Vet CPD

With iLearn, veterinary practice professionals can explore an extensive range of non-clinical CPD online courses, which are developed by industry experts and refreshed each month. Embrace the future of learning with iLearn Veterinary’s cutting-edge content and take control of your career growth.

Online cpd courses for veterinary professionals

When you think of veterinary CPD (continuing professional development), what comes to mind? Perhaps you focus on developing your surgical expertise, or maybe you have a passion for complex cardiology cases and your CPD has a medical bias. But whether you are most comfortable in the consulting room or the operating theatre, how often do you consider your non-clinical skills?

Non-clinical vet CPD, encompassing topics such as wellbeing, communication skills and teamwork is essential for a fulfilling work life, both in and out of the consulting room. Enter iLearn, a comprehensive non-clinical CPD platform. iLearn offers a broad range of topics, including consulting skills, mental health and wellbeing. Courses are available in short, easily accessible modules, designed with busy vets in mind to enhance non-clinical skills. Whether you are at home, in practice or elsewhere, completing your CPD has never been so easy.

iLearn’s courses offer great value by providing significant educational benefits in a flexible online format.

online cpd education for veterinary surgeons

Access 5 free CPD courses

Vet CPD requirements

How many cpd hours must be completed?

Completing 35 cpd hours per calendar year is compulsory. And as well as being a requirement of RCVS registration, cpd is essential to keep skills up to date. The 35 hours is a minimum and can consist of a combination of clinical practice and non-clinical topics. The skills learned can then be applied in general practice settings. While the balance of clinical versus non-clinical topics will be determined by individual requirements, a combination of the two is ideal.

Outcome-focused CPD ensures that you will get the most out of the time you invest in your learning.

Plan – setting objectives for the CPD
Do – participating in activities relevant to your role
Record – tracking CPD using the 1CPD app
Reflect – considering what you have learned

a veterinary surgeon puts skills into practice whilst examining a dog

Can vet CPD be rolled over to the next calendar year?

To comply with RCVS requirements, veterinary CPD hours cannot be rolled over and 35 hours must be completed, recorded and reflected on every calendar year.

What can I log as vet CPD?

Anything that is relevant to your role can count as CPD, clinical or non-clinical. And that can include informal learning – case discussions in practice for example – as well as more formal learning such as online courses or in-person training. Veterinary professionals can log a variety of learning activities as CPD. Don’t forget that you can sign up to the iLearn platform to receive 9 hours of free non-clinical CPD.

How do I log CPD?

Vet CPD must be logged through the RCVS app 1CPD. The app is free to download and use for all vets and offers everything needed to accurately plan, log and reflect on your CPD.

a young vet welcomes a family with their pet into the practice

Planning your CPD

Although 35 total hours may not seem a lot, the demands of veterinary practice can make it challenging to find time for CPD. Effective planning will help you to make the most of your learning and recording and reflecting on your CPD at the time of completion will make life easier in the long run. Remember anything related to your job role can count as CPD, including:

online courses
in-person lectures
self-directed reading
in-practice learning
practical attendance courses

By planning ahead, you can prioritise CPD opportunities that align with your career aspirations as well as addressing any gaps in your knowledge

Recording your CPD

CPD must be recorded through the 1CPD app. This is available to download onto a phone or tablet, meaning recording CPD on the go has never been easier!

What do you need to do? All that’s required is to enter the details of your CPD activity and the date that you completed it. Remember that you will have to reflect on it too.

iLearn Veterinary’s personalised features, such as a training record which updates automatically, help to streamline the process of logging CPD activities, ready for easy upload to 1CPD.

Reflecting on your CPD

Reflecting on continuing professional development is a critical element of meeting the RCVS requirements. Your reflection should consider both what you have learned and how it relates to your learning needs, as well as how it can be applied to your work. Think…

What have I learned?

So, what does this mean for me?

Now what will I do differently?

Free vet CPD courses available on iLearn

Young male veterinary nurse treating a Labrador

The vet whisperer

The aim of The Vet Whisperer programme is to set out the 6 drivers of Self-Doubt, all of which are inherent to working in veterinary practice, illustrated with examples and context specific to veterinary practice.

A person placing sticky notes on a table, each with a face drawn to show different feelings

Five things relating to mental health that everyone in vet practice should know

This course adopts a problem-based approach to analysing wellbeing within veterinary practice by using CSI (Culture-Systems-Individuals) as a practical means of analysing and identifying the cultural, operational, and individual themes that are counter-productive to protecting our mental health.

A team of veterinary professionals gathered around a Retriever

Understanding the Veterinary Profession Better

This course covers the difference between the veterinary profession and the veterinary industry and details the various types of veterinary practices and veterinary professionals within it.

A young animal care assistant holding a cat

Veterinary Animal Care Assistant Award – Bronze Level 1

This course is designed for those aspiring towards a career in animal care and need a starting point into the role, or for those who are already employed in veterinary practice in this role and wish to develop their knowledge and skills.

Wooden letter blocks spell out "Words have Power"

The psychology of ‘having a quiet word’ with misbehaving colleagues

This course aims to provide learners with knowledge and understanding of how we can prevent frustrating behaviour using many of the day-to-day management processes that represent a ‘soft’ approach to learning and development.

Access your free CPD courses for vets

iLearn offers a selection of free CPD courses for veterinary surgeons. Experience the benefits of iLearn with over nine hours of free CPD.