CPD Solutions has added a Synoptic Pathway to its PgCert in Small Animal Surgery, which has been approved as an eligible postgraduate qualification for veterinary surgeons applying for RCVS Advanced Practitioner status.

The programme is a 12-month, work-based postgraduate programme for practising veterinary surgeons validated by the University of Lancashire.

The Standard PgCert Pathway remains available for vets who want to develop their small animal surgery skills, build clinical confidence and gain a postgraduate qualification without a formal final examination.

The new PgCert Synoptic Pathway is designed for vets who want their qualification to support a future application for RCVS Advanced Practitioner status.

Students on this route complete the same PgCert programme, with an additional synoptic assessment after the taught modules.

CPD Solutions says this gives them the opportunity to demonstrate integrated clinical reasoning and apply their learning to new and unfamiliar case scenarios.

Passing the Synoptic Pathway award means the qualification can be used as part of an application for RCVS Advanced Practitioner status, subject to meeting the wider RCVS criteria.

Susie Coughlan, Managing Director of CPD Solutions (pictured), said: "This is an important step for our PgCert students and for vets who want postgraduate training that is both clinically useful and professionally meaningful.

"Our Small Animal Surgery PgCert has always been built around practical confidence, clinical reasoning and reflective development.

"Our wider aim is to give vets clear, practical and university-validated postgraduate pathways that support both clinical confidence and professional recognition."