process is now essentially the responsibility of those universities that choose to apply to the RCVS to be accredited to assess certain modules. This may make very little essential difference to a candidate’s experience during the examination/assessment process compared with the old system. However, the fundamental difference is that the universities themselves, rather than the RCVS, are now responsible for coordinating the assessment process. Because of this, universities are likely to only apply to assess modules for which they have the expertise and staff available to engage in the assessment process. As a result, the availability of modules for candidates to be examined in will be dictated by the willingness of the universities to be involved and the availability of expertise within the university system. Universities may, and almost certainly will, choose to involve appropriately qualified examiners in private practice and industry but this will be at the discretion of the university. Because the universities now have responsibility for almost all of the certificate assessment process, they must all ascertain whether they have sufficient resources to assess candidates and whether the business model for their involvement will permit the addition of certificate assessment to their teaching, research and clinical responsibilities. The universities receive no financial support from the RCVS to assess candidates and indeed must pay a fee to the RCVS to become accredited to assess modules.