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How to become a Veterinary Nurse
To qualify as a Veterinary Nurse you have to satisfy 3 criteria:
1/ You must have worked for a minimum of 2 years in full time, paid employment at an Approved Training and Assessment Centre (ATAC, formerly known as ATC) or Training Practice (TP).
2/ You must complete an NVQ portfolio in Veterinary Nursing at levels 2 & level 3.
3/ You must pass 2 sets of exams (part I at the end of first year & part II at the end of second year) as set by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Once you have satisfied these conditions you are entitled to call yourself a Veterinary Nurse, use the letters VN after your name and be eligible for entry on the list of Veterinary Nurses.
- Your first step is to get the correct school qualifications, these are grade C or greater GCSEs in subjects including English language & either a physical or biological science or mathematics. If you have insufficient school grades you may be able to do a pre-veterinary nursing course which, if you pass can be used as an entrance qualification for the scheme.
- Then you need to obtain employment at an ATAC or TP. Lists of suitable practices are available from the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA). Such posts are hard to come by and you may find that you have to live away from home.
- Once you have secured a post and you are 17 years of age or older you can enrol on the Veterinary Nursing Scheme and start your training. You have to enrol on the scheme at least 4 months before the closing date for entry to the exams (this means roughly by 15th December for the Summer exams or 1st June for the Winter exams).
While in employment at the ATAC or TP you will be given on the job training by senior Nurses and Veterinary Surgeons and you will usually attend college on a block or day release basis. The BVNA can supply lists of suitable colleges. There is also a University course run at Bristol University, this takes 4 years and will give you a VN diploma as well as a BSc in Veterinary Nursing and practice management. You should contact Bristol University for details of this course.
The Veterinary Nursing course at college or University is difficult and demanding both practically and academically. You will be in a hard, full time job yet will need the self discipline to study after work. While you will be given training it is entirely up to you to see that you reach the standard required to pass the examinations. The pass rate for Veterinary Nursing exams is usually just over 50%.
The Job
The pay of the Veterinary nurse is variable depending on the area and your experience. Many trainees will be on the minimum wage, as well as having to fund themselves through college whereas senior Nurses with more responsibility can be paid as much as a Veterinary Surgeon.
A variety of career paths are open to qualified Veterinary Nurses.
Most nurses will start in practice doing general nursing, this is often the most rewarding type of employment. Nursing requires dedication and the ability to work hard, often unsupervised. You must have initiative, an ability to find work to do rather than wait to be told and be able to make sure your own work comes up to standard. Team work is vital to the job, a Veterinary Nurse will often be in a pivotal position between owners and Veterinary Surgeons. In more progressive practices nurses are finding themselves taking on more `para-clinical' work such as health clinics, minor surgical procedures, carrying out x-rays, setting up drips and so forth. It is possible for nurses to specialise in certain aspects of their job such as in surgical or equine nursing.
Still in the practice situation some Nurses will want to take on more responsibilities and may eventually become practice managers playing more of a middle management role in the business.
Some nurses may decide to leave practice and here there are many opportunities for work in Veterinary related occupations such as Veterinary wholesalers, business representatives for pharmaceutical companies, boarding and grooming establishments, stables or studs and so forth.
It is important that you enjoy working with animals and people to become a Veterinary Nurse. Loving animals has a part to play but is not the only thing that should influence your choice of career. You will find that a career as a Veterinary Nurse can be tough but immensely rewarding.
If you would like to know more or to visit the surgery please contact me, Niall Taylor at Orchard Veterinary Group on 01458 832972 or e-mail info@ovg.co.uk.
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