RCVS invites vets to a focus group to develop GP Specialist curriculum

RE: RCVS invites vets to a focus group to develop GP Specialist curriculum

Penny Watson — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 17:01:41 GMT

I agree I think this is a bad idea - as a specialist myself who spent 4 years in very mixed (LA and SA) practice before my return to academia and residency training, I truly value good first opinion vets and agree that GP vets need the motivation provided by career development - but becoming a 'specialist' GP vet is not the way to do that. I always thought what worked well in GP practice was when individual vets in the practice followed their particular interests to middle tier to become the interested person in the practice with more knowledge and enthusiasm for those cases - be it dentistry, cattle health, radiology etc. In my experience, these middle tier practitioners also tend to discuss difficult cases with specialist colleagues in their area more and so provide a valuable and valued link between the practice and referral centres. Some may then go on to residencies but many are happy to stay in their GP practice as a valued team member. I studied my RCVS certificate in diagnostic imaging when in practice and therefore became the practice radiation protection supervisor and gained a responsibility for the imaging. The whole practice benefits from this. I think it was a mistake for the RCVS to loose the specific middle tier certificates and replace them with a more 'general' cert AVP. The number of vets signing up for BSAVA and Improve more specific middle tier qualifications show how much they are missed. A quick look at the RCVS Cert AVP Module subjects page shows that some key subjects are not being offered at all at the moment, including pigs, dentistry and ophthalmology. Surely the RCVSs time would be better spent re-visiting these middle tier qualifications rather than trying to develop a 'specialist' GP vet which is a contradiction in terms

RE: RCVS invites vets to a focus group to develop GP Specialist curriculum

Alasdair Hotston Moore — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 23:07:07 GMT

secondly, RCVS decided to get out of specialist qualifications a few years ago, on grounds of cost and duplication with other awarding bodies. What’s changed?
and finally, specialisation is generally associated with residency training (which gives a different and I think superior educational experience to post graduate training through Certification). But I find it hard to picture a residency equivalence for general practice

Do I think first opinion practice is a worthy discipline that can be recognised by post graduation qualifications? Absolutely. But through recognition as Specialists? No

RE: RCVS invites vets to a focus group to develop GP Specialist curriculum

Alasdair Hotston Moore — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 23:01:00 GMT

I’ve several problems with this RCVS initiative. Over the last two decades RCVS has tried several ways to give recognition to practitioners ( remember the Masters programme, the AVP and rejuvenate the Fellowship?). I’ve signed up to two of these and pay extra for each every year, but I’m not sure either do anything for me except for a warm glow. So why will another initiative be more successful?

RE: RCVS invites vets to a focus group to develop GP Specialist curriculum

Nichola Hinchy — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:19:08 GMT

This idea of GP specialisation really worries me. Does this devalue the knowledge and skills of experienced vets? Who is going to fund the specialisation course? Independent practices won’t be able to fund it for all vets and new graduates already have massive student loans. What benefit is it going to bring to the profession? How can we give feedback to the RCVS that this focus group session won’t be representative of the views of the profession? There’s no way I can practically travel down from Edinburgh for an all day session on a Friday. Let alone the costs of travelling down. Why haven’t they considered multiple, shorter, evening Zoom sessions?

RE: RCVS invites vets to a focus group to develop GP Specialist curriculum

Vikki Moran — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 09:46:28 GMT

I think the trouble is there’s an increasing pressure on younger vets (& students) to value their skills purely in terms of “specialist” status. There’s a belief that unless you achieve such status, you’re not successful. There’s no desire to be a good first opinion vet or there’s a view that being in first opinion practice is somehow not good enough.

RE: RCVS invites vets to a focus group to develop GP Specialist curriculum

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:51:22 GMT

I quite agree Arlo, but only a very exceptional person is going to bother to traipse to Woburn House Conference Centre, handy for Euston though it be, at 9.30 a.m to say "This is a bad idea, forget about it and do something more useful" and then leave – or if they stay, be shunned for the rest of the day>