Privacy policy

What is 1CPD?

1CPD is the RCVS web and mobile app for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to plan, reflect and record their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses subject to disciplinary proceedings may choose to share their reflective records if they feel it is relevant to their case. However, there is no compulsion to do so from either the Preliminary Investigation Committee or the Disciplinary Committee.

What information does RCVS collect for 1CPD?

  • CPD recordings (including legacy recordings from your Personal Development Record)
  • Your CPD plan and personal reflections

How does RCVS collect your data?

Upon logging in, we retrieve the following data on you from the RCVS register:

  • Membership category
  • First and last name
  • Graduation date (if applicable)
  • RCVS number
  • Advanced practitioner status
  • Registration or re-registration date (as appropriate)

In the event of a technical malfunction we will also collect the following data automatically:

  • Information about your device (Make model and operating system)
  • Information about your activity within the app or website
  • Your IP address

We also use an analytics platform to report on how our members use the site. All analytics data is fully anonymised and cannot be attributed to individual users. Analytics data will not be shared with any third parties and will only be used to improve the delivery of our services. If you enable 'Do not track' in your browser or opt-out using the form below, your actions on the site will not be collected for analytics.

Details are collected by a trusted third party to ensure the correct procedures are in place to secure your data and fix any technical issues that arise. This data will be retained for no longer than is necessary.

How long does RCVS retain your 1CPD data?

In order to ensure we have a complete record of your CPD, we will retain your CPD indefinitely and hold it on a legal obligation basis. You will have the ability to edit your CPD record, within the current calendar year.

What does 1CPD do with your CPD data?

Education Department

The RCVS Education department reserves the right under our regulatory powers to monitor and audit your CPD records, to ensure that you meet your regulatory and statutory duties as a Veterinary Surgeon or Veterinary Nurse.

Upon the completion of an audit we may offer feedback on any submitted records. If there are failures to meet the necessary requirements in accordance with the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct, your data may be referred to the CPD Referral Group, which may refer to the Professional Conduct Department.

Fitness to Practise / Complaints

The RCVS will not ask for veterinary reflective records as part of fitness to practise processes. However, the RCVS does not control the actions of the courts and recorded reflections, such as in ePortfolios or for CPD purposes, are not subject to legal privilege. Therefore disclosure of these documents might be requested by a court if it is considered that they are relevant to the matters to be determined in litigation. The likelihood of records needing to be produced in court may be reduced if reflective records focus on reactions to, and learning from, an incident.

The RCVS reserves the right to publish your CPD records in aggregated and anonymised format for research and statistical purposes.

How do we secure your CPD data?

1CPD data is secured using industry-standard mechanisms. All data is encrypted at rest and in transit. Access to RCVS servers and databases is restricted to specific members of staff, and firewalls restrict traffic appropriately.

Will the RCVS still be auditing vet and VN CPD records?

Yes, we will still be carrying out our annual CPD audits for both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses respectively. As part of the auditing process, members of the RCVS Education Department will be able to access the individual records on the 1CPD platform in order to check the overarching data (for example information on the number of hours of CPD completed and CPD undertaken) for information relating to compliance/non-compliance with the annual CPD requirement. Cases of serial non-compliance with the hourly annual CPD requirements can still also be forwarded to the CPD Referral Group which, in turn, may be able to refer cases of non-compliance to the Professional Conduct Department for further investigation.

How will we access CPD records via 1CPD for auditing and what kind of data would we be able to see?

Members of the Education Department will be able to access all aspects of an individual veterinary surgeon’s or veterinary nurse’s CPD record – including both the overarching information (for example, information on the number of hours of CPD completed and CPD undertaken) as well as reflective notes. For auditing purposes the Education Department will only look at the over-arching information. However, they will be able to access reflective records in order to provide general advice and guidance on how best to make use of reflective records. No information from these reflective records will be passed on to the CPD Referral Group or the Professional Conduct Department for further investigation. This policy will be subject to review.

As part of Disciplinary proceedings will we still be able to request the records of respondents if we consider that compliance/non-compliance is germane to the case at hand?

In regards to referrals from the Education Department/the CPD Referral Group regarding non-compliance, the overarching data from the 1CPD platform (not including reflective records) will be passed on to the Professional Conduct Department for investigation. For all other investigations, as a matter of course, the Preliminary Investigation Committee ask for veterinary surgeons or veterinary nurses it is investigating to provide their CPD records – such requests would not include reflective records. Furthermore, no one from the RCVS Professional Conduct Department will have direct access to 1CPD, the information has to come from the individual. The Code of Professional Conduct states that ‘Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses must provide the RCVS with their PDP and CPD records when requested to do so.’

Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses subject to disciplinary proceedings may choose to share their reflective records if they feel it is relevant to their case. However, there is no compulsion to do so from either the Preliminary Investigation Committee or the Disciplinary Committee.

Your rights

The General Data Protection Regulation provides certain rights for individuals. Please note that you may only use/benefit from these in defined circumstances.

For more information you can check the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) website or contact us using the details in section 10 on this policy. We are committed to upholding these rights, which are as follows:

Request access to your personal data

You have a right to request a copy of the personal data that we hold about you. Please use the contact details at the end of this policy if you would like to exercise this right and view our 'Accessing information policy' for further guidance.

Request correction of your personal data

You have the right to request that we correct the personal data we hold about you, although we may verify the accuracy of the new information you provide to us.

Request 'erasure' of your personal data (The right to be forgotten)

You have the right to request that we delete or remove personal data where there is no good reason for us continuing to process it.

Please note that we may not always be able to comply with your request for erasure if there are specific legal reasons. We will convey these reasons to you once the application is made and assessed.

Object to processing of your personal data

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data where we are relying on a legitimate interest (or those of a third party), and there is something about your particular situation which makes you want to object to processing on the grounds that it impacts on your fundamental rights and freedoms.

Right to withdraw consent

In circumstances where we are relying on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent.

If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent.

Right to data portability

In certain circumstances, we will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.

Please note that this right only applies to automated data which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the data to form a contract with you.

Any queries contact

If you have any queries or concerns then please contact us. If you are unhappy with the way in which we have handled your personal data, please contact us at:

RCVS DPO
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
3 Waterhouse Square
138-142 Holborn
London
EC1N 2SW

T 020 7222 2001
F 020 7202 0740
rcvs.org.uk

You are entitled to make a complaint to the ICO. For further information, please visit the ICO website.