Author Archives: Alison German

Anti-Bullying Week (17-21 November 2014) – Let’s Stop Bullying For All

Anti-Bullying Month Logo3-28 November 2014 is Anti-Bullying Month incorporating Anti-Bullying Week (17-21 November).

The theme for this year is ‘Let’s Stop Bullying For All’.

Bullying takes place in many ways and to different people. It can seriously affect a person’s mental and physical health. It can lead to a lack of confidence, withdrawal from friends and family, lack of participation in class and at work, anxiety, depression and poor concentration.

The College of Animal Welfare (CAW) believes that bullying is unacceptable in all forms and is committed to preventing and eliminating any form of it. The College expects acceptable standards of behaviour from both our students and staff recognising and respecting the dignity of all individuals. The College views any form of harassment, victimisation, intimidation or bullying as unacceptable behaviour and has a zero tolerance.

Get Involved!

To mark Anti-Bullying Week this year we would like all students and staff to come up with one idea on how bullying should be tackled. Your idea will be used to influence the work of the College’s equality and diversity working group over the forthcoming year and beyond.

This is your opportunity to get involved, it only takes a minute and it can really help make a difference!

You can submit your idea on our website

The person who comes up with the most creative idea, chosen by the group, will be considered for nomination towards the College’s Equality and Diversity award at the CAW Annual Student Awards Ceremony.

If you, or someone you know, is affected by bullying you can get free, confidential advice at www.bullying.co.uk. We also encourage any student who is concerned about bullying or any other unacceptable behaviour to talk to their course tutor or a member of our Customer Advice Team (CAT). Students can find a list of CATs on the VLE.

Huntingdonshire Regional College Ofsted Inspection: 17-20 November 2014

We have been informed that Huntingdonshire Regional College (HRC) will be undergoing an Ofsted Inspection from Monday 17 November to Thursday 20 November 2014.

As part of the inspection, all full-time students (aged 16-18 years of age) at The College of Animal Welfare who are funded by HRC will be asked to complete a Learner View Survey. All students who this applies to, will be receiving an email from The College of Animal Welfare with a link to the online survey.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please call The College of Animal Welfare on 01480 422060.

TP Congress: 16 & 17 March 2015, Now Open for Registration

Kathy Kissick speaking at TP Congress 2014

Kathy Kissick speaking at TP Congress 2014

 

The College of Animal Welfare is delighted to announce that TP Congress 2015, two days of CPD dedicated to clinical coaches, is open for registration.

Following great feedback on last year’s venue, this year’s Congress will return to Milton Keynes Conference Centre, a purpose built centre with modern facilities and extensive parking conveniently located just off the M1.

 

Coaching Support Skills

Back by popular demand is Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Helen Frewin who will be taking a look at how we can prevent difficult students by ensuring they fit into our practice team as quickly as possible. Helen will then be returning on day two to consider whether we can ‘cure’ difficult students.

Anne-Marie Aylott of Purple Cat Coaching will be speaking about time management – a subject so many of us struggle with! Following this, Anne-Marie will suggest ways in which we can inform and interest our students and encourage them to take ownership of their own learning without having to ‘spoon feed’ them the knowledge they need.

Teaching and Training

City & Guilds will be returning this year to provide an update on the Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing programme.

Veterinary nursing examiner, Jane Davidson, will share her top ten OSCE troubleshooting tips that can help students pass that final hurdle on their journey to becoming a veterinary nurse.

Internal Verifier, Marie Jones, will look at the latest Nursing Progress Log (NPL) features and guidance, and provide tips to help your student keep to schedule. Whilst Quality Assurance Supervisor (QAS) at The College of Animal Welfare (CAW), Stacie Carey, will clarify which equine tasks students in small animal practice need to cover and discuss how good they need to be, to be deemed competent.

CAW QAS, Caroline Blake, will look at what you can study or practice with your student if you ever find yourself with a spare ‘half an hour’! And CAW Potters Bar Centre Manager, Claire Defries, will look at helping students to write nursing care plans in practice.

Legislation and Regulation

VN Council Chair, Kathy Kissick is back this year to examine what the new RCVS Charter means for veterinary nurses. Julie Dugmore, Head of Veterinary Nursing at the RCVS, will share the latest RCVS news and how it may affect you and your students!

Gordon Hockey, RCVS Registrar, will look at the disciplinary system. Fictional cases will be presented and teams of delegates will get to act as mock disciplinary committees – it will be up to you to hear the evidence, decide the case and pronounce judgement!

Liz Mossop, Associate Professor of Veterinary Education at Nottingham Vet School will look at how we can help students to understand the spirit of the veterinary profession so they become well rounded veterinary nurses. And Practice Standards Group Chair, Jacqui Molyneaux, will explain what the planned changes to the Practice Standards Scheme in 2015 will mean for veterinary practices.

An agenda and further information can be found on The College of Animal Welfare’s website or by calling 01480 422060. Delegates who book before 31 January 2015 will be able to take advantage of the early bird discount!

TP Congress: 16 & 17 March 2015, Now Open for Registration

Kathy Kissick speaking at TP Congress 2014

Kathy Kissick speaking at TP Congress 2014

 

The College of Animal Welfare is delighted to announce that TP Congress 2015, two days of CPD dedicated to clinical coaches, is open for registration.

Following great feedback on last year’s venue, this year’s Congress will return to Milton Keynes Conference Centre, a purpose built centre with modern facilities and extensive parking conveniently located just off the M1.

 

Coaching Support Skills

Back by popular demand is Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Helen Frewin who will be taking a look at how we can prevent difficult students by ensuring they fit into our practice team as quickly as possible. Helen will then be returning on day two to consider whether we can ‘cure’ difficult students.

Anne-Marie Aylott of Purple Cat Coaching will be speaking about time management – a subject so many of us struggle with! Following this, Anne-Marie will suggest ways in which we can inform and interest our students and encourage them to take ownership of their own learning without having to ‘spoon feed’ them the knowledge they need.

Teaching and Training

City & Guilds will be returning this year to provide an update on the Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing programme.

Veterinary nursing examiner, Jane Davidson, will share her top ten OSCE troubleshooting tips that can help students pass that final hurdle on their journey to becoming a veterinary nurse.

Internal Verifier, Marie Jones, will look at the latest Nursing Progress Log (NPL) features and guidance, and provide tips to help your student keep to schedule. Whilst Quality Assurance Supervisor (QAS) at The College of Animal Welfare (CAW), Stacie Carey, will clarify which equine tasks students in small animal practice need to cover and discuss how good they need to be, to be deemed competent.

CAW QAS, Caroline Blake, will look at what you can study or practice with your student if you ever find yourself with a spare ‘half an hour’! And CAW Potters Bar Centre Manager, Claire Defries, will look at helping students to write nursing care plans in practice.

Legislation and Regulation

VN Council Chair, Kathy Kissick is back this year to examine what the new RCVS Charter means for veterinary nurses. Julie Dugmore, Head of Veterinary Nursing at the RCVS, will share the latest RCVS news and how it may affect you and your students!

Gordon Hockey, RCVS Registrar, will look at the disciplinary system. Fictional cases will be presented and teams of delegates will get to act as mock disciplinary committees – it will be up to you to hear the evidence, decide the case and pronounce judgement!

Liz Mossop, Associate Professor of Veterinary Education at Nottingham Vet School will look at how we can help students to understand the spirit of the veterinary profession so they become well rounded veterinary nurses. And Practice Standards Group Chair, Jacqui Molyneaux, will explain what the planned changes to the Practice Standards Scheme in 2015 will mean for veterinary practices.

An agenda and further information can be found on The College of Animal Welfare’s website or by calling 01480 422060. Delegates who book before 31 January 2015 will be able to take advantage of the early bird discount!

– Ends –

For more information please contact:

Alison German VN
Marketing Executive
The College of Animal Welfare
Tel: 01480 422060
Email: agerman@caw.ac.uk

Notes to editors:

The College of Animal Welfare is one of the UK’s leading providers of veterinary nurse and animal care training and education; operating from four training centres around the UK.

The College has a well earned reputation for excellence and has created a number of unique achievements that have created new opportunities for learning.

For more information about The College of Animal Welfare please visit www.caw.ac.uk

2015 NPL and Exam Entry Deadline Dates for City & Guilds Students

City & Guilds have now published the Veterinary Nursing OSCE exam dates for 2015.

The deadline dates below are for Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing students studying at The College of Animal Welfare.

PRACTICAL EXAMS February 2015 July 2015 October 2015 December 2015
NPL Completion Deadline 17 Nov 20 April 13 July 14 Sept
Declaration of Eligibility and Exam Entry to Headland House 12 Dec 22 May 14 Aug 16 Oct
Exam Weekend 6-8 Feb 10-12 July 2-4 Oct 4-6 Dec
Results Published W/C 16 March W/C 17 Aug W/C 9 Nov W/C 18 Jan

Re-sit candidates from October have until 13 November to enter.

RCVS Day One Competences for Veterinary Nurses

A new document has been produced which sets out the minimum essential competences that the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) expects all student veterinary nurses to have met when they register. These competences ensure that the student veterinary nurse is safe to practice from day one.

The document explains what competence is and what standards are required for ‘Day One Competence’ this incorporates ‘Day One Skills’ which is the minimum standard required for a student to register with the RCVS.

The day one competences are set out under the broad headings of:

  • General professional skills and attributes expected of newly-qualified veterinary nurses
  • Practical and clinical competences expected of new veterinary nurses

These competences may be gained in relation to the care of horses, large animals and/or small animals. (Including cats, dogs and exotics) along with this knowledge the veterinary nurse must also be fully conversant with the RCVS Code of Conduct.

This document can be found on the RCVS website.

If you have any questions please contact your college/training provider.

RCVS Logo

RCVS news: VN Council 2015 elections now open

Veterinary nurses who wish to contribute to the future of their professions can now stand up and be counted as the nomination period for the VN Council 2015 elections is open.

Each year two seats are available for VN Council. Successful candidates will serve four-year terms.

The nomination period runs until 5pm on Saturday 31 January 2015 and, in order to stand, candidates for  will need to complete a nomination form, submit a short biography, write a short personal statement and supply a high resolution digital photo. Each candidate will also need to provide two nominations. The election period commences in early March 2015 and runs until Friday 24 April. Successful candidates will take up their seats at RCVS Day – the College’s Annual General Meeting and Awards Day – on Friday 10 July 2015.

Gordon Hockey, RCVS Registrar, comments:“Through their participation in the Council and their committee members can have a big impact on the future of their respective professions by developing policy and making decisions in areas of key importance such as education and professional standards.”

Nomination forms, guidance notes and frequently asked questions for candidates can be found here. The equivalent documents for RCVS Council which is also open for the 2015 elections can be found here.

Prospective candidates are also invited to attend a ‘Meet the RCVS Day’ at Belgravia House on Tuesday 25 November where they will have the opportunity to find out more about the role of the College and RCVS and VN Council members as well as having a tour of the building and the opportunity to talk to staff.

Those who are interested in attending should contact Fiona Harcourt, Events Officer, on f.harcourt@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0773.

RCVS Logo

RCVS news: Alternative dispute resolution trial launched by Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

From Monday 3 November 2014 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) will be undertaking a six-month alternative dispute resolution (ADR) trial as the first step towards developing a new consumer redress system for users of veterinary services.

Although the RCVS is obliged to investigate all concerns raised with it, the College is limited to dealing with only the most serious of concerns raised against a veterinary surgeon’s or registered veterinary nurse’s fitness to practise. This means that many of the 800 or so concerns received every year by the College’s Professional Conduct Department are closed with no further action.

Nick Stace, RCVS Chief Executive Officer and Secretary, explains: “It was clear from our consultations last year for the First Rate Regulator initiative that many animal owners who had made complaints were dissatisfied and frustrated with the fact that we were unable to take their, often very legitimate, concerns any further. 

“We hope that the profession will actively support the trial, and any future scheme, as a way of resolving those intractable disputes which we know can hang over veterinary surgeons and practices and that they recognise that, ultimately, what is good for the consumer can be good for the profession.”

The trial will be administered by the Ombudsman Services, an independent and not-for-profit complaint resolution service, and limited to no more than 150 concerns raised about veterinary surgeons in regards to the treatment of a small animal. The Ombudsman Services will be assisted in its investigations by veterinary advisers who will provide guidance on clinical and other veterinary matters.

The results of the trial, which will end in May 2015, will be presented at the June 2015 meeting of RCVS Council where steps will be considered for the development of a permanent scheme.

More details about the trial can be found here.

Canvas Collection

Have Your Photographs on Display at CAW!

Over the next few months we are looking at producing some canvasses to display around our centres with an animal and countryside theme (e.g. pets, wildlife, plants, scenery).

In order to do this we are looking for suitable images from students, employers and staff so they are personal to us – this is your opportunity to see your photos on display!

To submit an image for consideration, please email it to marketing@caw.ac.uk. All images should be high quality (preferably a minimum of 5MB) with a maximum of three images per email. Please ensure you include your name and the course (and centre if relevant) you are studying along with a brief description of the photo.

Please note that all photographs should be owned by you personally and have no copyright restrictions attached to them.

We will let you know in due course if your images have been chosen – good luck!

RCVS Logo

RCVS news: RCVS at the London Vet Show

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) will be promoting its new Advanced Practitioner status at this year’s London Vet Show on stand C67. Delegates will be able to browse the College’s literature, take advantage of the free 45-minute Practice Standards Scheme surgeries and have the chance to win a Kindle Fire.

To book a surgery, contact Fiona Harcourt, Events Officer, on f.harcourt@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0773. *Surgeries are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

This year’s deadline to apply to be an Advanced Practitioner is 30 November and applications can be made here.

For more information regarding the new Advanced Practitioner status please visit the RVCS website.