Veterinary Nurse Training: The Advantages of Becoming a Training Practice for Veterinary Nurses

The Advantages of Becoming a Training Practice for

Veterinary Nurses

There are several advantages in becoming a training

practice for veterinary nurses, including being able to

offer a higher standard of support to your clients. Their

animals are important to them, whether they are pets or

livestock, and the type of enthusiasm frequently shown by

young veterinary nursing trainees will generally give

them a good opinion of your practice.

By becoming a veterinary nurse training practice (TP),

your business will benefit in a number of ways other than

just from the enthusiasm of your trainee. A major benefit

to you is that his or her presence will provide an

incentive for the other vets and nurses in your practice

to keep up to date with modern veterinary developments in

order to be able to pass on that knowledge to the

trainee.

You will also benefit from the work the trainee carries

out, although doing this does not come free. There are

charges associated, not only in terms of the time you

have to devote to the training and the payment paid to

the trainee, but also in assessment costs. In order to

understand this a bit better, let's discuss what is

involved in becoming a veterinary nurse training

practice.

Training Routes

There are two ways for veterinary nurses to be provided

with training. One is vocational, whereby the nurse is

employed as a student within a practice. The nurse must

be paid at least the minimum wage, and your practice

would provide the supervision needed for the trainee to

gain a National Vocational Qualification.

The second method is as an undergraduate. This route also

involves practice experience and assessment, and the

nurse in this case can be paid or unpaid. Your practice

can be involved in each of these together if you wish,

though it must first become RCVS approved. This involves

making an application to a Veterinary Nurse Approved

Centre (VNAC) to become an associate training practice.

To do this, you must first complete an application form,

and when that is approved you will receive a visit to

assess your practice

Practice Requirements

For a veterinary practice to be approved, it must meet

certain criteria, such as possessing a proper operating

theatre, a consultation area, a preparation area,

boarding kennels and basic laboratory and radiographic

diagnostic equipment. You must also carry out a range of

veterinary work so that the trainee gains experience with

a good selection of animal types and procedures.

The staff in an approved veterinary nurse training

practice should be sufficiently qualified and capable of

training the student, and the VNAC prefer that to be a

listed veterinary nurse. However, it is still possible to

be accepted if the staff is of high enough a skill level

as to be able to teach the trainee to a high standard.

Teaching and Assessments

Assessment of the progress of your student must be

carried out by a member of your staff who is a qualified

veterinary surgeon or listed/registered veterinary nurse

holding an A1 qualification or D32/33, and must attend

assessor meetings thrice annually. If not so qualified,

then the assessor has to complete a suitable course

within a year.

Your student will be monitored throughout by the RCVS,

who will also carry out visits to a selection of

associate practices each year to make sure that teaching

is progressing satisfactorily. The RCVS also set regular

examinations of students at the completion of levels 2

and 3 to ensure that a standard level of competence and

knowledge is reached by each student.

The costs for which your practice will be responsible

include, in addition to payments to the trainee, the cost

of any training necessary for your assessor and of the

assessment or verification visits made by the Veterinary

Nursing Approved Centre. You will also be asked to

contribute towards your student's college enrolment and

examination fees.

Is it Worthwhile?

Considering all that is involved, do the advantages of

becoming a veterinary nurse training practice make it

worthwhile doing? The answer is a definite yes, because

not only do all veterinary nurses have to be trained

properly, but they are also an essential resource for

your practice and offer the additional benefit of

presenting a more professional image to the practice.

Your clients will be impressed by finding enthusiastic,

young veterinary nurses working with you and word soon

gets around that yours is the practice to visit. The

costs for this are not high, but always keep in mind that

while your practice almost certainly will benefit,

becoming an associate training practice is intended to

benefit the trainee nurses and not specifically your

practice.

Nevertheless, it is a benefit, as any veterinary practice

will testify, and the advantages of becoming a veterinary

nurse training practice far outweigh any associated cost

in time or money.

SRR Johnson is a recruitment expert with more than 20

years of experience in the veterinary industry. He is

currently working as an It and recruitment consultant for

Alpha Impact Ltd in the UK.

Please visit ALPHA IMPACT for further details or check

out our Veterinary Job Vacancies

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