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Applications open for academy aiming to give graduates best start

Published on: 23 Feb 2022
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IVC academy The UK veterinary profession’s biggest graduate scheme has just opened its applications for 2022.

The IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy offers unrivalled support to new vets in more than 500 locations across the country.

Group veterinary advisor Donald Kingsnorth, who has been with the IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy since its inception in 2015, says it’s more vital than ever as vets face continued pressures and the industry faces worrying shortages.

Dr Kingsnorth said: “Making sure young vets get the best start in professional life is key to how they enjoy and find fulfilment in their careers.

“It is absolutely fundamental to how they go forward.”

The IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy has honed its support and offering over the years. The biggest focus has become the graduates’ mental health. A great emphasis has been placed on soft skills alongside the clinical teaching.

Day-to-day pressures

Dr Kingsnorth said: “We look at managing a consult, handling tricky clients and just dealing with the day-to-day pressures of life in practice.

“They can be very high indeed and can come as quite a shock when you’ve just left university.

“That’s the biggest lesson we’ve learned over the years, and we’ve built a lot of those measures up. The clinical stuff is always great, and we’re very lucky to have a huge number of diplomates and expert teachers to deliver the highest quality CPD. But the soft skills teaching is so important. It’s not always so apparent when it’s first presented, but at the end of two years they look back and recognise it was incredibly useful.

“Managing pressures is paramount to a long career and in past times it was often left for supposed tough people to make it. That was entirely the wrong attitude and we all now realise the importance of mental health.

“If you are happier and more fulfilled, you will hopefully want to stay in a truly great profession.”

Dr Kingsnorth, who qualified from the University of Cambridge in 1983, ran his own highly successful practice Donald Kingsnorth and Associates before joining Independent Vetcare in 2013.

He stepped away from frontline practice to do other things for the group and was soon tasked with setting up the IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy.

Conversation

It came about through a conversation with then chief executive David Hillier.

“He said to a few of us that we simply needed to do more with regards to our graduate education,” said Dr Kingsnorth.

“Looking back, right across the profession in general, graduates weren’t always treated very well. Some weren’t well supported and were worked at a level you might find reprehensible. So, they were given quite a tough time and we wanted to set up a programme where young vets would be supported by a clinical coach, a mentor and a programme of education.

“That would be for the first two years, which are quite a vulnerable time. The idea that you leave vet school and know how to be a practical vet is a long way from the truth.

“You have fantastic theoretical knowledge, but it’s then all about how you use it, how you work with teams and liaise with clients for the best outcome for the animals in your charge. That’s something you learn from your first years in practice. What we wanted to do was structure the support to help them do that.”

In the first year, just 15 graduates were taken through a two-year programme. It has grown enormously since and is now the largest postgraduate education programme for young vets in Europe.

“There is so much opportunity as we have practices in every corner of the UK, as well as elsewhere in continental Europe,” said Dr Kingsnorth. “And you can’t just find a location that suits; there is opportunity in all fields. As well as the largest number of small animal practices, we have a huge presence in farming and a growing practice in equine.”

Academy benefits

Members of the IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy have access to a large range of benefits. The starting salary will be £30,000, with an additional £5,000 payment in the first year and graduates getting five weeks’ annual holiday. The costs of RCVS renewal fees and many other professional memberships are also covered.

A dedicated VetGDP advisor and mentor is assigned, regular feedback and advice is provided, and the structured CPD programme includes access to seven different streams that cover a variety of pure and mixed roles.

CPD content is available for small animal, farm and equine vets, as well as those in mixed practice. Training conference options include invitations to national veterinary congress events such as London Vet Show and BSAVA Congress.

Career progression opportunities are available within the ever-growing network, which also provides for peer support within local areas and across the UK. A process is in place for internal transfers within the UK and Europe, making it easy to relocate.

Graduates also have access to the IVC Evidensia Care Fund. It offers financial support to owners facing financial challenges and allows vets to offer treatment options that might otherwise not be possible.

The expansion of the numbers over the past six years has been matched by an investment in those providing the support.

Dr Kingsnorth said: “As well as ensuring there was a person in each practice to support the graduate, we have developed training courses for those people as well.

“I’m really pleased to see that the royal college has recognised the need to support young vets in practice over the past couple of years. Now that has been made mandatory.

“I think that, along with other corporates that also introduced programmes, we can take satisfaction in having improved the lot of young vets.”

Pandemic adaptations have seen the programme becoming a mix of attendance and virtual, with the benefit of being able to deliver more clinical CPD while still having peer support and the chance for meeting up with colleagues.

Handing over reins

Having steered the IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy to an industry leading position, Dr Kingsnorth is now handing over the reins and looking to retirement. And while his time establishing it has been a huge source of satisfaction, so has his experience with IVC Evidensia.

He said: “At the time of joining in 2013, I just felt we’d be in a stronger position to support and develop the practices, and invest in the people by taking up the offer. Although there were other approaches, this was the option that was head and shoulders above anything else. And I’m very happy to say that faith has been borne out.”

For more information about the IVC Evidensia Graduate Academy or to apply, visit https://ivcevidensia.co.uk/graduate-academy

l This article was supplied by IVC Evidensia.