Policy for veterinarians practising under AVE Limited Registration

legislation the time limited scope for new zealand based australasian veterinary examination ("ave") candidates is a scope of limited registration the scope is prescribed by the vet council under section 13 of the veterinarians act 2005, and is referred to as ave limited registration please refer to the policy on limited registration purpose we want to ensure that ave veterinarians practising under limited registration are supported, supervised, and trained to deliver safe and competent veterinary care in new zealand this policy outlines the scope of practice, supervision requirements, and progression expectations for veterinarians who have passed the preliminary (mcq) component of the australian veterinary examination and are preparing for the clinical examination these veterinarians are permitted to practise under the time limited scope of limited registration for ave candidates referred to as ‘ave veterinarians’ the scope of limited registration allows veterinarians to continue to build on their ave education in a safe and supported way supervision ensures that ave veterinarians have the core competencies and practical experience needed for veterinary practice in new zealand this includes familiarising themselves with the new zealand veterinary context and the standard reasonably expected of a competent veterinarian ave veterinarians must adhere to the supervision and competency requirements of their scope of practice what are the policy requirements? it’s important that both the ave veterinarian and the veterinary supervisor/s have read and understand the vet council’s policy on limited registration including that this is a time limited, employer sponsored, supervised scope there are informed consent requirements for ave veterinarian veterinarians must make it clear to clients that they are practising under a scope of limited registration, and may refer to themselves as “veterinarians practising with some limitations” ave veterinarians can’t authorise or prescribe restricted veterinary medicines or human medicines ave veterinarians can’t carry out emergency care, after hours, work unless under direct and observed veterinary supervision all surgical procedures are to be performed under direct and observed veterinary supervision what are the supervision requirements? please refer to the vet council guidance on supervision here the general principles are that ave veterinarians must operate under supervision, which may vary from direct supervision to veterinary direction depending on the procedure, the veterinarian's progression, and their deemed competence supervisors must regularly assess the ave veterinarian's competence and must document areas for future training and clinical progression supervisors (or their delegates) must be available for support at all times supervision can be shared across species and delegated with consent where appropriate supervision must be limited to the designated veterinary business – unless consent is obtained from vet council supervisors must ensure that the ave veterinarian is working within their scope of limited registration what are the monitoring and reporting requirements? clients must be informed of the ave veterinarian's limited scope and the availability of support if the task exceeds their competence supervisors must maintain documentation of assessments, training progress, and competency signoffs ave candidates are expected to undertake regular self reflection and progress checks, and identify learnings needs, measured against the activities specified in the competence matrix reporting systems must be in place for supervisors to ensure compliance and safety both the supervisor and the ave veterinarian are responsible for the meeting the oversight and supervision protocol the supervisor is responsible for providing reports to the vet council where there are concerns about an ave veterinarian’s competence, that can’t be resolved directly, you must notify the vet council please also include details of how any issues are being addressed directly with the ave veterinarian any concerns reported to the vet council will be handled in a confidential and constructive way scope of practice the scope of practice for ave veterinarians includes, but is not limited to performing procedures such as epidural analgesia, foetotomy, calvings, sedation, and analgesia under appropriate supervision administering medications post calving and treating lame cows under veterinary direction conducting simple small animal consults and surgeries under supervision ave veterinarians are not permitted to perform high risk procedures or to attend emergency calls without direct supervision clinical progression ave veterinarians may progress from direct supervision to veterinary direction or to the level of a new graduate based on competence assessments clinical progression is not a permanent scope but a training scope for a limited time period induction programmes and standard operating procedures (sops) of a reasonable standard are essential for training and competence development the vet council recognises that ave veterinarians will build their competency over time and that the ongoing level of supervision that is needed may shift – from direct supervision to a more generalised supervision or veterinary direction if you’d like to request an exception for an ave veterinarian to work outside of the policy requirements, please contact the vet council team we will need to see evidence of the veterinarian having worked under direct supervision this includes providing a documented history of supervision reports detailing that the veterinarian has established their competency to perform procedures and tasks without direct veterinary oversight can an ave veterinarian authorise medicines? the policy on limited registration restricts ave veterinarians from prescribing prescription medicines and (“pms”) and restricted veterinary medicines (“rvms”) the council may make exceptions to the policy requirements on prescribing pms and rvms for approved candidates and approved employers ave veterinarians practising under limited registration may be authorised to label restricted veterinary medicines (rvms) based on risk and case complexity clear guidelines must be established for rvm use and authorisation please contact the vet council directly about being considered for an exception the default position is that ave candidates are unable to authorise medicines conclusion we want to ensure that veterinarians practising under limited registration are supported, supervised, and trained to deliver safe and competent veterinary care in new zealand if you have any questions, please contact our team at vet @vetcouncil org nz