Author Archives: Amber Tennant

Health and Fitness Tip of the Week: Mental Health

Did you know almost 80,000 people aged 21 and under have serious depression? Your mental health is one of the most important parts to your health and wellbeing.

Looking after your mental health as well as your physical health helps prevent mental illnesses impacting on your daily life. Eating healthy and regular exercise can help maintain your mental health. Socialising and creating distractions which you enjoy can be a good way to improve your mood if you’re feeling down. There are over 200 named types of mental illnesses. The most common are depression, bipolar, dementia, schizophrenia, anxiety and eating disorders.

If you think you or someone else has a mental illness there are support centres across the UK;NHS, St.Andrews, Young minds. You can contact your doctor if you have concerns for your wellbeing, they will help you seek advice and support if you need it. If you are in college you can speak to a tutor about any concerns you may have about yourself or another student.

“Life is like a mirror; it will smile at you if you smile at it”
“We need to change the culture of this topic and make it okay to speak about mental health and suicide.”

International Youth Day (12 August)

Young people today face many challenges; as an example, economic uncertainty means that finding steady employment, affordable homes and long term financial security can become challenging. The United Nations’ (UN) International Youth Day aims to raise awareness of these issues, and encourage youth civic engagement in order to ensure that we can confront environmental, social and economic threats effectively. Below are some facts about youth issues in the UK:

  • 72% of 18-21 year olds are reported to be earning less than the living wage
  • Home ownership rate has halved for 25 year olds in the last 20 years
  • Around 35,000 young people are in homeless accommodation at any one time across the UK, with hostels always full or oversubscribed
  • Unemployment rates are three times higher for 16-25 year olds when compared with the rest of the UK population
  • By 2018, unemployment and underemployment is predicted to affect a third of all 16-25 year olds
  • Those graduating from English universities owe an average of £44,000, the highest level of university debt in the ‘English-speaking world’

For more information on Youth International Day, please visit the UN website. Alternatively, get involved with empowering youth at ukyouth.org

Clarification regarding lunch breaks for student veterinary nurses

Please note that we have received written confirmation from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) stating that lunch breaks do NOT count towards the practical training hours of a student veterinary nurse when applying for professional registration; therefore please do not include lunch breaks when logging your number of hours in practice.

CAW tutor reaches milestone in distance learning support

We are proud to announce that, since joining the College in 2012, Distance Learning Tutor Kirsty Jones has provided learning support to over 100 veterinary care assistant students over the course of their online studies – hard work which, no doubt, ensured that each student reached their full potential and passed their formal qualification in veterinary care with flying colours.

On reaching this milestone, Kirsty said: “Seeing so many of my students’ efforts pay off, allowing them to go onto become successful veterinary care assistants, is a pleasure – and is what makes my job so rewarding”

Lisa Crowe, Head of Distance Learning at the College, added: “Kirsty is an invaluable and hardworking member of the team. On behalf of everyone at the College, I’d like to congratulate her on such a fantastic achievement!”

The College recognises the important role that distance learning plays in providing those with busy schedules the opportunity of further training if they wish to undertake it. As such, we are continuously expanding our range of online courses to make learning more accessible. More information can be found on our website.

CAW tutor reaches milestone in distance learning support

The College of Animal Welfare is proud to announce that, since joining the College in 2012, Distance Learning Tutor Kirsty Jones has provided learning support to over 100 veterinary care assistant students over the course of their online studies – hard work which, no doubt, ensured that each student reached their full potential and passed their formal qualification in veterinary care with flying colours.

On reaching this milestone, Kirsty said: “Seeing so many of my students’ efforts pay off, allowing them to go onto become successful veterinary care assistants, is a pleasure – and is what makes my job so rewarding”

Lisa Crowe, Head of Distance Learning at the College, added: “Kirsty is an invaluable and hardworking member of the team. On behalf of everyone at the College, I’d like to congratulate her on such a fantastic achievement!”

The College recognises the important role that distance learning plays in providing those with busy schedules the opportunity of further training if they wish to undertake it. As such, the College is continuously expanding its range of online courses to make learning more accessible. More information can be found at www.caw.ac.uk or by calling 01480 422060.

– Ends –

For more information please contact:
Alison German RVN
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 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

Health and Fitness Tip of the Week: Happy Feet!

Did you know that our feet take the full weight of our body? This is why it is very important to make sure they are supported. If your feet aren’t supported it can cause hip, knee and back problems.

Giving the muscles and joints in the foot a chance to rest on a regular basis is one way to support your feet. Another way to look after your feet is making sure your shoes fit properly and support the main parts of the foot.

Maintaining the foots skin and nails is very important because it can cause problems such as cracked and dry skin, athlete’s foot, verrucae, corns, fungus and ingrown toe nails. Moisturising, filing, washing regularly and clipping your toe nails can help prevent these issues from happening.

“If your feet are happy, you are happy too”

Health and Fitness tip of the Week: Preventing Cancer

Did you know in 2010, around 43% of cancer cases in the UK were caused by lifestyle and environmental factors? Making sure you’re healthy by eating right and exercising enough is one of the ways you can reduce the chances of cancer.

When you are in the sun it is important to make sure you wear the correct sun cream and cover your skin. UV rays from the sun can damage cells, which can cause mutations within the cell, creating a tumour.

Smoking damages the cells in the lungs; effects to the tissue happen almost instantly. Stopping smoking can reduce the chances of lung cancer as cigarettes are full of substances which cause cancer to form.

Reducing your alcohol intake can also minimise your chances of cancer. Alcohol is full of toxins which harm cells and stop them from repairing themselves.

“Your illness does not define you. Your strength and courage does” – Unknown

Update to City & Guilds Veterinary Nursing OSCEs

City & Guilds have altered the wording on 4 of the small animal veterinary nursing OSCEs, as below:

Lab 01
Scenario wording changed from ‘Identify the crystals shown in the photographs’ to ‘photograph’.

Lab 07
Wording altered in step 6 to include patient handling: ‘Patient handled and sample collected without causing trauma to the ear’.

Nursing Care 01
Wording altered in step 8 from ‘Close regulator’ to ‘Turn off regulator’.

Supporting Anaesthesia 03
Changes to steps 2 and 4.
Step 2 now includes the selection of a Y-shaped connector: ‘Select wide-bore tubing x2 and Y-shaped connector’.
Step 4 has changed from the Y-shaped connector to: ‘Select APL valve’.

careers in teaching edinburgh

A Career in Teaching: Is it for you?

If you’re a veterinary nurse or veterinary surgeon and have ever wondered about the training and employment opportunities in teaching – why not come along to our free ‘Careers in Teaching’ open evening at our Edinburgh centre on Wednesday 20 July 2016 from 6pm-8pm, and find out more about the options available to you?

As the largest provider of veterinary nurse training in the UK, we are often asked about the challenges and responsibilities that come with a career in teaching. If you’ve always aspired to help the next generation of veterinary nurses to be the very best nurses they can be – but are unsure about whether teaching is the right fit for you – we can help you discover what its really like to be a lecturer, and how to get started if you’re ready to begin a new challenge.

Our open evening will look at training, employment opportunities, what is involved in and out of the classroom – and much more! The evening will start off with a group presentation and will be followed by the opportunity to speak to our lecturers to hear from those with first-hand experience of an exciting and rewarding profession!

To book a place, please fill out our online booking form.

A Career in Teaching: Is it for you?

If you’re a veterinary nurse or veterinary surgeon and have ever wondered about the training and employment opportunities in teaching – why not come along to our free ‘Careers in Teaching’ open evening at our Edinburgh centre on Wednesday 20 July 2016 from 6pm-8pm, and find out more about the options available to you?

As the largest provider of veterinary nurse training in the UK, we are often asked about the challenges and responsibilities that come with a career in teaching. If you’ve always aspired to help the next generation of veterinary nurses to be the very best nurses they can be – but are unsure about whether teaching is the right fit for you – we can help you discover what its really like to be a lecturer, and how to get started if you’re ready to begin a new challenge.

Our open evening will look at training, employment opportunities, what is involved in and out of the classroom – and much more! The evening will start off with a group presentation and will be followed by the opportunity to speak to our lecturers with first-hand experience of an exciting and rewarding profession!

To book a place, please fill out our online booking form at www.caw.ac.uk/iteach

– Ends –

For more information please contact:

Alison German RVN
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