Fellowship

The title Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (FRCVS) has been in existence for over 140 years.

Since 2016, the RCVS Fellowship has been awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the veterinary profession with applications judged on:

• Meritorious Contributions to Knowledge (MCK);
• Meritorious Contributions to Clinical Practice (MCCP); or
• Meritorious Contributions to the Profession (MCP)

By offering these three broad routes to Fellowship it should be possible to become a Fellow irrespective of professional background, specialism or interest.

Veterinary surgeons

You may have noticed that veterinary surgeons have the initials ‘MRCVS’ or ‘FRCVS’ after their names.

This stands for member, or fellow, of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), and indicates their r registration with the RCVS, the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the UK.

The title ‘veterinary surgeon’ is protected in law: only those who are registered with the RCVS can use the title.

‘Veterinary surgery’ as an area of work is protected by the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966. This means that activities described as veterinary surgery can only be carried out by veterinary surgeons, with some exemptions.

With rights come responsibilities, and the same legislation that protects the profession of veterinary surgery also lays down the way in which the profession should be regulated.

More details about the Veterinary Surgeons Act, and how we are trying to modernize rnise veterinary legislation, can be found on the main RCVS website.

The veterinary profession is made up of over 30,000 registered veterinary surgeons. Just over 23,000 of these are registered as ‘UK-practicing’ members, which means they can practice in the UK.

The profession is a varied one: veterinary surgeons can be found working in clinical practice (most commonly, small animal, farm animal, equine or exotic), research, academia, industry or government. Buy RCVS Certificate Without Exam

All RCVS-registered veterinary surgeons have achieved an educational qualification that meets our registration requirements. In addition, those practicing  in the UK agree to abide by the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons and commit to keep their skills and knowledge up to date, by means of continuing professional development.