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The article reports on Electoral Reform Services' (ERS) reassurance that the 2012 election of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council in Great Britain was fair. On May 15, RCVS said that the ballot papers were designed and printed by ERS, but were not distributed by the independent body. In a letter by ERS senior consultant Adrian Wilkes to RCVS on May 1, he explained several aspects of the election, including internet voting, postal votes, and the number of voters.

The article focuses on the matters discussed during the meeting of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council at the Belgravia House in London, England on November 6, 2014. Topics discussed include RCVS's consultation to the profession and the public veterinarians regarding the use of the courtesy title Dr., rules and procedures approved relative to the RCVS Charter, and uptake and completion of the Professional Development Phase.

The article discusses the highlights of the Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine (EBVM) Network skills day which was organized by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Knowledge group in 2015. These include talks from Rachel Dean, a clinical associate professor in feline medicine, on some typical marketing material received by veterinary practice in Great Britain, and Tim Mair of the Bell Equine Veterinary Clinic on the difficulty of appraising published research papers.

This section offers news briefs on issues of concern to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in Great Britain. The latest Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing theory examination results have shown an improvement, with 90 percent passing Paper 1. RCVS will have a stand in the foyer area during the British Veterinary Nursing Association's Congress. RCVS has carried out a Code of Professional Conduct audit for veterinary nurses.

In this article the author discusses the paper that proposes how to update the regulation of the veterinary profession made by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Veterinary Legislation Group. He is critical of the paper as just a way to cover the mess identified by the Great Britain's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee by discussing developments in human professions' regulation. The role of the government on the concerns of veterinary profession is also investigated.

The practice of evidence-based veterinary medicine involves the utilisation of scientific evidence for clinical decision making. To enable this, research topics pertinent to clinical practice need to be identified, and veterinary clinicians are best placed to do this. The main aim of this study was to describe the veterinary population, the common species and conditions veterinary clinicians nominated they saw in practice and how much information clinicians perceived was available in the literature for these. A questionnaire was distributed to all Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons registered veterinarians agreeing to be contacted for research purposes (n=14,532). A useable response rate of 33 per cent (4842/14,532) was achieved. The most commonly seen species reported by vets were dogs, cats and rabbits followed by equines and cattle. Overall, skin conditions were most commonly mentioned for small animals, musculoskeletal conditions for equines and reproduction conditions for production animals. Veterinary clinicians perceived there was a higher level of information available in the literature for conditions in dogs, cattle and equines and lower levels for rabbits and guinea pigs. The results from this study can be used to help define the research needs of the profession to aid the incorporation of evidence in veterinary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the proposal of Bob Partridge, a newly elected member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Council (RCVS) in Great Britain, to regard all papers of the Council as open to members of the RCVS. Partridge also suggested that existing advice to Council members on the confidentiality of such documents should be revoked in the interest of furthering a wider discussion of college business among veterinarians. He said that full reasons for confidentiality should be given.

Information about several papers discussed at a meeting hosted by the British regulatory body for veterinary surgeons Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council that was held on March 3, 2016 is presented. Topics include guidance on renal transplantation in cats, governance reform of the RCVS and non-compliance with continuing professional development (CPD) requirements. The meeting featured speaker David Catlow, chairman of RCVS Standards Committee.

The article discusses a meeting of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council held at the Belgravia House in London, England. The meeting focused on the proposals for changes in the governance arrangements and creation of an operational board at the college. It informs that the proposals discussed in the meeting include dealing with the day-to-day running of the college and changes in the management committees.

The article reports that the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) posted the candidate details, biographies and manifestos and details of how to vote for the 2016 elections to the RCVS Council and the RCVS Veterinary Nurses (VN) Council to all veterinary surgeons and nurses.

The article focuses on the complaint submitted before the Preliminary Investigation Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in Great Britain which alleges a veterinarian of negligence for failing to explain to a dog owner regarding the contraindication of the medicines that were prescribed. The alleged negligence resulted to the death of the dog and the committee had expressed concern on the action of the veterinarian even though no decision was made regarding the case.

The article offers information on the developments within the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in Great Britain. A new draft on the Veterinary Nursing By-Laws regarding a provision on the existing list of veterinary nurses (VNs) to be known as the Register was presented to and approved by the Council. Jacqui Molyneux, a new council member, aired her concern on the practice of unregistered VNs of wearing uniforms and badges when they should not be allowed to.

The lack of effectiveness of traditional models of continuing professional development is increasingly recognised. While they can lead to increased knowledge of participants, research suggests that there is a general failure to produce meaningful and sustained changes in clinician behaviours. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' (RCVS) new individual outcomes-focused approach to delivery of continuing professional development (CPD) through the reflective accounts of participant experiences. Content analysis of 12 summaries of their learning, produced by early pioneers of the Professional Key Skills (PKS) Module of the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice, revealed that the benefits of the PKS-related professional development is best understood through 'a framework of 'stakeholder' dynamics', with impact and behavioural change at the individual participant level having an effect on practice team behaviours, leading to patient, owner and business benefits. It can be concluded that, at least for these early pioneers, this new model for CPD has resulted in changes that have gone beyond knowledge accumulation to changed practitioner behaviours and recognisable patient, owner and business benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Day One Skills (DOS) were introduced by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in 2006 as a guideline for minimum skills required by a veterinary graduate. However, the RCVS anaesthesia DOS are broad and do not specify differences in skills required for different species. The aims of this study were: (1) to determine which anaesthesia skills were considered essential for day one practice by UK-based veterinary practitioners (GPs) and anaesthetists; and (2) to explore current opinions on veterinary undergraduate anaesthesia training. Questionnaires for veterinary GPs (QGPs) and veterinary anaesthetists (QVAs) were developed which asked general information on expectations of anaesthesia skills as well as specific expectations for the common veterinary species. Fifty-five UK-based members of the Association of Veterinary Anaesthetists responded, with a random sample of veterinary practices stratified by UK county generating 234 responses and a convenience sample targeted at more specialist veterinary specialities in the UK generating 161 responses. There was close overall agreement between the two groups of GPs and anaesthetists on essential anaesthesia DOS. However, expectations varied with species—greatest in cats and dogs, lowest in exotics. Many respondents commented that new veterinary graduates lack practical skills and should not be expected to be omnicompetent across all species. In conclusion, anaesthesia undergraduate training should prioritise essential practical DOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the 2014 Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council elections, which details of the 19 candidates' biographies and manifesto are available and can be viewed at the website www.votebyinternet.com.vetvote14.

The article reports on the proposed restructuring of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) fellowship into a learned society in Great Britain. Fellowship Working Party chairman Gary England introduced a paper for proposed consultation on the fellowship. It also notes that issues which involve staffing cost and annual fees would be improved whenever the proposal is supported.

Interviews form part of the selection process in many veterinary programmes worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of the interview on veterinary selection decisions. An admissions cycle of interviews of 181 shortlisted school-leaving applicants to veterinary medicine was investigated. Selection panel pairs (from cohorts of 5 chairs and 11 cointerviewers) independently evaluated applicants before interview on the basis of their written application. Applicants were then interviewed and selectors repeated their evaluations, both independently and after joint discussion. Results of the preinterview and postinterview evaluations of the applicants were analysed statistically. There was slight to moderate agreement between the chair and cointerviewer on selection decisions/rankings taken before interview, but substantial agreement after interview. Agreement between postinterview decisions/rankings and consensus decisions/rankings postinterview was extremely high. Applicant attributes that had the most influence on selection decisions were: 'communication skills', 'overall knowledge gained from work experience' and 'ability to think on their feet'. There was significantly more agreement possible between interviewers with regard to selection decisions based on interview assessment compared with preinterview assessment of written applications. This study suggests that interviews may be a useful and important aid in decision making for selecting the candidates perceived as most suitable for this veterinary programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although continuing professional development (CPD) is regarded as mandatory by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, it is not yet a statutory requirement. To understand what motivates veterinary surgeons to engage in CPD and perceived barriers to participation, a national survey was administered to a sample of the profession. The study sought to report overall opinion and to compare the views of different groups in terms of decade of graduation, gender, employment status, area of employment and position in the workplace. The results of the study are encouraging in that recent graduates would like to engage in more CPD, compared with their predecessors, and are the most intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. However, significant barriers to participation exist, including personal barriers, a lack of workplace support and a lack of CPD activities at a suitable time, location or level. Part-time workers reported higher barriers than full-time workers. Although the majority (90 per cent) of respondents receive all or part of their CPD funding from employers, a significant proportion (41 per cent) are required to fund at least part of their CPD. First-opinion practitioners reported significantly less access to a professional library, which has implications for lifelong learning and the practice of evidence-based veterinary medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the draft social media strategy of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) which was described in a paper introduced by Lynne Hill. It states that the draft strategy recommended the integration of social media activities into the communications work of the college. It mentions the approval of the RCVS Council for the exploration of social media's use by the communications team of the college.

The article presents news briefs related to Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council in Great Britain including the changes occurred in the membership of RCVS Disciplinary Committee, the revised budget approved by the Council for 2012, and the legal advice received by RCVS on its jurisdiction.

Information about the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council meeting held at the Belgravia House, London, England on March 5, 2009 is presented. Jerry Davies, chairman of the RCVS presented a paper regarding their mission statement. Richard Stephenson talked about the need for the College to focus on animal welfare. On the other hand, Peter Jinman mentioned that RCVS must be selective regarding the high-level issues and give more emphasis on it.

The article offers information about the elections of candidates to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Council (RCVS) and the Veterinary Nurses Council in Great Britain. The Council is composed of 40 members and 24 are directly elected who will serve for a term of four years. The elections is under the Electoral Reform Services and eligible voters receive ballot papers containing instructions on how to vote.

The article reports that the corporate governance procedures of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) have been examined by an independent review group and have been found to be consistent with good practice in Great Britain. It states that the review group recommended that the guidance in the Council members' handbook for managing potential conflicts of interest should be reformulated as a code of conduct, which would be made available to everyone standing for election to the Council.

The article presents the ten candidates for election to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council for 2008. Four of the candidates are existing Council members and six new candidates are up for election. The candidates include Dr. Christopher Chesney, Dr. Bertie Ellis, and Mrs. Catherine Goldie.

Veterinary practices in the United Kingdom were surveyed to compare their surgical draping practices with Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) accreditation tier and other surgery-related factors. Using descriptive statistics and logistic or ordinal regression analysis (where appropriate), the relationships between draping material and accreditation tier and other surgery-related factors were assessed. Procedures were categorised as short or long. Two hundred and sixty-nine surveys were completed. Reusable drapes were used in 66 per cent of practices. Antibiotics were administered routinely in 38 per cent of short and 93 per cent of long procedures. Practices accredited as a Veterinary Hospital (VH) were 6.3--7.2 (short and long surgeries, respectively) times more likely to use disposable drapes, when compared with non-accredited practices. Use of dedicated surgical attire, draping the whole animal/table, and routine antibiotic usage were also positively correlated with disposable drape usage. Fifty-one per cent of practices rated infection rate as most important when choosing drape material. 'Best practice' techniques are associated with lower importance given to infection rate, and higher importance given to financial cost, when choosing drape material. Disposable drape use correlates with RCVS accreditation and with other aspects of surgical technique. Importance ratings awarded correlate with best practice procedures. Clinical relevance 'Best practice' draping procedures, that are not governed by RCVS accreditation scheme, are also more frequently performed in accredited VHs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers news briefs related to veterinary medicine in Great Britain. The Royal College Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council has agreed to use the title veterinary nurse only to registered nurse. A subcommittee will be organized to help deal on the request whether an animal test or treatment is recognized veterinary practice. Lydia Brown, former president of RCVS was honored due to her valuable services to the Council.

The article reports on the issue regarding the increase of retention fee as part of the budget plan for 2008 of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in Great Britain. The issue started when Roger Eddy of RCVS questioned the 5 percent recommended annual increase of retention fee. However, the Farm Animal Welfare Council agreed to increase the retention fees by only 3 percent.

Veterinary schools in the UK are required by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to ensure that their students have attained essential 'Day one' skills (DOS) by graduation. To aid students' understanding of how they could satisfy this requirement, the Royal Veterinary College produced a DOS guide, which was distributed in the 2007 to 2008 academic year to students in the third and fourth years of the professional veterinary course. The same students were surveyed towards the end of the 2008 to 2009 session about the guide, when they were in the fourth and final years, to rate its usefulness and to indicate their perceived levels of competence, both currently and expected at graduation. Focus group discussions were subsequently conducted to explore the findings of the survey. Responses from 88 fourth-year (39 per cent) and 174 (87 per cent) final-year students revealed that while almost all respondents were aware of the DOS guide, their use of it was low. Final-year students rated themselves as being more competent than fourth-year students, but were less optimistic about their expected level of competence regarding several invasive procedures, which some students considered to be 'unattainable' by graduation, despite the apparent value of extramural studies and intramural rotations in providing opportunities for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the procedure of the election of members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council in Ireland for 2007. The nominations of persons for election to the Council are required to be submitted in writing on the prescribed form to the registrar duly completed on or before January 31, 2007. Elected members will serve the RCVS Council for a period of four years from the annual general meeting in July 2007.

The article provides update on the activities of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council in Great Britain. A number of changes to the 2007 edition of the guide to professional conduct of the Council were agreed. College advice on the administration of vaccines to companion animals was reconsidered following a recent disciplinary committee case. The 2007 RCVS Day will take place on July 6.

This article reports that Nick Stace, chief executive of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), talked about the implications for the RCVS of Great Britain's plan to leave the European Union, during the RCVS Council meeting on November 5, 2015 in London, England.

This article reports that Nick Stace, chief executive of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), outlined during the College's Council meeting in November 2015 in London, England, proposed priorities for the RCVS in 2016, such as the proposed trial of a line for "whistle-blowers."

The article reports that David Catlow, chair of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Standards Committee, discussed the introduction of an English language competency requirement to the Code of Professional Conduct for veterinary surgeons during the RCVS Council meeting in November 2015.

The article presents the candidates for the 2015 Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council elections in Great Britain, including Niall Connell, Joanna Dyer, and Tim Greet.

How can practitioners make a greater contribution to clinical research? How can research findings be transferred more effectively into practice? And how can practitioners improve their research understanding to support current demands for clinical audit and evidence-based veterinary medicine? These were just some of the questions posed at a day-long seminar held at the RCVS headquarters in London on September 20. The key aim of the seminar, entitled ‘Research into practice … practice into research …’, was to explore, in both directions, the boundary between clinical research and veterinary practice. It was hoped that the issues and ideas that arose during the day could be incorporated into an action plan, drawn up by the RCVS through its research committee, to facilitate more practitioner involvement in research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses aspects of handling complaints in veterinary services Great Britain. The author mentions the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' (RCVS) trial of an alternative process for resolving disputes. The author also notes its aim in searching for satisfactory solution for dealing with complaints on the services provided by surgeons.

The article presents information regarding the voting session for election of council members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons along with it also presents photographs of the candidates standing in the council member elections which includes Niall Connell, Jerry Davies and Chris Gray.

The article offers Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council news briefs. It mentions that the proposed amendment of the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP) structure involves the reduction of the size of the professional key skills module. Moreover, professor Sandy Trees was appointed to House of Lords, and Chris Chesney, Bertie Ellis, and Charles Gruchy will retire from the Council on July 6, 2012.

The article reports on the opening of votes for the 14 candidates who are competing for the six seats for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council elections in 2012.

The article offers news briefs related to veterinarians in Great Britain. It announces that the Association of Greyhound Track Veterinarians (AGTV) was established which aims to address issues affecting the greyhound industry. The magazine expresses its gratitude to all reviewers of manuscripts found in its 2008 issue. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Trust is still accepting veterinary surgeons and nurses eligible for its grants for 2009 with deadline on January 21, 2009.

The article reports on the paper proposing changes to the Guide to Professional Conduct introduced by the Advisory Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in Great Britain. It states that the Council voted to accept the proposed changes, and it will be incorporated into the hard copy of the 2009 Guide. It says that among the changes accepted was an amendment to govern the operation of the RCVS Register of Veterinary Practice Premises.

The article reports on the results of the first Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) veterinary nursing examinations held using an electronic format of delivery. The results from the summer written exams for veterinary nurses were posted by the Royal College on August 14, 2008. According to the College, the pass rate from the examinations has been "excellent."

The article provides information on the guidelines for the election of members of Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) in England. This election is intended for six members who will serve on RCVS council for four years and will take effect during its annual meeting. Information about the nomination form, voting papers and the election process had been provided.

The article provides information that prompts members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) who were not able to cast their votes in the election of members of RCVS Council. Members are reminded that no later than April 28, 2006, voting papers must be received by Electoral Reform Ballot Services in London, England.

The article presents news briefs related to veterinary medicine in Great Britain. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeon response to a consultation paper on badger culling and bovine tuberculosis was considered and approved. It was suggested that the degree awarded by the college should continue to be accepted for registration purposes. The veterinary degrees awarded by the University of Sydney and University of Queensland should be subject to satisfactory monitoring.

Reports on issues related to the Competition Commission's recommendations regarding the standards for veterinary medicine practice in Great Britain. Proposals for the change to the "Guide to Professional Conduct" to accommodate the recommendations; Introduction of the supply of prescription-only veterinary medicines by Advisory Committee chairman Lynne Hill; Coverage of the proposed additions to the Guide to a selected recommendations of the commission.

The discusses reforms to the governance of the British regulatory body for veterinary surgeons Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) Council. Reducing the size of the council, appointment of lay members and veterinary nurses as well as provision for allied professions in RCVS, is provided. Also emphasized is the consensus across the needed changes in the Legislative Reform Order.

Recently updated guidance on communication and consent from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) suggests that consent should be a process, held in advance of the day of surgery if possible, obtained by an appropriate member of staff, and should involve the discussion of reasonable treatment options. Using an elective neutering scenario, this article discusses what 'good practice' in informed consent looks like and makes recommendations for improving consent protocols in practice. These recommendations incorporate time allocation and timing of consent discussions, who should obtain consent, the content of the discussion, and what happens on the day of surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]