CPD: 5 minutes

QI is something everyone can benefit from –not just veterinary teams, but animals and owners too. 

CPD: 20 minutes

Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, explains the difference between clinical governance and QI and how QI tools can help practice teams.

CPD: 5 minutes

Melissa Donald, Chair of RCVS Standards Committee, explains why clinical governance is a Code of Professional Conduct requirement for vets and nurses.

CPD: 10 minutes

Remind yourself about what the Code of Professional Conduct says about clinical governance.

CPD: 15 minutes

Anne Lawson one of the RCVS Practice Standards Assessors, explains what all practices need to do at the different levels of the Practice Standards Scheme (PSS), from core standards to the awards.

Have a look at the clinical governance module of the Practice Standards Scheme. Ideal to print off and share amongst your team.

CPD: 30 minutes

Lizzie Lockett, CEO of the RCVS, discusses her personal perspective on QI, why it's important for all people working in practice to be alive to change, and RCVS initiatives that support the adoption of QI. 

This eDelphi study, led by the University of Nottingham and supported by RCVS Knowledge and CVS, aimed to find a consensus around the definitions of key Quality Improvement terms use in veterinary care.

CPD: 12 minutes

What do the terms 'quality healthcare' and 'QI' mean in a veterinary context?

Angela Rayner, Head of QI at CVS, and Chris Gush, Executive Director of RCVS Knowledge, explain in this QI Feature.

CPD: 40 minutes

How can you get your team on board to deliver QI? 

Shobhan Thakore, Clinical Lead for the Scottish Quality and Safety Fellowship Programme, discusses fear of blame within the NHS and recent initiatives to help manage expectations, engage and work with the team to respond to change.

CPD: 18 minutes

Why is QI so important in practice?

Find out in this podcast with Angela Rayner and Pam Mosedale.

CPD: 7 minutes

Veterinary Nurses can lead their practice teams in QI. In this Vet Times article, Liz Cox explains how.

CPD: 20 minutes

If you're wondering how to start setting up QI in practice, listen to Lizzy Whiting, Highly Commended in the 2020 Knowledge Awards, as she chats to Pam Mosedale about her experiences. 

CPD: 13 minutes

Read this article from Angela Rayner, Head of QI at CVS,  for tips on how to take those first steps in QI.

This document includes examples of QI principles and tools which can be implemented within your practice to form your clinical governance plan. 

CPD: 12 minutes

Anne Lawson, PSS Assessor, chats with Pam Mosedale about how QI fits into the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme.

CPD: 16 minutes

Listen to passionate QI advocates Lizzy Whiting and Pam Mosedale in conversation with Nicky Paull, retired vet, ex-BVA President and Chair of the VDS Board.

CPD: 20 minutes

Pam Mosedale chats to Sian Tranter MRCVS, a member of the British Veterinary Locum Association (BVLA) working group, on how locums can fulfil clinical governance requirements. 

CPD: 22 minutes

Listen to Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, chat to Jo Civil about her role as a veterinary receptionist and Quality Improvement officer within practice. 

CPD: 27 minutes

If you are wondering how to get started with QI in farm practice, listen to Mel McPherson, Farm Vet Champion Ambassador, as she chats to Pam Mosedale about her experiences, with tips on how to take those first steps in QI.

CPD: 30 minutes

Watch this webinar from Lizzy Whiting on how to have effective QI meetings in practice.

CPD: 25 minutes

How can you utilise systems and meetings to aid communication in practice? 

Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, chats to Professor John Williams, National Surgical Lead at Vets Now.

CPD: 10 minutes

How do huddles benefit the team? and why should we endeavour to make time for them? Find out in this feature by Jenny Brown Bsc(Hons) BVM&S(dist) GPCert(FelPr) MANZCVS(Medicine of Cats) MSc MRCVS

CPD: 15 minutes

Journal clubs can provide a framework for you to explore the latest research and apply what you have learned in clinical practice.

Sally Everitt, inFOCUS Clinical Lead, talks to Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, about how to start a journal club, including how to select and critically appraise papers.

CPD: 10 minutes

What did you bring back from your last CPD? In this webinar, Dr Marnie Brennan explains how to look at what you learned critically.

CPD: 5 minutes

Journal clubs don’t have to depend on the team being in the same building. Listen to Rachael Bacon, RVN, explain the benefits of group chat journal clubs.

CPD: 15 minutes

Have you ever thought about whether your clients care if your practice participates in QI activities? 

Caroline Freedman, the representative for pet owners on the RCVS’ Practice Standards group, chats to Pam Mosedale about the clients' perspective. 

CPD: 2 minutes

How can you get the most out of your CPD? Linda Prescott-Clements, RCVS Director of Education, explains about using reflection in CPD.

CPD: 1 minute

RCVS Director of Education Linda Prescott-Clements discusses reflection's central role in outcomes-focused CPD.

CPD: 25 minutes

In this webinar, Pam Mosedale explains exactly what clinical audit is, and why we should be getting involved.

In this webinar, Pam Mosedale explains exactly how you can start getting involved in clinical audit.

CPD: 30 minutes

In this podcast, Lesley Moore RVN, Principle Nurse Manager at Vets Now Macclesfield speaks with Pam Mosedale about how introducing a quarterly clinical audit and tailored training for nurses elevated the practice’s general anaesthesia and sedation monitoring. 

CPD: 35 minutes

Pam Mosedale and Charlotte Hartley advise on getting started with clinical audit in practice, discussing topics, benefits and barriers.

CPD: 20 minutes

Pam Mosedale talks to David Ashcroft, Lead Assessor of the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme (PSS), about clinical audit and why it has been included in General Practice level of the PSS.

CPD: 60 minutes

This course will help you learn how you can improve quality by better understanding your practice and processes through clinical audit.

CPD: 15 minutes

CPD: 30 minutes

This document by Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) sets out updated criteria for best practice in local clinical audit. 

You can use this template to assist you in performing a clinical audit in your practice.

A handy infographic that explains the process of performing a clinical audit. Ideal to print!

CPD: 12 minutes

Lou the Vet Nurse tells us why she finds clinical audits so useful, and how you can follow in her footsteps.

CPD: 11 minutes

Read how the implementation of clinical audit and checklists allowed one practice to investigate and improve their intravenous catheter complication rates.

CPD: 30 minutes

Pam Mosedale chats to Daniel Pang, an Associate Professor of Veterinary Anaesthesiology at the University of Calgary about his clinical audits in both small and large animals, covering subjects such as hypothermia management. 

Use this checklist when planning and completing your audit to help you remember the steps.

CPD: 10 minutes

Samantha Thompson, RVN and Post-Registration Programme Manager for the Linnaeus Group, discusses her post-operative hypothermia audit and how the team used the results to make changes within practice.

CPD: 60 minutes

Once you have your infection control guidelines in place, how do you know if they are helping to improve your patient, client, and practice team’s safety? 

CPD: 10 minutes

Meghan Conroy, RVN, discusses her case example, which looks at the prevalence of ear cytology performed before and after antibiotic treatment across her practices.

CPD: 60 minutes

Lou the Vet Nurse takes over the RCVS Knowledge Facebook site for a discussion about clinical audit, how to get started in practice, how to keep engaged and getting help along the way (recorded 5th November 2019).

CPD:12 minutes

This award-winning case example shows how Angela Rayner, CVS PLC, completed audits into the recording of methadone and ketamine which resulted in improvements within the practice group.

CPD: 10 minutes

When the dispensing protocol was not being followed, Charlotte Hartley REVN performed a process audit and changed protocols to improve compliance and help avoid dispensing errors.

CPD: 15 minutes

This case example shows the national audit undertaken on clinical incidents throughout PDSA. By identifying where incidents were reported, the organisation could identify where they needed to focus their efforts on to make changes and create improvements.

CPD: 10 minutes

This case example shows how Kay Lockwood, from Riversbrook Veterinary Group, performed an audit to measure and monitor antibiotic use during dental extractions.

CPD: 15 minutes

This case example shows how one practice implemented a peripheral catheter care checklist and monitored its use and effectiveness through clinical audit.

CPD: 20 minutes

Vets Now Referrals Glasgow was highly commended for its clinical audit which assessed adherence to WHO handwashing guidelines.

CPD: 10 minutes

This case example shows how Gillivervet Equine Practice performed a process audit on the completion of dental charts after dental examinations.

CPD: 15 minutes

This case example shows how Vale Vets performed a hygiene audit through self-assessment to maintain a just culture and to identify any at-risk areas and further training required.

CPD: 15 minutes

This case example shows how the team at The Laurels initiated a clinical audit to monitor hand hygiene and compliance to uniform protocols within the practice.

CPD: 15 minutes

This award-winning case example shows how Plymouth Veterinary Group created guidelines for performing cytology on patients presenting with ear pathology, utilising the whole teams’ skillset to improve the patient journey for a common and often persistent presentation.

CPD: 5 minutes

This case example shows the initial audit of equine practice and its postoperative equine castration complications.

CPD: 15 minutes

This award-winning case example shows how Louise Northway completed an audit to look for trends and complications that could be addressed for improvements to patient care.

CPD: 15 minutes

This award-winning case example shows how the Vets Now Macclesfield team conducted quarterly audits to improve general anaesthetic monitoring in an emergency setting. As a result, the practice suffered zero patient deaths or significant events related to anaesthesia or sedation.

CPD: 20 minutes

This case example shows the national process audit undertaken after implementing a national pain protocol at PDSA. By identifying which areas had successfully implemented the change, assistance could be provided to those that required further support.

CPD: 20 minutes

This case example shows the national audit undertaken on cruciate surgical outcomes at PDSA. By auditing patient outcomes, PDSA could identify whether the current surgical technique offered was suitable, and implement a simple but effective technique to reduce the number of patients lost-to-follow-up.

CPD: 10 minutes

This case example shows how Vale Vets performed a post-operative complication audit on neutered cats and dogs to identify where any improvements were required.

CPD: 25 minutes

Listen to Pam Mosedale and Margaret Mary Devaney, Head of Patient Safety at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, talk about moving beyond auditing and embedding a system of continuous improvement.

CPD: 20 minutes.

Run charts are one of the most useful Quality Improvement tools, helping us to assess where changes have been made and if improvements have been sustained over time. In this webinar, Pam Mosedale, Chair of the Quality Improvement Advisory Board, chats to Kathrine Blackie, Quality Improvement Manager at Linnaeus, about how we can use run charts in Quality Improvement.

Follow the link to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to learn more about Run Charts in Quality Improvement and how they fit in with the science of improvement as an effective tool to help bring about sustained improvements.

CPD: 17 minutes.

When we identify an area for improvement, planning the QI project is an important step to avoid common pitfalls and misunderstandings and keep the project on track. In this webinar, Laura Playforth talks us through the benefits of using a Model for Improvement, a useful QI tool to help us plan, carry out and assess Quality Improvement projects.

CPD: 18 minutes.

Sustainability in healthcare is about reducing waste and saving money. But it is also about improving workflow and reducing errors to the benefit of patients, clients, and veterinary teams. In this webinar, Pam Mosedale, Chair of the Quality Improvement Advisory Board, talks us through the benefits of using Quality Improvement alongside improvement science to help deliver quality care.

CPD: 20 minutes.

Once you have carried out your audit, what do you do? How do you measure your progress? This benchmarking course will show you everything you need to know.

CPD: 20 minutes.

The National Audit for Small Animal Neutering (NASAN) is a simple audit where practices share their data anonymously to establish UK benchmarks in post-operative complication rates for neutering of small animals.

Listen to Pam Mosedale, Chair of the Quality Improvement Advisory Board, talk to Amelia Poole, RVN and Quality Improvement Project Manager, about this ongoing initiative towards the continuous improvements for neutering outcomes.

CPD: 25 minutes.

Most veterinary surgeons and nurses working with small animals will have experience in treating canine cruciate ligament ruptures. However, there is not a strong evidence base to know which surgical techniques have the best outcome. 

The new Canine Cruciate Registry (CCR) is RCVS Knowledge’s answer to this knowledge gap in veterinary care.

CPD: 15 minutes.

Farm Vet Champions is a major collaborative project bringing together UK farm veterinary practitioners and agricultural organisations to improve animal health and welfare standards.  Listen to Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead and Fiona Lovatt, FVC Clinical Lead, discuss how this initiative helps to establish good antimicrobial stewardship in practices and on farms.

CPD: 25 minutes.

Listen to Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, and Lucy Coyne, VetTeamAMR Project Manager, discuss the initiative championing the responsible use of antimicrobials in companion animal, farm and equine teams. Find out how the evidence-based knowledge and resources can help you embed good antimicrobial stewardship in your teams.

CPD: 15 minutes.

The National Audit for Post-operative Outcomes (NAPO) is an anonymised, free-to-use clinical auditing and benchmarking tool on a national scale, creating  evidence-based insights into which interventions and techniques lead to improved patient outcomes in UK small animal and equine patients. Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, Chair of QIAB, talks to Jenny Brown, National Audit for Post-operative Outcomes Clinical Lead, about the development of this important project.

CPD: 30 minutes.

Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead talks to Professor Debra Archer, BVMS PhD CertES(Soft Tissue) DipECVS FRCVS FHEA about this global initiative aiming to improve the quality of care and outcomes for horses and their owners following colic surgery.

CPD: 25 minutes.

Listen to Pam Mosedale, QI clinical Lead, talk to David Singleton, BVSc MSc PhD MRCVS, about the British Small Animal Veterinary Association and University of Liverpool initiative, in collaboration with the British Small Animal Veterinary Association, to create and expand a database of UK pet health records and support research into animal and human diseases.

This survey will take approximately 1 minute to complete and provide us with valuable feedback on the resources that we provide.

A handy infographic that explains the process of benchmarking. Ideal to print!

CPD: 5 minutes

Watch this video to learn how you and your team can take part in the National Audit for Small Animal Neutering.

Follow the link to the National Audit for Small Animal Neutering audit, submit your data and contribute to establishing UK benchmarks in post-operative complication rates for neutering of small animals.

CPD: 20 minutes.

The Canine Cruciate Registry (CCR) gathers data by generating a series of questionnaires, both for surgeons and dog owners, which are meant to be completed over the course of the dog’s care, and afterwards to monitor their long-term progress.

Listen to Pam Mosedale talk to Ross Allan about his experiences of using the registry.

CPD: 5 minutes.

Watch the video to learn how the reporting function within the Canine Cruciate Registry can benefit you, your team and your patients.  See what reports you can set up and how they can be personalised so you can get the most from the data you collect.

Follow the link to the Canine Cruciate registry database and contribute to the evidence-base to help us better understand which surgical techniques and implants improve patient outcomes.

Follow the link to access the learning platform and join the community of Farm Vet Champions, a major collaborative project to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Follow the link to the National Audit for Post-Operative Outcomes and register your details to be updated as this major project to enable improvements during the peri- and post operative journey develops.

Follow the link to the International Colic Surgery Audit, submit your data and contribute to the evidence-base to help improve the care and outcomes for horses and their owners following colic surgery.

Follow the link to the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network to help expand the database of UK pet health records and support research into animal and human diseases. 

This survey will take approximately 1 minute to complete and provide us with valuable feedback on the resources that we provide.

CPD: 20 minutes

In this course you will learn how guidelines can assist with decision making to improve the quality of care we deliver, and how you can develop guidelines for your practice. 

CPD: 25 minutes

In this webinar, Pam Mosedale chats to Laura Playforth about what guidelines are and why they are important in veterinary practice.

CPD: 10 minutes

In this webinar, Pam Mosedale talks through the important difference between guidelines and protocols.

CPD: 15 minutes

Read our QI Feature to understand why it is important to involve the team in writing guidelines. 

This is article twenty-one in RCVS Knowledge's series of features on patient safety, clinical human factors, and the principles and associated themes of Quality Improvement (QI).

Please provide us with some valuable feedback to help us continuously improve. This survey will take approximately 1 minute to complete and provide us with valuable feedback on the resources that we provide.

CPD: 36 minutes

In this webinar, Pam Mosedale, RCVS Knowledge QI Clinical Lead, chats to Sally Everitt, RCVS Knowledge inFOCUS Clinical Support Lead, about how to critically appraise and adapt the evidence you need to develop your practice guidelines, including tips a plenty on where to find the evidence and what to look for.   

CPD: 14 minutes

Journal clubs can provide a framework for you to explore the latest research, help you structure your guideline, and apply what you have learned in clinical practice.

This list of published guidelines can be used to signpost you to clinical guidelines that may be of use. These guidelines are available online and have been selected because they have been created by experts in the relevant field and are based on published evidence.

CPD: 2 minutes

This handy infographic explains the process of structuring practice guidelines. Ideal to print!

You can use this template to help you structure guidelines for your practice.

CPD: 6 minutes

This example template, based on feline hypertension, will show you how to use the evidence to help you create your own practice guidelines.

Please provide us with some valuable feedback to help us continuously improve. This survey will take approximately 1 minute to complete and provide us with valuable feedback on the resources that we provide.

CPD: 16 minutes

In this podcast, passionate advocate of QI Lizzie Whiting and Pam Mosedale, QI Clinical Lead, chat to Nicky Paull, retired vet, ex BVA President and Chair of the VDS Board, about how the whole team approach to problem solving and developing guidelines is an integral part of successful QI, to the benefit of teams, clients and animals. Recorded May 2020 for VetPodCasts.

CPD: 60 minutes

This is the first Facebook live panel discussion from in our RECOVER series from October 2020. This panel discussion features the co-chairs of the RECOVER initiative, focusing on the trials, successes and lessons learned in the creation and maintenance of the guidelines.

CPD: 60 minutes

This is the second in our Facebook live RECOVER series from October 2020. This panel discussion focuses on how to implement these life-saving guidelines within your team, including training, CPR simulations and other processes to help get the best possible outcomes.

CPD: 90 minutes

In this podcast on the management of feline chronic kidney disease, produced by RCVS Knowledge for BSAVA Congress 2020, Sarah Caney BVSc PhD DSAM(Feline) MRCVS, RCVS specialist in feline medicine, and Paul Pollard MVB CertAVP(VC) PG Dip Vet Ed FHEA MRCVS, discuss the role of guidelines in the diagnosis and assessment of renal disease in small animals.

CPD: 35 minutes

In this podcast, Tim Mair, who was President of the British Equine Veterinary Association and Equine Veterinary Director at CVS at the time of recording, looks at the challenges and benefits of introducing clinical guidelines into equine practice. Real-life examples demonstrate how to create your own guidelines and monitor their effectiveness in practice.

This session was recorded at Ashbrook Equine Hospital as part of the RCVS Knowledge Quality Improvement Equine Roadshow, kindly sponsored by the Horserace Betting Levy Board and accredited by the British Equine Veterinary Association.

CPD: 3 minutes

These guidelines, produced by the American Animal Hospital Association, are designed to help members of the veterinary team assess pain and create pain management plans for cats and dogs. The guidelines provide a framework for the assessment and management of both acute and chronic pain and can be used as a basis to produce practice guidelines.

CPD: 20 minutes

This award-winning case example shows how Blue Cross developed guidelines within the practice to deliver a consistent approach to diagnosis and treatment throughout the charity for more than 60 common syndromes and conditions.

CPD: 15 minutes

This award-winning case example shows how Plymouth Veterinary Group created guidelines for performing cytology on patients presenting with ear pathology, utilising the whole teams’ skillset to improve the patient journey for a common and often persistent presentation. The application showed a bottom-up approach – increasing training, utilising RVN skills and demonstrating strong evidence that their changes led to an overall decrease in the number of antibiotics prescribed.

CPD: 15 minutes

This guideline example on the use of suture material in feline spays expands on the 7 steps of creating your practice guideline.

Please provide us with some valuable feedback to help us continuously improve. This survey will take approximately 1 minute to complete and provide us with valuable feedback on the resources that we provide.

So you have created a practice guideline, but how do you know if it helps to make improvements? Once you have implemented your guidelines, you can assess it's impact by carrying out an audit. Follow the link to the QI Boxset Series 2: Clinical Audit, which offers over 13 hours of CPD, to find out how.