Advanced practitioner status and old-style certificate holders

I WRITE in response to the proposals for advanced practitioner status (APS) and in support of the recent letter from Tim Davies ( VR , May 3, 2014, vol 174, p 457). I am a very keen supporter of the idea of APS as a halfway house from GP to specialist and, as a veterinary surgeon working in a referral orthopaedic practice, I feel it is important that I achieve this recognition when it is available. From the outset it was my understanding that APS was designed to provide recognition for veterinary surgeons who have achieved recognisable postgraduate qualification and who worked in clinical practice, whether first opinion or referral, and would also provide the general public with information on levels of expertise in fields of veterinary surgery to help them make decisions on the treatment of their animals. Fundamental to this would be the additional requirement that, in order to maintain this APS, evidence of continuing education and an active participation in their field of interest would be required so that members with …