The new certificates are designed to be relevant to small animal practice, with a combination of face-to-face courses and online learning enabling flexible study, yet providing a feeling of academic community and support.

Each unit will start with a one day course, which will include a combination of lectures and interactive case discussions. Some of the courses in the PGCertSAS will be devoted to practical skill development. Each single course will comprise 7 hours of teaching and discussion, and it is expected that most delegates will require approximately 3 hours to read the lecture notes before and/or after the course itself. The courses will be run approximately monthly.

After attending the taught course and reviewing the course notes, you will spend approximately 10 further hours on the linked online resources and activities, which are available on the BSAVA education site. The combination of online resources and activities will vary but may include:

 

o ÂRecommended reading

o ÂNotes and lecture presentations from the taught course

o ÂAccess to podcasts (BSAVA congress MP3s), and publications from JSAP and Companion

o ÂMCQ or short question exercises

o ÂCase-based problem solving exercises

o ÂWebinars

o ÂOnline moderated discussion forums

There will be a formative online assessment task for each unit.‘Formative’ means that you will get a mark or grade, with feedback, but this is solely so that you can gauge your own understanding or knowledge; the mark will not contribute to the final result.

          ÂSatisfactory completion of each of the 20 units will require attendance at the taught course and participation in all compulsory online activities including the formative assessment. When all 20 units have been completed, there will be a formal written examination which candidates must pass before progressing to the next section of the programme.

 

The second module will be based on a case book. Ten cases will be presented, illustrating a variety of clinical presentations, and demonstrating the candidate’s ability to work logically through a case, to select and justify the decisions made, and to evaluate the outcome in the context of the published literature. A further 200 hours has been allowed for preparation of the case book for Module II.

The submitted case books will be marked, and then all candidates will undertake an oral examination (or viva) at which one or more of the submitted cases will be discussed in depth.

The final award will be classified Distinction / Commendation / Pass.

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