The veterinary profession in Ireland has been well served by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UCD and our veterinary degrees are well recognised and respected around the world. However, as Kaufman said: "Education is not a product, mark, diploma, job or money in that order, it is a process, a never ending one."

In the veterinary world, as in all others, some individuals will make their own way to the top of their chosen sphere of activity, but most of us need all the help we can get. Delaney, in his 1995 report, pointed the way in recommending that the profession discard the "anchor of equality", acknowledge and recognise differing levels of skill and expertise, acknowledge limitations of personal skill, encourage referrals and make continuing professional development (CPD) the norm.

CPD has been defined as ‘the responsibility of individuals for the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skills to ensure continuing competence as a professional throughout their career’ (Royal Society of Chemistry).

Under current veterinary legislation, the Veterinary Council is not empowered to make continuing veterinary education (CVE) mandatory, even if it wished to, so any initiative in this area must, of necessity, be voluntary and based on consensus. Following Delaney, an ad hoc committee was set up to look at this issue and make recommendations to the Veterinary Council. From these recommendations, the interim board of an Irish College of Veterinary Surgeons was formed, with a remit on behalf of the Council and of the main veterinary representative bodies, to come up with a working system to accredit and facilitate professional development.

For convenience, and to avoid confusion, the board sub-divided the area of CVE into:

1. CPD: the regular updating of knowledge by various means, which are not necessarily inter-related or structured in terms of a definite educational goal or qualification; and,

2. Post-graduate courses: a structured progression leading to a definite education goal or qualification.

Qualifications recognised by, and titles awarded by, the ICVS, will be entered in the Register of the Veterinary Council.

The structures being put in place rely on the voluntary participation of the profession as a whole and it will be incumbent on each individual to decide the modes and areas of study most relevant to their own need and to utilise them.

There are many reasons why we need CVE - personal satisfaction and increased job satisfaction should be the main ones - but we have a professional obligation to provide the best possible services to the public. As a self-regulating profession, it is important that we are seen to be acting responsibly. CVE is an indication of this and failure to embrace it voluntarily may result in others imposing structures on the profession. In today’s commercial market, satisfying customer expectations is an important consideration. A list of credits to be awarded for each type of CPD activity is included on the back of the Registration Application Forms included as an insert in this issue. It is proposed that post-graduate course recognition will be provided at three levels. At the first level, associate membership of the ICVS, recognition will be awarded for the study of a number of designated modules, not necessarily related in terms of topic or species. At the second level, membership of the ICVS, certification will also be based on modules, but in this case the modules will be more focussed and detailed. The third level, leading to a fellowship of the ICVS, will require an element of full-time participation by the candidate and will roughly equate with the RCVS Diploma course.

It is envisaged that the ICVS will shortly employ a Dean of Continuing Education to finally pull all the threads of thought together and bring them to fruition.

However, none of this will achieve anything if you, the members of the profession, do not indicate your support by:

- registering for CPD; application forms may be obtained from the secretary of the ICVS at 53 Lansdowne Road, Ballsbridge;

- encourage your clinical society and professional bodies to embrace the ICVS structures and provide questionnaires for extra credits; and,

- get involved in CPD and post-graduate courses.