BRITAIN is a cold
and mysterious place
for many of the
foreign-trained
veterinary surgeons
who arrive to work
here. So the
profession’s
governing bodies are
doing what they can
to make their
welcome a little
warmer.
Royal College
president Jacqui Molyneaux offered
advice on understanding how the
veterinary profession operates in the
UK to a group of overseas
veterinarians attending the London Vet
Show. In collaboration with the BVA,
the RCVS had also organised a two-day
symposium later in November for those
vets wanting to work in the UK, she
said.
The veterinary bodies are
concerned about the numbers of
members from outside the European
Union who are subject of a complaint
leading to a disciplinary investigation.
They believe that many of these
incidents could be avoided if foreign
graduates were better prepared for the
different professional environment that
they will encounter in Britain.
The UK has traditionally been
heavily dependent on foreign graduates
to maintain its veterinary services.
Overall, 27% of the members listed on
the RCVS Register gained their
qualifications at an overseas institution
and 43% of those registered in 2011
trained abroad.
In recent years, around 700
complaints have been received by the
RCVS about the conduct of its
members. But the chances of a non-
European veterinary surgeon becoming
the subject of a disciplinary investigation is roughly
50% higher than that of
a graduate from a
school in Britain or
elsewhere within the
EU.
In about 80% of
those cases, a breakdown in
communication was a
key element in the
complaint. Foreign
graduates were strongly
advised to familiarise themselves with the Royal College guide
to professional conduct and to be aware
of other sources of information and
advice through membership of
organisations such as the BVA and
Veterinary Defence Society.
Mrs Molyneaux also suggested the
names of organisations like the British
Council which runs English language
courses for those whose command of
the language was less than perfect.
The RCVS president noted that a
client’s use of idiomatic English could
often be the source of problems. So
she urged colleagues to be wary of
making assumptions about unfamiliar
phrases. Clients often used euphemisms
when requesting that their animal be
neutered or euthanased and with such
irrevocable decisions it was essential for
the vet to make sure that he or she fully
understood the request, she said.
The Royal College has asked its
foreign-trained members what they
found most difficult about adapting to
their working conditions in the UK.
Mrs Molyneaux gave examples of the
sorts of problems encountered which
often revolved around clients’
excessive devotion to their pet, the
intricacies of social etiquette and the
British profession’s apparent lack of
flexibility in interpreting their legal
obligations.
