RCVS Statutory Membership Examination (SME) · UK · Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe non-technical skills that decide whether a veterinarian succeeds: talking to clients, consent, teamwork and leadership, the business of practice, clinical governance and looking after oneself.
In the exams: NAVLE communication 8% and professionalism, practice management and wellness 7%; RCVS Day One competences (Personal Leadership, Reflective Relationships); AVMA COE competencies
RCVS Statutory Membership Examination (UK)
The OSCE scores communication and professionalism at every station with a simulated client or colleague: history structure, explanation without jargon, consent and cost, breaking bad news. The Code of Professional Conduct paper tests consent, estimates versus quotations, complaints, CPD and the five principles of practice.
How our questions for RCVS Statutory Membership Examination spread across the units of Communication, Professionalism, Practice Management & Wellbeing. Difficulty: 26 easy, 33 medium, 11 hard.
| Client communication | 11 | |
| Breaking bad news | 9 | |
| Informed consent | 8 | |
| Teamwork | 8 | |
| Clinical governance | 8 | |
| Lifelong learning | 7 | |
| Wellbeing and burnout | 7 | |
| Diversity and inclusion | 7 | |
| Leadership | 5 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A vet notices her rising irritation with a client and deliberately chooses to pause and respond calmly. Which components of emotional intelligence is she using?
B. Self-awareness and self-regulation
Noticing one's own emotion is self-awareness; managing the response is self-regulation. Empathy concerns others' emotions and social skill concerns managing relationships.
Further reading: Goleman, Emotional Intelligence
Lewin's three-stage model of change is:
D. Unfreeze, change, refreeze
Lewin described unfreezing, changing and refreezing. Plan–do–study–act is the quality-improvement cycle and forming–storming–norming is Tuckman's team development.
Further reading: Lewin 1947
A new graduate believes the practice's out-of-hours rota is unsafe. What is the most effective leadership action from her position?
C. Gather specific examples, propose a workable alternative and raise it through the agreed route
Leading from a junior position means raising concerns constructively with evidence and a proposal. Refusal or public complaint damages trust and rarely works, and waiting leaves an unsafe rota in place.
Further reading: Leadership and followership literature
What is the correct order of the clinical audit cycle?
D. Select topic, set standard, measure practice, implement change, re-audit
Audit chooses a topic, agrees a standard, measures current practice against it, makes changes and re-audits to see whether practice improved. Without re-audit the loop is not closed.
Further reading: NICE, Principles for Best Practice in Clinical Audit
What are the three dimensions of burnout described by Maslach?
B. Emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment
Maslach's three dimensions are emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation (cynicism) and reduced personal accomplishment. Low mood with sleep and appetite change describes depression; fear and hypervigilance after trauma describe post-traumatic stress.
Further reading: Maslach & Leiter 2016
A vet believes a suffering dog should be euthanised, but the owner refuses and the vet cannot act. The resulting stress is best called:
C. Moral distress
Moral distress (Jameton) arises when one knows the right action but is constrained from taking it. Compassion fatigue comes from repeated exposure to suffering, and burnout from chronic unmanaged work stress.
Further reading: Jameton 1984
A colleague has seemed withdrawn for weeks and says, "There's no point any more." What should you do?
C. Ask directly whether they are thinking of suicide, listen, and help them reach support
Asking directly about suicide does not increase risk and is what crisis-intervention training teaches. Then listen, help the person reach professional support (emergency services if danger is immediate) and follow up. Waiting a week or spreading the news are harmful.
Further reading: Suicide-prevention guidance
In the job demands–resources model, which is a job resource?
B. Supportive supervision and control over one's own schedule
Job resources, such as support, autonomy, feedback and development, buffer demands and drive engagement. The other options are job demands.
Further reading: Bakker & Demerouti, job demands–resources model
A client repeatedly asks a female vet when 'the real vet' will be coming in. This is an example of:
C. A microaggression based on a gender stereotype
A microaggression is an everyday remark, often unintended, that conveys a demeaning message about a group. A request for a second opinion would be explicit and would not deny the vet's role.
Further reading: Diversity and inclusion literature
A farmer whose community regards cattle as sacred refuses to have a chronically lame cow culled. What is the best approach?
C. Explore the belief respectfully, explain the welfare position and seek lawful options that protect welfare
Welfare cannot be compromised, but how it is achieved can often be negotiated: treatment, palliative care or transfer to a sanctuary where these exist and the law allows. Overriding the farmer without discussion, abandoning the cow, or reporting before talking all fail one side.
Further reading: Welfare and cultural-competence literature
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