In May 2026, a cohort of veterinary students visited the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) as part of their Extramural Studies placement. One of the students, Victoria, shared her experience of the placement.
As veterinary students, our training is understandably centred on the diagnosis and treatment of the animals in front of us. It is easy to forget that behind every drug we will prescribe as vets is a system working to make sure it is safe and effective. A placement at the VMD offered a valuable reminder that the profession's impact extends well beyond the consulting room and gave us a glimpse into a side of veterinary medicine most students rarely think about.
Prescribing through a regulatory lens
The week opened with an overview of the VMD's role, both nationally and internationally, before moving into sessions on antimicrobial and anthelmintic resistance. We all know that responsible prescribing matters, but seeing the issue from a regulatory perspective helped put our future role as veterinary surgeons into a wider context. It provided a reminder that prescribing decisions made in a consultation ripple outward into public health and food security, and that responsible use of antimicrobials and antiparasitics is as much a regulatory concern as a clinical one. Participating in discussions on policy making made the scale of the issue feel far more tangible than it ever had in a lecture theatre.
Demystifying veterinary medicines regulations
From there, sessions on the enforcement of medicines regulations, authorisation of veterinary medicines, and inspections provided real insight into how veterinary medicines are assessed and monitored, before and after they reach the market. It was interesting to see just how many checks a product goes through before it reaches a clinic’s pharmacy, and how that scrutiny does not stop once it has been authorised. Further sessions focused on biologicals and novel therapies, followed by a bioequivalence and generics workshop which highlighted just how complex the pathway from product development to authorisation really is. Discussions on quality assurance, legislation, and environmental safety underlined the breadth of expertise needed to keep the whole system running.
Life beyond clinical practice
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the week was discovering the range of veterinary careers that exist outside clinical practice. Careers discussions throughout the placement gave us insight into varied roles in regulation, policy, legislation, research, and public health. A useful reminder that a veterinary degree can lead in many directions, and that veterinary knowledge is valuable even when you're not working directly with animals every day.
By the end of the week, I had a completely new appreciation for the medicines I will be prescribing every day, and a much better sense of the machinery that keeps them safe. This is the kind of placement that does not show up in a typical EMS advert, but honestly, more of us should know it exists.
Victoria Young