Delivery Modes
If you are looking for more information on the different types of courses you can experience with us at the RVC, then you are in the right place! Whether you are looking for tutor-moderated intensive online learning, interactive online lectures, onsite ultrasound workshops or practical hands-on courses then we have the course for you.
Onsite
Our extensive range of onsite courses aim to challenge and stimulate delegates. We offer a selection of lecture-based courses and hands-on practical courses in small groups, covering a variety of topics relevant to companion animal, exotic species, equine clinical practice, and professional skills.
Our practical hands-on courses cover a broad range of different topics for veterinarians in large or small animal practice. Each year we run popular tried and tested surgery and abdominal and echocardiography scanning courses for all levels of experience as well as introducing new surgery courses to challenge and excite. All of our practical courses have limited spaces to enhance learning so please book early to avoid disappointment.
Our interactive lecture-based courses aim to provide participants with invaluable tips to take back to practice with them. During the course, delegates will be involved in case-based discussions and have the time and opportunity to discuss the subject in more detail with the tutors and their colleagues.
Further information
Our onsite courses are held at our Hawkshead Campus, near Potters Bar. We offer refreshments on arrival and during morning and afternoon break as well as a hot lunch. Accommodation is available should you wish to stay overnight on campus or we have a list of local hotels you can pick from. Hawkshead Campus is near Potters Bar Station (direct route from London Kings Cross) and the RVC operate a shuttle bus between the station and campus. Alternatively there is a minicab company at the station.
Directions to the Hawkshead Campus
Accommodation at the Hawkshead Campus and the surrounding area
Bus timetable - Potters Bar Station to Hawkshead Campus
Taxi/Minicab: a minicab service is available from beside Potters Bar railway station forecourt (telephone 01707 650077). The journey to the Campus takes about 10 minutes.
Tutor-moderated online
A convenient and flexible way to earn CPD hours without leaving home is to indulge in one of our tutor-moderated online learning experiences.
e-CPD courses at the RVC allow veterinarians and vet nurses from around the world to participate in interactive and in-depth online learning. The courses offered cover a range of topics relevant to companion animal and equine clinical practice. The courses are moderated by expert clinical staff. Depending on the course topic, they consist of a mixture of case presentations and assessment, radiographs, downloadable reference sources (notes, textbook references and relevant journal articles), quizzes, videos, weblinks and online asynchronous discussions.
There is no need to log on at any particular time of the day or night so the courses can be completed in your own time. However, you do need to be able to spend at least three to four hours for vet nurses or six to seven hours for vets, each week on the course and log on several times throughout each week to get maximum benefit. There are tasks to complete each week and usually deadlines to meet midweek and at the end of the week.
For most e-CPD courses veterinarians can earn up to 42 hours formal CPD and another 10 hours informal CPD as permitted by the RCVS. Nurses can earn up to 24 CPD hours formal CPD. This means that you can exceed your yearly CPD requirement in one course! At a cost of less than £20 per CPD hour they are one of the most cost effective independent CPD forums in Europe.
The courses are internet based so no special software or computer skills are required – you don’t have to be a computer geek to enjoy and participate fully! The unique feature of RVC e-CPD courses is that they are much more than just an online information delivery mechanism. Interactive activities occur throughout the course, tutor input is extensive and integral to the participants’ learning, and veterinarians can share their clinical experiences with, and learn from, a diverse group of colleagues. Veterinarians and veterinary nurses participate from all around the world.
The format of e-CPD is not for everyone. It does not suit everyone’s learning preferences, they require commitment and self-discipline and they can be challenging to fit into a busy life. They involve tutor- supported, but also self-directed, learning – so that, more than in any other form of CPD, you get out of it what you put in. You also have to make your own coffee. But for those who can commit the time, like to learn at their own pace, at times convenient to their work, family and social life, have time to reflect on their learning, be part of an active learning community, have the flexibility to explore topics in greater depth or simply those who wish to avoid having to travel and be away from home or work to participate in CPD, e-CPD is an ideal CPD format. Course numbers are limited to enhance participants’ learning experience and in 2020 most courses were fully booked. So it is wise to book early to avoid disappointment.
It is also important to fully consider where you are going to find the time to do the course each week. These courses are intense and we make no apology for that. They take time which can be challenging if you do not set aside specific times to do the work. You schedule time off work to attend a face-to-face CPD course, so if your work and home life is very full why not consider using your CPD allowance to book time off each week to enable you to participate fully in, and get maximum benefit from, the rich online learning experience of e-CPD?
A hybrid of our themed webinar series and e-CPD courses, each Webinar Plus course provides a rich learning experience over four weeks. Less intense than e-CPD but with greater learning support than webinars alone, each course is worth up to 16 CPD hours and involves a mixture of webinars, online case assessment exercises, supplementary reading material and discussion forums involving the tutors and colleagues from around the world.
Webinar Plus courses will either contain a live webinar each week (one to two hours) which participants can attend ‘live’ or view the recorded version if the day or time does not suit their schedule. Or an initiative this year, based on a very successful pilot last year, is that some courses will have pre-recorded webinars with a live Q&A with the tutor each week.
In addition, participants have access to our web-based virtual learning platform, where there will be a variety of learning resources available to support the topic of each week including supplementary reading material and cases as well as self-assessment exercises.
Whether pre-recorded or live, there will be tutor-moderated discussion forums so all of your concerns and queries about the topic can be aired and discussed as well as the opportunity to interact with fellow participants.
Webinar Plus courses are fantastic value for independent, superb, flexible, tutor-guided CPD.
Our live webinars can be viewed live on the dates indicated or purchased for viewing at a later date. Each webinar will run for one or two hours (starting at 12 noon London time) and there will be plenty of opportunity for interaction with the tutor. All participants will have access to the webinars for two weeks so they can review the presentations as many times as they wish to embed learning. Participants will receive a CPD certificate for one or two CPD hours. Webinars can be bought individually or as part of a series.
Live webinars give you the opportunity for Q&As with the lecturer plus access to a recorded version for two weeks. A recorded version will be available to purchase approximately two weeks after the live dat
Online anytime
Our selection of online anytime courses are great value for busy practitioners seeking quality CPD at a time of their choice. Whether you have one or two hours to watch a recorded webinar or perhaps a bit more time to spend on a recorded Webinar Plus course, you are sure to find something of interest in our extensive online anytime library.
Priced at £30 for a two-hour webinar or £20 for a one-hour webinar, recorded webinars are great value for busy vets and vet nurses seeking quality CPD at a time of their choice. Participants will receive a copy of the slides and/or notes to support their viewing session and a certificate for one or two CPD hours.
Participants gain access to the webinar for two weeks which allows them to view it at their leisure and convenience as well as review aspects as needed to enhance their learning.
Members of the BVA Young Vets Network receive a 50% discount on our recorded webinars (subject to availability – 10 discounted places available per webinar per year).
Members of the BVA Young Vets Network receive a 50% discount on our recorded webinars (subject to availability – 10 discounted places available per webinar per year).
You can purchase fully recorded Webinar Plus courses at any time of the year to suit your schedule. These are based on courses that have run live in previous years where the tutors are happy that the content is still up-to-date and relevant. They contain all of the learning material (webinars, reading material, slides and self-assessment exercises) but are not tutor-moderated. A set of FAQs is available for each course that represent the questions and concerns of previous participants and the tutor responses. The fee for recorded Webinar Plus courses is £199 and participants can earn up to 12 CPD hours.