VetSkill Level 5 Advanced Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (Practice Nurse)

You will work through online course materials on our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) at a time suited to you and have the opportunity to take part in monthly live online support sessions. Once you have completed the theory elements of the course, you will attend our Huntingdon centre for a day to go through the practical elements of the course.

You will cover the following units:

Professional Practice and Legislation

During this module, you will develop an understanding of professional practice and legislation in relation to your role as a practice nurse, specifically looking at:

• Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct, and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) Code of Practice for RQPs and SQPs; applying to nurse consults, clinics, and district nursing
• Medicines legislation and guidelines on responsible use of medicines
• Ethical and legal responsibilities of the RVN Practice Nurse
• Consumer legislation relevant to providing nursing clinics/consultations and district nursing

Consulting Skills

This unit explores communication and consulting, including planning consults and the key factors to consider to provide good client care:

• Fundamentals of communication and consulting
• Principles of consultation preparation and models of consulting
• Principles of marketing and selling skills relating to RVN consultations
• Principles of client compliance

Clinical Nutrition and Diets

This unit outlines nutritional requirements and diets for a range of medical disorders and life stages, as well as:

• Nutritional assessment of veterinary patients
• How to develop and implement nutritional plans
• Principals of nutrition for healthy companion animals, including life stages, and for a range of medical disorders
• Components of veterinary recommended diets for a range of life stages and medical conditions
• Causes, risks and management of obesity in companion animals

Medical Clinics

Throughout this module, you will cover the principles and considerations for medical clinics, including pain management, vaccination, paediatric, senior healthcare, arthritis, dentistry, cardiac, renal, feline urinary, post-surgical and other disease management clinics. As part of this unit you will study:

• Principles of clinical examination, and recognise and maintain companion animal health
• Diagnostic tests that may be required for medical clinics, and how to obtain these
• Principles of pain assessment, and formulating and implementing analgesic plans for medical clinic cases
• Key principles of life stage and wellness clinics
• Specific requirements for medical nursing clinics
• Principles of palliative care and owner support

Prescribing and Dispensing for the Practice Nurse

This unit provides you with knowledge and skills in prescribing and dispensing medicines, and considers:

• Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs prescribed for a range of medical disorders
• Principles of preventative health programmes, covering a range of conditions in companion animals
• Requirements for safe and effective supply of veterinary medicinal products

Leadership, Coaching, Mentoring and Support in the Veterinary Practice

This unit is designed to provide you with a grounding in leadership, coaching, mentoring and support in veterinary practice, exploring:

• Principles of conflict management within the veterinary practice environment
• Principles of leadership and management in veterinary nursing
• Importance of communication and teamwork in veterinary practice
• Requirements of clinical supervision for student veterinary nurses, student veterinary surgeons, newly qualified employees, and auxiliary staff
• Importance of managing stress, and physical and mental wellbeing, in veterinary practice

Practical Practice Nurse Skills

This practical module is intended to ensure you can demonstrate advanced application of the following practice nursing skills:

• Conducting effective nursing consultations
• Reviewing nutrition in companion animals
• Effectively market nursing clinics, consultations and/or district nursing services
• Taking and/or assisting with laboratory diagnostic techniques
• Applying the legal principles affecting prescription
• Clinically supervising student veterinary nurses, student veterinary surgeons, newly qualified personnel, and auxiliary staff

Embedded within this qualification is the content required for you to become a Suitably Qualified Person (SQP) for companion animals, allowing you to prescribe and/or supply certain veterinary medicinal products.

You will complete a skills portfolio, one written assignment, three synoptic case studies, an online examination, and a practical examination which consists of a 45-minute long case scenario practical, followed by a 15-minute professional discussion.

Our online, distance learning courses can be started at any time. You will work through your online course materials at a time that is convenient to you and be supported by a personal tutor.

Applicants must be registered with the RCVS as a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN), or hold internationally equivalent qualifications and registration.

You should be employed in, or have agreed access to a placement in, a suitable veterinary practice for at least 20 hours per week. You should also have a mentor agreed in practice who is a veterinary surgeon, or an RVN who holds an appropriate qualification at level 5 or above to support you and act as an expert witness. It is suggested that the mentor and learner have a minimum of 3 hours a week allocated working in clinical practice together.

Please note: As our courses include online learning components, students are required to have access to a PC or laptop with a reliable internet connection.

£3,300 (or £2,200 at the start of the programme, and £1,100 at the start of year two)

Awarding Body Fees:

• VetSkill Registration fee: £264
• Written Exam: £166
• Practical Exam: £595

All students or employers are required to pay the awarding body fees in addition to the course fees. Please note that these are recharged at cost and may be subject to change.

Loan Options

Advanced Learner Loan
If you are over 19 years of age and living in England you may be entitled to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to help fund your studies (subject to loan availability). The maximum amount you can receive from student finance is currently £2,176. This means there will be an outstanding balance left to pay. This outstanding balance can be paid in full (one single payment of £1,124 before the course begins), annually (two annual payments: £750 at the start of the programme, and £374 at the start of year 2), or you can apply for a Loans2Learn to cover the outstanding amount.

CAW Loans2Learn
Course fees must be paid in full before the course begins. If you are unable to do so, we offer a personal loan scheme (Loans2Learn) that can help you to spread the cost into manageable monthly payments over a period of up to five years, subject to eligibility. It can be used to fully, or partially, cover your course fee (but does not cover any awarding body fees, such as enrolment and examination fees which are payable on top). More information can be found here.

The current rate of interest for a CAW Loans2Learn is 9%. Click on the calculator icon to calculate your monthly repayment options based on different repayment term lengths.

Example repayment - a Loans2Learn loan for the full course fee of £3,300 over 5 years would equate to monthly repayments of approximately £69 per month (please note this is an indicative price based on current fees and interest rates).

General Advice
Sources of financial help can be found on our student finance page. Before making any financial decision, it is recommended that you seek advice from an independent source, for example the Money Advice Service.

If you have not achieved your qualification by the planned end date detailed in your individual learning plan, continued support and course access is available by paying monthly direct debit payments, or applying for a supplementary or increased loan, until certification is achieved.

These are current figures and may be subject to change. The differences in course fees reflect the level of funding that is available as a result of government policies and priorities. These may be as a result of age, employment status, previous education achievements, or location for example, and are outside the control of The College of Animal Welfare.

On completion of this qualification, you will be able to work to a ‘mastery’ level in practice and consulting environments, and provide an advanced standard of clinical care and customer service to both patients and clients.

After completing this advanced veterinary nurse qualification, you could undertake further training. For instance, you could pursue further training by undertaking an additional advanced veterinary nursing qualification, or topping up your qualification to degree level.

Almost all of our students are in a similar situation – balancing work and family around their study. Apart from the monthly live support sessions, when you carry out your college work is up to you. Someone people find that doing a little in the evenings works for them, others take a day at the weekend. The course material is online for you to work through at a time convenient to you, so there is plenty of time to schedule it around other commitments.

We recommend that you allocate around 5-8 hours per week, this can be done at a time convenient to you.

Yes, you will need to come along to our Huntingdon centre for a practical preparation day towards the end of the course. You will then take your practical examination at VetSkill head office, which is very close to our Huntingdon centre in Cambridgeshire.

There is no need to attend a college centre to take the online examination, it can be done via remote invigilation from your home or place of work.

It may be possible if you are a UK registered veterinary nurse living overseas, but it would depend on your individual circumstances. The best thing to do would be to get in touch with us and we can discuss your situation and goals to see what is possible.