Postgraduate Certificate Professional Development in Small Animal Surgery (WBIS)
Become a Super Small Animal Surgeon in just 12 Months!
Secure your place on the September 2025 intake now with a deposit of £997 + VAT.
Download a Brochure with Full Course Information Now
This course, starting in September 2025, will help you to develop your confidence and skills in small animal surgery and gain a valuable qualification in as little as 12 months.
Reserve your place now, and look forward to ten full days of hands-on practical surgery training with expert and approachable tutors helping you to develop your surgical skills.
You’ll also get:-
- Full support for continuous assessment by critically reflective essay – no formal exams
- Primarily Practical Training – 10 days of hands-on practicals to develop new skills
- Valuable work-based learning skills that you can use throughout your career
- Extensive online resources to provide a framework for your study – surgical videos, webinars, Online Mini Series Courses, eBooks and bespoke reflective writing resources
- RCVS Knowledge Library membership – access to a wide range of full text eJournals
- A whole range of Course Bonuses including a text book, surgical instruments and CPD Vouchers
- A valuable PgCert qualification from the University of Chester, leaders in work based learning
Your programme is divided into three modules and each module commences with a practical attendance session where you’ll learn new skills to take back to your practice:
- Essentials of Small Animal Surgery
- Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery
- Small Animal Orthopaedic Surgery
Practical attendance sessions:
- 16th – 19th Sept 2025 (4 days)
- 14th – 16th Jan 2026 (3 days)
- 13th – 15th May 2026 (3 days)
You’ll combine these structured attendance courses with work-based reflective learning. During each module, you’ll complete a reflective essay that will be assessed by your tutor. You’ll receive plenty of help and guidance on how to write the essay and feedback on a draft from your tutor.
Course Tutors
Lee Meakin MA MRes PhD VetMB DipECVS MRCVS, RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
Elinor Field BVetMed DipECVS MRCVS, RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
Darren Carwardine BVSc MSc PhD DipECVS FHEA MRCVS, RCVS and European Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
Simon Roch BVM&S CertSAS DSAS(Ortho) MRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery
What’s your investment?
You can secure your place on this small group programme with a non-refundable deposit of £997 + VAT (£1196.40) paid to CPD Solutions. Then you have 3 payment options:
1. Use your Early Bird offer to save £500 on your course fee plus a further 10% off (your total saving is £1594.70 + VAT ) when you make full payment within 2 weeks of receiving your CPD Solutions invoice. The total CPD Solutions fee that you pay (inclusive of the deposit) is £9852.30 + VAT (£11,822.76).
2. Pay in full at least 8 weeks before the course starts. The total CPD Solutions fee that you pay (inclusive of the deposit) is £11,447 + VAT (£13,736.40).
3. Spread your payments. After your initial deposit of £997 + VAT (£1196.40) you can choose to pay £2500 + VAT (£3000) by 31st July 2025, then 6 payments of £1325 + VAT (£1590) monthly from 1st September 2025 until 1st February 2026. The total CPD Solutions fee that you pay is £11,447 + VAT (£13,736.40).
You also need to register with the University of Chester. The current 2024-25 registration fee is £2835* (no VAT applies) for UK students or £4425* (no VAT applies) for EU/International students.
* All registration fees listed are for the 2024-25 academic year and will be subject to an increase for the 2025-26 academic year, which commences August 2025.
Applicants for this study route must hold a veterinary degree and have at least 2 years postgraduate clinical experience. EU/International applicants who are not RCVS Members will need to satisfy the English Language proficiency requirements of the University of Chester (please see https://www.chester.ac.uk/international/how-to-apply/entry-requirements).
Any questions? Please call us on 0151 328 0444 or email [email protected] and we’ll be delighted to help you.
PgCert Surgery Programme feedback:
“The course was incredibly well organised, provided excellent practical and theory sessions as well as access to multiple learning resources. The tutors were very knowledgeable and approachable. This course has definitely enabled me to enhance my surgical skills and confidence. I highly recommend this PgCert.” Marina Papa MRCVS
“Thank you kindly for the super course – very pleased to see how far it has taken me in my professional development.” Sally Potter MRCVS
“Thoroughly enjoyed the practical sessions, learning to reflect not just at essay time but day-to-day! Excellent content and relevance to first opinion practice. Very well organised. Good facilities. Brilliant staff.” Liam O’Connor MRCVS
“Amazing course, I would recommend to everyone wanting to massively advance their skills and knowledge!” Emily Copp MRCVS
“Loved it. Learned loads and all staff were amazing and helpful.” Gary Kelly MRCVS
“Very practical, excellent all round. Love the reflective aspect, helps a lot more to appreciate best practice better.” Michelle Frayne MRCVS
“I have really enjoyed the course. The content has been so useful, with a large amount of practical content and the opportunity to perform all the procedures in the wet lab which has been invaluable. All the speakers were great and so helpful and patient, and spent a really good amount of time with each person giving one to one help during the practicals.” Selina Rumbold MRCVS
“Great balance of theory, practicals, research and reflection-helped me develop skills beyond just surgery and helps me to critically evaluate and review my decisions in all aspects of cases. Really accelerated my learning/improvement where this had previously stagnated a little. Very clear and logical approach and delivery.” Laura Adams MRCVS
“I completely revised our peri-operative protocol of our BOAS surgeries. This has very significantly improved my approach and the approach of my entire practice to our BOAS cases. As we have so many brachycephalic dogs that need help, this is a very exciting development and for this I owe a huge debt of gratitude! I feel very passionately that I would like all my colleagues to benefit from the process of critical reflection and its positive effects on what we are and do for the profession.” Leon Ringelmann MRCVS
Download a Brochure with Full Course Information Now
Any questions? Please call us on 0151 328 0444 or email [email protected] and we’ll be delighted to help you.