Personnel requirements for veterinary establishments

Licensing conditions that regulate the procedure of getting a license for performance of veterinary practice, contain only several personnel requirements, according to which: 

1. persons who provide veterinary services must have a veterinary education;
2. sole traders  must have the education of a specialist in veterinary medicine, and legal entities must have staff of specialists in veterinary medicine;
3. Veterinary medicine professionals must take refresher training courses every five years.

These requirements are understandable. But licensing conditions do not reveal all aspects of the implementation of veterinary practice, thereby raising certain questions. The most common of them are the following:

• what length of employment does a sole trader need to have in order to obtain a license for veterinary practice;
• what are the requirements for the head physician of the veterinary institution and who can take this position;
• Must the head of the veterinary institution have a veterinary education;
• how many veterinary medicine specialists must a veterinary institution have.

About the length of employment of a sole trader. In order for a sole trader to obtain a license for veterinary practice, he/she does not need to have any prior experience work experience. Indeed, according to paragraph 27 of the licensing conditions, it is enough for him/her to have the education of a specialist in veterinary medicine. Licensing conditions do not contain additional requirements for sole traders, except for the obligation to take refresher training courses every five years. Thus, a sole trader, having just graduated from an educational institution and having, for example, a bachelor’s or a junior specialist’s degree, can already get a license.

On the requirements for the head physician of a veterinary institution. Licensing conditions do not contain requirements for the head physician. Therefore, based on existing provisions, the head physician can be any person with a veterinary education. Even if his/her level of education is a junior specialist and they have no work experience in the specialty at all. However, if five or more years have passed from the date of graduation, a refresher training certificate is required. Otherwise, the licensing authority will not issue a license to such an institution, and it already has a license, then questions may arise during an inspection. 

Should the head of the veterinary institution have a veterinary education?

If a veterinary institution is set up by a sole trader, then, as mentioned above, for sole traders, they must have a veterinary education. If the licensee is a legal entity, then its head is a person whose information is contained in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, sole traders and NGO’s. The head, whose position is most often called the “Director”, is responsible for representing the interests of a legal entity before state bodies, conducting bookkeeping, opening and managing bank accounts, and concluding agreements. Therefore, often the head of the institution and the head doctor are different people. Thus, the head does not have to have a veterinary education.

How many veterinary medicine specialists must a veterinary institution have?

In licensing conditions, namely, in clause 27, it is indicated that a legal entity must have veterinary medicine specialists on the staff to carry out activities in veterinary practice.

It is the plural form of the word “specialists” that raises the question of how many specialists there must be. In practice, with  the silent consent of the licensing authority, it is enough to have one specialist. The maximum number, of course, has not been established.

We hope you find the answers to the above frequently asked questions useful. And if you have any further questions, you can consult our employees.