Assessment of Clinical Skills
The Assessment (first species)
Your clinical skills will be assessed in two separate sessions
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A Viva (oral examination) and
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A practical assessment with a care-giver and their animal.
The aim of these two assessments, together with assessment of your submitted case documentation, is to give you the opportunity to demonstrate that you are confident, fluent, and skilled in each of the performance criteria specified for the role of CCAB.
The process and timeline for application and assessment are as follows:
1. Complete and submit your application form
With details of two references, Case Log, Presentations Summary, and payment of your application fee on request.
2. Agree a date for the Viva
On receipt of your completed application, we will contact you to agree a mutually convenient date for your Viva
3. Agree a 48hr window for your case submissions
When the Viva date is set, we will ask you to confirm a 48hr window during which we will require you to redact and submit four cases that we will change from your case log.
4. Submit your redacted cases
At the start of the 48hr window, we will email you withe the submission template and tell you which 4 cases to redact and submit by the end of the 48hr window.
5. The Viva
Once your redacted cases are received and accepted, we will send you a zoom invitation for the Viva. For more details, see 'What happens in the Viva?'
6. Viva results and feedback
Your result and feedback will be provided a few weeks after your Viva
7. Agree a date for your practical assessment
On passing the Viva, we will confirm available slots for the Practical Assessment, for schedule in the following weeks.
8. The practical assessment
See 'What happens in the Practical?' for details.
9. Final results and feedback
The result of your full assessment and feedback will be provided within 30 days of completion of your practical assessment.
What happens in the Viva?
The Viva is held over Zoom, with two assessors. It typically lasts 1.5 hours or a maximum of 2.5 hours. It is recorded for quality assurance purposes. During this time, you will be asked questions relating to each of the Performance Criteria. Becoming very familiar with each of the Performance Criteria will help you prepare for the Viva. Many of the questions will be posed within the context of your submitted cases, but some will be based on hypothetical scenarios presented to you. Questions are designed to help you defend and justify the decisions you took, or would take, and the considerations you made, or would make, in your performance of the role. Questions are not designed to try to catch you out or test your memory. They are designed to help you highlight your skills. You can refer to your case notes during the Viva.
What happens in the Practical Assessment?
The practical session lasts between 45 minutes and an hour, with one or two assessors, and is filmed for quality assurance purposes. During this time you will be observed working with a caregiver and their animal. You will be asked to communicate with the caregiver to arrive at an initial assessment and agree a desired goal for the animal. You may then be asked to provide practical behaviour advice, demonstrate some training, or coach the caregiver in practical aspects of behaviour modification. After this, the assessors will ask you some further questions. The tasks you are given will be appropriate to the situation i.e. you will not be asked to do a full behavioural assessment, to create an entire behaviour modification plan, nor demonstrate any training beyond the scope of the time available.
Practical assessments currently take place at centres in the UK, in Lincoln or Leicester.
Please complete this form to apply for CCAB accreditation in your first species and send completed applications to us at applications@ccab.uk