RCVS clarifies its position on new vet schools

Responding to calls from the veterinary profession, the RCVS has clarified its role with regard to new veterinary schools, saying it has no authority to control student or graduate numbers.

Urged by members of the profession to comment on the need for a change in the number of veterinary schools or graduates, the college has confirmed its role in a position statement.

According to this statement, the college's role is to set, uphold and advance the standards that any new veterinary degrees would need to meet, in order to be approved by the privy council. It has, however, "no role in capping student numbers".

Since the announcement last year that the University of Surrey will open a new vet school in 2014, significant concerns have been voiced that this will put further pressure on veterinary graduates looking for work in the UK.

However, the college says that the results of a survey it commissioned suggest that increasing numbers of graduates over the past five years has so far had little impact on job prospects for veterinary graduates.

Headline results from the survey were released in the summer of this year, indicating that 94 per cent of graduate respondents who had sought a role in clinical practice had obtained work within six months of starting to look.

According to the RCVS, 43 per cent of veterinary surgeons who graduated over the past five years responded to the survey, and a full report of the findings has now been released.

The results show that the average time taken for the graduates to find their first position was 2.7 months, with 92 per cent of these first roles being in clinical practice. Of this number, 53 per cent were in small animal practice, 27 per cent mixed, 10 per cent farm animal and 9 per cent equine.

Earlier on this year, however, the BEVA released the results of a survey of its members, which suggested that there are five times more veterinary graduates looking for work in equine practice than there are jobs available.

The RCVS says it seeks to support healthy debate by giving information on the state of the profession, and will continue to work with bodies such as the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education, which evaluates veterinary degrees across Europe.

Results of the college's recent survey also found that only 34 per cent of graduate respondents felt that their first role met all of their needs, with the most common and significant reason for this being: "I did not receive enough professional support from my employers and colleagues". In addition, of those who had already left their first job, the reason most often given was "poor management".

For further information, visit the RCVS website for the position statement, or to view the full findings from the survey.