News from AMTRA
AMTRA written and viva exams now taking place online
Assessments for Registered Animals Medicines Advisor (RAMA/SQP) qualifications in both written and verbal formats have been moved online for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year, the Animal Medicines Training Regulatory Authority (AMTRA) has announced today.
Primarily driven by the impact of Covid-19, the regulatory body highlights the additional major benefits for both candidates and employers, already seen with the increased use of virtual and online CPD training, when face-to-face meetings have been restricted.
As well as
addressing Covid-19 restrictions, online assessments help avoid time away from
home and work and the associated travel costs, as well as providing more flexibility
with the opportunity to split modules to suit personal and work commitments.
The move
also helps to meet the growing requirement for qualified animal medicines
advisors within registered premises, heightened further during the unprecedented
challenges of the pandemic.
“We have
seen significant increases in companion animal ownership through 2020, and this
in turn increases demands on the provision of qualified advice on treatments
and the supply of veterinary medicines,” explains AMTRA secretary general Stephen Dawson.
“Similarly,
the UK livestock farming industry has perhaps never received such high priority
within the public conscience, and this is rightly focused on our high standards
of animal health and welfare, just as it is with our love and passion for the
equine industry,” he adds.
“We have a
unique and valuable resource for all of these species in the UK, through our
network of RAMAs, and it is essential we can maintain and build this essential
distribution channel for veterinary medicines.”
Having
already successfully introduced online viva (oral) examinations in November,
the first online written AMTRA exams will be available to sit from Monday 18th
January, following approval secured from the course team at training partner
Harper Adams University.
The
assessment will follow the same rigorous procedures and require the same
academic effort of a conventional exam. AMTRA and Harper Adams have prepared a ‘Candidate and Employer Guide to the
Online AMTRA Assessments’, to help
guide both through the changes.
The AMTRA
Farm and Equine assessment is the only HE Level 5 qualification for RAMAs, and this
is complemented by AMTRA’s online
viva (oral) exam providing an additional check on the suitability of the
candidate to become a RAMA, giving animal owners and key partners such as the
veterinary profession increased confidence in the quality of advice from AMTRA
RAMAs.
Each module
assessment (Base, Companion Animal, Farm, Equine, Avian, Veterinary Nurse) will
be made available on a specific date, while viva exams can be booked via the
AMTRA website, either before or after the written exams.
Assessment
Dates:
Written assessment period |
Booking
deadline |
18-22 January 2021 |
Noon on 5 January 2021 |
1-5 March 2021 |
8 February 2021 |
12-16 April 2021 |
22 March 2021 |
24-28 May 2021 |
4 May 2021 |
5-9 July 2021 |
14 June 2021 |
Mr Dawson
explains that plans beyond July 2021 are still being developed, and both AMTRA
and Harper Adams will be carefully monitoring and evaluating the online exam
process during the current academic year.
Mr Dawson
explains, “We are in
listening mode, and will be surveying those taking part in the exams to help guide
us. If we can adapt to make things even better in the future, we will do.
“We feel this will be a valuable move and will be of great benefit to future candidates keen to begin a rewarding career within the animal medicines and healthcare sector, while of course providing a valuable commercial benefit for employers and registered premises,” he says. Full details and access to the guide can be found at the AMTRA website www.amtra.org.uk