Vet Nurse CPD Requirements: What They Are and How to Meet Them
For veterinary nurses in the UK, staying current with professional knowledge and skills is not just a good idea, it’s a requirement. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) sets out clear expectations when it comes to CPD and understanding your veterinary nurse CPD requirements can make all the difference in building a successful career in veterinary nursing.
CPD is about keeping skills sharp and staying informed as the profession evolves. Whether it’s learning about new treatments, understanding the latest in animal welfare legislation, or simply refining day-to-day practice, CPD plays a vital role in maintaining high standards across the industry. So, what do you need to know about the vet nurse CPD requirements in the UK?
How many hours of CPD do vet nurses need?
According to the RCVS, every RVN must complete at least 15 hours of CPD every calendar year. The CPD needs to be relevant to the nurse’s job role, but what counts as vet nurse CPD can vary (see below). The CPD requirement for vet nurses can be paused if RVNs need to stay on the register but can’t fulfil the full hourly requirement – you can apply to the RCVS for a pause of up to 6 months, reducing your requirement for that year to 7.5 hours, either for planned absences from work (parental leave) or exceptional circumstances (recent significant illness of yourself or a close family member, an unexpected change in family/carer responsibilities, or a recent disability).
What other veterinary nurse CPD requirements do I need to know?
Other than the requirement for 15 hours of vet nurse CPD a year, the RCVS also requires you to follow the ‘plan, do, record, reflect’ cycle, so you’ll also need to:
- Plan CPD that’s relevant to your role and addresses skills gaps
- Record all CPD activities using the free RCVS 1CPD platform
- Include reflections on what you’ve learned and how it’s helped in practice – you might find our article Reflecting on Your Veterinary CPD helpful!
The RCVS can audit veterinary CPD records at any time, so they ask you to keep records up to date and record them as soon as possible after completing. Failing to meet these obligations could result in removal from the professional register, so it’s essential to stay on top of it.
Vet nurse CPD can take many forms…
Formal training courses, webinars, workshops, in-practice teaching, or even relevant reading can all count—so long as the learning is meaningful and relevant to your role. You might want to:
- Take a vet nurse certificate (or advanced vet nurse certificate), either online or face-to-face
- Take a practical short course or in-person study day
- Attend webinars
- Attend internal training, such as lunch-and-learns
- Listen to clinical podcasts
- Talk to your colleagues about a complicated case
- Mentor a student, or teach a new skill to a colleague
- Learn a new skill from a colleague
- Conduct an audit (such as an antibiotic audit or a neutering complications audit)
The key is to ensure the activities are planned, recorded, and reflected upon. That means it’s not really enough to just take whatever free vet nurse CPD you can find – you need to plan to improve a particular area. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy free CPD, but try to make sure you focus it on an area, or take a longer course every now and then to even it out. The focus now is on quality over quantity, and on how CPD contributes to improving clinical practice or enhancing soft skills like communication, leadership, or resilience.
Making vet nurse CPD as effective as possible
Don’t let CPD become a tick-box exercise. Ultimately, CPD is about investing in yourself and your career. It’s a chance to grow, specialise, and continue doing what you love to the best of your ability. For many nurses, it also opens doors to new opportunities and greater job satisfaction.
Reflection is a big part of this – you can reflect on what you learned, what you’ll change, and even whether the delivery suited you. Showing that you’ve done this, and taking these learnings into account when you plan more CPD, is important.
So, if you haven’t already, now’s a great time to check in on your CPD plan. Are you on track? Is your learning aligned with your goals?
If not, why not see how we can help? We’d love to hear more about your professional development and career goals and help you plan your next move. Our CPD advisors are happy to talk you through your options.
