Author Archives: Alison German

Training Practices – Are you Ready for September?

Take a look at our summer health check for Training Practices (TPs) below and see if you are all up-to-date and ready for the start of next term:

  1. Have you completed all the action points from your latest TP annual audit visit?
  2. Are all your clinical coaches trained ready for September? If not, remember we offer free clinical coach training to our TPs!
  3. Are all of your clinical coaches standardised? A list of forthcoming standardisation events can be found here. Remember standardisation events are free to all CAW TPs and clinical coaches must attend at least one standisation event per year!
  4. Are all staff up-to-date with their CPD? Remember all registered veterinary nurses must complete relevant CPD at a rate of 15 hours per year and veterinary surgeons 35 hours per year. View our CPD courses here.
  5. Are all your veterinary nursing students enrolled and ready for September? Remember if they are under 19 they will get the course fees fully funded, all your practice will be required to pay is the RCVS fees!
  6. Do you have space for a placement student? Gain a keen and enthusiastic pair of hands whilst helping to train the next generation of nurses!  If you think you may be able to help provide a placement or want to find out more please contact us and speak to our placement liaison team.
  7. Is there anyone else in the practice who would benefit from training and CPD? e.g. Veterinary Care Assistants, Receptionists
  8. Do you have a branch you would like to turn into a TP/aTP? Your branch can be approved for just £295 for the first year! Contact us and speak to our administration team to find out more.
Countryside and Environment Course

Free Work-Based Customer Service Training – Just 4 Weeks Left!

We have been delighted that veterinary practices and animal welfare organisations throughout England, have chosen to enrol their staff onto our customer service apprenticeship programmes over the past few weeks.

There are now just four weeks left to take advantage of nationwide free customer service training for receptionists. Remember apprenticeships incorporate the City & Guilds Diploma in Work-Based Customer Service (formally NVQ) and are not just for new members of staff; people with varying levels of experience may choose to undertake an apprenticeship to consolidate their skills and knowledge into a formal qualification. The level 2 qualification is suitable for all staff who have regular contact with customers, whilst the level 3 qualification is aimed more at senior receptionists and team leaders.

The training can be started at any time and there is no need for students to attend College as support will be provided by an allocated college assessor who will keep in touch by phone, email and regular visits to your place of work.

In order to qualify for free apprenticeship training, staff must be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week and cannot already hold a Level 4 or Higher Education qualification i.e. degree. Unfortunately funding is only available in England.

Free Apprenticeships in Animal Care and Horse Care are also available during this time period.

For further information please contact us.

First Chief Executive of the RCVS Appointed

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) have appointed Nick Stace into the new role of Chief Executive and Secretary; he will take up this post on 3 September 2012.

A long-standing consumer champion, Nick Stace leaves CHOICE, Australia’s equivalent of consumer group Which?. Nick has also held the post of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Director of Strategic Communications.

“I am delighted that Nick Stace will be joining the College”, said RCVS President Jerry Davies. “With his impressive track-record, I believe that we have a Chief Executive who will lead the College into a new phase of modernisation and development”.

Nick Stace says: “It is an enormous privilege to be leading an organisation that seeks to ensure Britain has the best vets in the world. I look forward to helping the College continue to improve veterinary standards across the country and to lead the College through its next stage of development.”

The role of Chief Executive and Secretary is a new one – previously the Registrar led the executive of the College.

Summer VN Practical Examination Information

Uptake for the summer veterinary nursing practical examinations has been lower than expected this year and, as such, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has deemed it necessary to reduce the number of examination centres to four. The available exmaination centres are now Harper Adams University College, Hartpury College, Myerscough College and MYF Training.

Nursing Progress Log (NPL) Abuse

Action has recently been taken by a centre in a case of clinical coaches sharing log-in details in order to add entries to NPLs for which they were not authorised. Not only does this potentially invalidate entries, but it is a breach of the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct. Veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons must adhere to the principles of certification, which apply to verification by electronic means as well as signed documents.

The NPL permits only one named clinical coach per student at any one time for reasons of accountability and integrity; permitting a number of staff to access a student’s record using a shared log in seriously undermines this. It is akin to the forgery of signatures and must be regarded, and dealt with, as malpractice if discovered.

Fully Funded Veterinary Nurse Training to Under 19s

If you are under 19 years of age and are looking to start training as a veterinary nurse this September then you may be entitled to fully funded apprenticeship (Level 3 Diploma) training.

To start the programme you must meet the academic entry requirements and be employed in a veterinary practice that is approved to train veterinary nurses (a Training Practice or Auxilary Training Practice). If you are not already employed in practice, you will need to secure a position as a student veterinary nurse before enrolling onto the course. You may wish to send your CV to Training Practices or search for a job. 

The next Advanced Apprenticeship in Veterinary Nursing programme starts the week commencing 3 September from our Huntingdon, Potters Bar and Leeds centres and enrolments are being taken now.

Places are already filling up fast, so remember to enrol early to avoid disappointment. If you are waiting for exam results this Summer you can still apply now, and if for any reason you are unsuccessful and do not get the required grades your practice will receive a full refund!

And remember if you are under 19 years of age at the start of the course your training fees will be fully funded, all your practice will be required to pay is the RCVS and Awarding Body fees.

Find out more information on the Advanced Apprenticeship in Veterinary Nursing.

You can request log in details to enrol by clicking here, choosing the ‘Course Applications’ Button and submitting your details. You will then receive full enrolment instructions by email.

Fully Funded Veterinary Nurse Training to Under 19s

If a member of your staff is looking to start training as a veterinary nurse this September and they are under 19 years of age then they can receive fully funded apprenticeship training (Level 3 Diploma) from The College of Animal Welfare.

With apprenticeship training being free to this age group, the only thing your practice will be required to pay is the student’s RCVS fees i.e. enrolment and examination fees!

The next Advanced Apprenticeship in Veterinary Nursing programme starts the week commencing 3 September from the College’s Huntingdon, Potters Bar and Leeds centres and enrolments are being taken now.

Places are already filling up, so remember to enrol your student early to avoid disappointment. If  your student is waiting for exam results this Summer they can still apply now, and if for any reason they are unsuccessful and do not get the required grades your practice will receive a full refund!

For more information on veterinary nurse training at The College of Animal Welfare please visit www.caw.ac.uk/courses or call 0844 372 9410.

– Ends –

For more information please contact:
Alison German VN
Marketing Executive
The College of Animal Welfare
Tel: 0844 372 9410
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

New Online CPD Recording System – the Professional Development Record – is available now!

Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses wishing to record their CPD using the new online recording system – the Professional Development Record (PDR) can now access this and register via the RCVS website.

Find out more about the veterinary nursing PDR here.

Find out more about the PDR for veterinary surgeons here.

The traditional paper-based CPD record card may still be used if preferred.

RCVS Day: 6 July 2012

RCVS Day – the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Annual General Meeting and Presentation of Awards – will be held on Friday 6 July at the Royal College of Physicians, London.

All members and listed/registered veterinary nurses are invited to attend the day, which will start at 10am with AGM business. Honours will then be awarded, along with Fellowships, Diplomas and veterinary nursing and RCVS Charitable Trust awards:

Dr Jerry Davies will chair the AGM in his last official engagement as President. He will formally welcome new members of RCVS Council and VN Council and give a review of his busy year, before handing over to Mrs Jacqui Molyneux who will serve as President for 2012-2013.

The morning will end with a talk entitled ‘Toads and Tamanduas – a Career in Zoo and Wildlife Medicine,’ given by Mr Graham Crawshaw, Senior Veterinarian at Toronto Zoo.

For tickets, which are free and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, please contact Fiona Harcourt at the RCVS on f.harcourt@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0773.

You Can Now Advertise Job Vacancies for Free on our New Jobs Board!

We are delighted to announce the launch of our new Jobs Board which allows any veterinary practice or animal care employer to advertise their job vacancies free of charge!

The Jobs Board, which opened this week has already seen hundreds of visitors in the first few days, and is set to make life easier for employers from all over the country.

Designed with simplicity in mind, the Jobs Board is easy and quick to use; all employers need to do is visit the site, enter the details of the job and submit. Once moderated by the College the job appears live and can be viewed by anyone visiting the site.

Those actively looking for work can post their own ‘situations wanted’ advert and all potential candidates can apply online to vacancies once they complete a simple log in.

Visit the Jobs Board here.