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Course asks vet teams to consider human factors
The free course suggests that analysing human factors and systems can improve veterinary outcomes.
The RCVS Knowledge course supports analysis of human interactions.

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has released new resources to support veterinary professionals with analysing human interactions and processes.

The online course, published for free on RCVS Knowledge, suggests that, by analysing human factors carefully, veterinary professionals can improve their veterinary outcomes.

Quality Improvement Boxset – Introduction to Human Factors and Systems Thinking will provide learners with the non-technical skills to improve quality of care, patient safety and team wellbeing. It includes learning materials, tools and templates to aid with learning and implementing the skills.

The ‘human factors’ lessons will address interactions between people and their environment, which veterinary teams can interpret to optimise patient care and outcomes. Meanwhile ‘system factors’ topics consider the role of well-designed systems to achieve better results.

The practical course has been produced through collaboration from Human Factors and Systems Thinking experts in both veterinary and human medicine fields.

Veterinary professionals are encouraged to reflect upon and share the learnings across the team, so that the full practice can implement new techniques to the benefit of patients, clients and team members.

The course, which forms part of the seventh series of the Quality Improvement Boxset, is designed to be accessible for the whole veterinary team.

Pam Mosedale, Quality Improvement Clinical Lead at RCVS Knowledge: “Every veterinary professional wants to achieve good outcomes, but the role that Human Factors and systems can play is sometimes overlooked.

“Making sure that your processes are well-designed, and understanding how the people in your team interact with them can optimise the quality of care you provide, while improving team wellbeing,”

The Introduction to Human Factors and Systems Thinking series from the QI boxset can be found on RCVS Knowledge.

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.