The UK’s veterinary schools have launched a survey to help the sector to understand the costs associated with providing student extra mural studies (EMS) work placements. They are keen to hear from farms, veterinary practices and other organisations that provide student placements.
In order to qualify as a veterinarian in the UK, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) requires students to complete thirty eight weeks of EMS placements over the course of their degree. Placements are organised by individual students and the costs associated with each placement are borne by the student and by the organisation hosting their placement.
While most student placements are on farms or in veterinary practices, students also undertake placements in diagnostic laboratories, with public health bodies, in meat processing plants, equine livery yards, zoos, kennels and the many other types of organisation where a veterinary career might lead them.
There are, however, currently no data available on the costs incurred by these organisations in providing placements to veterinary students. The survey – which is being undertaken by the Veterinary Schools Council (VSC) as part of a wider study looking at the cost of placements to universities, students and placement providers – seeks to rectify this.
“As cost pressures on students and placement providers increase, it’s vital that we have a robust understanding of the costs involved with the current placement requirements,” says Professor Stuart Reid, Principal of the Royal Veterinary College and Chair of the VSC. “This will allow the sector to make more informed, benchmarked decisions for the future.”
The survey is open to all organisations that provide placements to UK veterinary students and will take around ten minutes to complete. All responses are confidential. The survey is available online at emsplacementsurvey.org and will be open until 5pm on Friday 12th May 2023.
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Notes to editors
- 1. The Veterinary Schools Council is the representative body for veterinary schools in the UK, Ireland and Netherlands. Consisting of nine UK members and two non-UK associate members, it provides a source of informed opinion on matters concerning veterinary education and research, from the welfare of students and academic researchers to public health. The Council engages in representative and policy work to ensure that the voice of veterinary schools is recognised for its experience, innovation and commitment to animal welfare and public health. For more on the work of the Veterinary Schools Council, see: www.vetschoolscouncil.ac.uk
- 2. For more information on this press release, please contact Rosie Pearce, Senior Policy Officer at rosie.pearce@vetschoolscouncil.ac.uk
