Veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom

Veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom is the performance of veterinary medicine by licensed professionals, and strictly regulated by statute law, notably the Veterinary Surgeons Act of 1966. Veterinary medicine is led by veterinary physicians, termed 'veterinary surgeons' (with a different meaning to how it is used in some other anglophone countries, where it denotes a surgical specialist), normally referred to as 'vets'.

Vets are often assisted by registered veterinary nurses, who are able to both assist the vet and to autonomously practice a range of skills of their own, including minor surgery under direction from a responsible vet.

Other professionals are also permitted to perform some animal treatment, through exemptions in the law, and these include manipulation techniques such as physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathy. Other alternative medicine therapies, such as homeopathy, acupuncture, phytotherapy and aromatherapy may only be performed by a licensed veterinary surgeon.

The practice of veterinary medicine in the United Kingdom is regulated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), who licence both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses.

In order to practice veterinary medicine in the UK, a veterinary surgeon must hold a current registration with the RCVS. This requires a qualifying degree, usually in veterinary science or veterinary medicine. From March 2015, veterinary surgeons registered with the RCVS in the UK may optionally use the courtesy title Dr. This makes it the third clinical degree in the UK, after medicine and dentistry, to allow the use of the title Dr. The origins of veterinary surgeons parallel to human surgery are reflected in human medicine where qualified surgeons also drop their Dr designation and revert to their original title.

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