Certificate of Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP)

The Certificate of Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP) is a flexible way to achieve a veterinary post-graduate qualification. It is run as a distance learning assessment only programme, with you only needing to come to the RVC for C module written exams.

• We assess manageably-sized modules, with credits collected as you achieve them.
• You design your own certificate by choosing a combination of modules that reflects your area of interest and is directly relevant to your work.
• Alternatively, you can simply be assessed on individual modules as part of your ongoing CPD, and RCVS will keep a record of your achievements.

The CertAVP at the RVC encourages independent, adult-centred and self-directed learning, it is not a taught course. The aim of the assessment process at the RVC is not only to support you to fully understand the quality of your current clinical practice but also to foster life-long learning skills and to advance and enhance your clinical knowledge, skills and understanding. Reflective, critical practice is expected and encouraged.

The learning scaffold for CertAVP at the RVC is your clinical and professional experience - the learning you build by reading, formal CPD and other learning activities around the professional issues you have faced in your practice and the clinical cases you manage. Setting your own learning goals to help you achieve the learning outcomes for the modules and seeking the learning opportunities that fulfil your learning needs are crucial activities for an adult learning experience. So, although the CertAVP at the RVC is not a taught course (which can imply that everyone has the same learning needs), there are rich learning opportunities at every stage. These include the detailed and personalised feedback you will receive on your work, a range of discounted RVC CPD courses that support learning outcomes for many CertAVP modules, a wide variety of online learning resources including access to the RVC library and where needed one-to-one learning support from our Learning Development team or module leaders.