Veterinary Nurse
Hello,
Im having bit of a crisis at the moment well and not sure what to do!
In 2004 i studied a HND fine art but i never finished it, years later i decided that i wanted to work with animals so im completing a course in animal management.
I have applied for uni and so far have 3 offers but i didnt realise that i would have to pay for my first year, i cant get hold of 9000! So i am thinking about the rest of my options.
I thought about doing a veterinary nurse diploma at my college which will be cheaper but im not sure.
I need help and advice do i try and find the money for uni or go and do the diploma for 2 years for 3000.
Im having bit of a crisis at the moment well and not sure what to do!
In 2004 i studied a HND fine art but i never finished it, years later i decided that i wanted to work with animals so im completing a course in animal management.
I have applied for uni and so far have 3 offers but i didnt realise that i would have to pay for my first year, i cant get hold of 9000! So i am thinking about the rest of my options.
I thought about doing a veterinary nurse diploma at my college which will be cheaper but im not sure.
I need help and advice do i try and find the money for uni or go and do the diploma for 2 years for 3000.
It is up to you really, whether you can realistically get the money, and which course you would prefer.
Why would you have to pay for the first year yourself?
Why would you have to pay for the first year yourself?
I studied my first year for the HND then enrolled for the second but dropped out after the first day therefore, im not entitled to funding.
I can afford the diploma as its cheaper as ive nearly go the money to pay for the first year in my savings but i need to beg my dad and stepmum to let me stay at theirs for another 2 years, i dont know where i can get the sort of money from for uni.
I can afford the diploma as its cheaper as ive nearly go the money to pay for the first year in my savings but i need to beg my dad and stepmum to let me stay at theirs for another 2 years, i dont know where i can get the sort of money from for uni.
for the diploma you have to be already employed in a veterinary practice before you are able to start the course to train - if you can find a training practice that will take you on as a trainee nurse then the diploma is good, however trainee nurse positions can be difficult to find.
for uni you can do the course and unis may well help you to find a practice which will take you on as a student which uni's have you got offers from?
for uni you can do the course and unis may well help you to find a practice which will take you on as a student which uni's have you got offers from?
Well ive applied for Zoology and have recieved offerd from LJMU, Anglia Ruskin, Hull and Bangor. Im still waiting for Cornwall College to get back to me.
Well the vet nursing course isnt available till 2013. So ive got no idea what to do. If i get into cornwall then the fees are only £6000. Which i can try to take a loan out for.
Well the vet nursing course isnt available till 2013. So ive got no idea what to do. If i get into cornwall then the fees are only £6000. Which i can try to take a loan out for.
it depends what you want to do after the degree - what job do you want to get from doing your zoology degree? if you wanna be a vet nurse then do the vet nursing, if its something else relating to animals and not work as a vet nurse then go for zoology. its up to you really - what your gonna get out of it
Original post by alice456
for the diploma you have to be already employed in a veterinary practice before you are able to start the course to train - if you can find a training practice that will take you on as a trainee nurse then the diploma is good, however trainee nurse positions can be difficult to find.
for uni you can do the course and unis may well help you to find a practice which will take you on as a student which uni's have you got offers from?
for uni you can do the course and unis may well help you to find a practice which will take you on as a student which uni's have you got offers from?
How is a person supposed to enter this sector, if they bring all these crazy critieria and rules, that effectively put an end to some people ever getting to do a course in vet nursing.
If someone is willing and able to fund a course, then why do they have requirements for previous experience. Who in the uk actually trains you without the requirements of previous experience ?
Its totally nuts. In any university in the country, you can get in to any course you desire, dependent on your grades, fair enough. It seems in the veterinary world, something that should be rather straightforward, is made quite deliberately complicated for no good reason.
Its a catch 22 situation. Cant train because no one will give you on the job experience ( free), cant take a course , because the rcvs say you need experience first. Perhaps its a cynical view, but i think maybe they want to keep the veterinary sector elitist and out of reach for your average joe.
(edited 10 years ago)
Original post by easyboss
How is a person supposed to enter this sector, if they bring all these crazy critieria and rules, that effectively put an end to some people ever getting to do a course in vet nursing.
If someone is willing and able to fund a course, then why do they have requirements for previous experience. Who in the uk actually trains you without the requirements of previous experience ?
Its totally nuts. In any university in the country, you can get in to any course you desire, dependent on your grades, fair enough. It seems in the veterinary world, something that should be rather straightforward, is made quite deliberately complicated for no good reason.
Its a catch 22 situation. Cant train because no one will give you on the job experience ( free), cant take a course , because the rcvs say you need experience first. Perhaps its a cynical view, but i think maybe they want to keep the veterinary sector elitist and out of reach for your average joe.
If someone is willing and able to fund a course, then why do they have requirements for previous experience. Who in the uk actually trains you without the requirements of previous experience ?
Its totally nuts. In any university in the country, you can get in to any course you desire, dependent on your grades, fair enough. It seems in the veterinary world, something that should be rather straightforward, is made quite deliberately complicated for no good reason.
Its a catch 22 situation. Cant train because no one will give you on the job experience ( free), cant take a course , because the rcvs say you need experience first. Perhaps its a cynical view, but i think maybe they want to keep the veterinary sector elitist and out of reach for your average joe.
A lot of practices will let you do day volunteering with them, so building that up over weeks/months for your Uni application is generally pretty straight forward. But that depends on if there is staff available to watch over you - and if the practice doesn't already have students/volunteers available. Which is all understandable. Practices arn't just being mean for 'no reason' type thing.
Getting the actual placement for the apprenticeships are a million times harder as you need to be able to find a registered Training Practice to take you on to do your training. These are scarce and there is generally a huge (1/2 year+ waiting list) for potential SVN's. Vet Nursing is a hugely popular course.
Getting into University for Vet Nursing is a thousand times easier than doing the Diploma or Apprenticeship. (If you're capable of getting the grades!)
Uni is a case of 'getting work experience and grades'. Most vets/farms are happy to have an extra pair of hands that are free, so if you offer your time once a week, or something similar, then there's generally not an issue getting volunteering experience.
Diploma/Apprenticeship is 'find impossible placement after a year+ wait on a list'.
One is about skill and putting time in, the other is about pure pot luck or having connections within a practice already. I really don't think the struggle for a place has anything to do with keeping the veterinary profession "elitist" at all.
You do not have to jump through a thousand hoops to become a vet nurse, you have to work your butt off, put the time in and LUCK out on a placement.
I'm waiting on a placement to open up to train as a SVN, I haven't got the grades for University (circumstances prevented that...) so I'm working whilst waiting. I started to do an animal care course (had to quit, sigh), building up rapport with my vets, etc. Yeah it's not ideal, but if you don't want the uni route, it's reeeeeally hard.
I am in no way belittling vet nursing studying at uni (I'm jealous!). I'm not saying one course is harder than another when you're training. Just that it's more... luck based when going for diploma.
But people do it. + it's not just the elite.
Original post by Mayden
A lot of practices will let you do day volunteering with them, so building that up over weeks/months for your Uni application is generally pretty straight forward. But that depends on if there is staff available to watch over you - and if the practice doesn't already have students/volunteers available. Which is all understandable. Practices arn't just being mean for 'no reason' type thing.
Getting the actual placement for the apprenticeships are a million times harder as you need to be able to find a registered Training Practice to take you on to do your training. These are scarce and there is generally a huge (1/2 year+ waiting list) for potential SVN's. Vet Nursing is a hugely popular course.
Getting into University for Vet Nursing is a thousand times easier than doing the Diploma or Apprenticeship. (If you're capable of getting the grades!)
Uni is a case of 'getting work experience and grades'. Most vets/farms are happy to have an extra pair of hands that are free, so if you offer your time once a week, or something similar, then there's generally not an issue getting volunteering experience.
Diploma/Apprenticeship is 'find impossible placement after a year+ wait on a list'.
One is about skill and putting time in, the other is about pure pot luck or having connections within a practice already. I really don't think the struggle for a place has anything to do with keeping the veterinary profession "elitist" at all.
You do not have to jump through a thousand hoops to become a vet nurse, you have to work your butt off, put the time in and LUCK out on a placement.
I'm waiting on a placement to open up to train as a SVN, I haven't got the grades for University (circumstances prevented that...) so I'm working whilst waiting. I started to do an animal care course (had to quit, sigh), building up rapport with my vets, etc. Yeah it's not ideal, but if you don't want the uni route, it's reeeeeally hard.
I am in no way belittling vet nursing studying at uni (I'm jealous!). I'm not saying one course is harder than another when you're training. Just that it's more... luck based when going for diploma.
But people do it. + it's not just the elite.
Getting the actual placement for the apprenticeships are a million times harder as you need to be able to find a registered Training Practice to take you on to do your training. These are scarce and there is generally a huge (1/2 year+ waiting list) for potential SVN's. Vet Nursing is a hugely popular course.
Getting into University for Vet Nursing is a thousand times easier than doing the Diploma or Apprenticeship. (If you're capable of getting the grades!)
Uni is a case of 'getting work experience and grades'. Most vets/farms are happy to have an extra pair of hands that are free, so if you offer your time once a week, or something similar, then there's generally not an issue getting volunteering experience.
Diploma/Apprenticeship is 'find impossible placement after a year+ wait on a list'.
One is about skill and putting time in, the other is about pure pot luck or having connections within a practice already. I really don't think the struggle for a place has anything to do with keeping the veterinary profession "elitist" at all.
You do not have to jump through a thousand hoops to become a vet nurse, you have to work your butt off, put the time in and LUCK out on a placement.
I'm waiting on a placement to open up to train as a SVN, I haven't got the grades for University (circumstances prevented that...) so I'm working whilst waiting. I started to do an animal care course (had to quit, sigh), building up rapport with my vets, etc. Yeah it's not ideal, but if you don't want the uni route, it's reeeeeally hard.
I am in no way belittling vet nursing studying at uni (I'm jealous!). I'm not saying one course is harder than another when you're training. Just that it's more... luck based when going for diploma.
But people do it. + it's not just the elite.
Thanks for your reply Mayden. Very helpful. I was a tad exasperated when I made my post, because of conflicting Information that I was receiving.
One organisation told me that I could not take on any voluntary In-house training, unless I was first booked onto a course. Then a course provider told me that I could not enrol on a course unless I first got some In-house experience lol.
Anyway, I have spoken directly to the college concerned. I have now been told quite categorically, that I can take the Veterinary Care Assistant ( Level 2) Diploma, WITHOUT any work experience. I will be asking a ton of questions at the open day up here in Edinburgh.
Original post by easyboss
Thanks for your reply Mayden. Very helpful. I was a tad exasperated when I made my post, because of conflicting Information that I was receiving.
One organisation told me that I could not take on any voluntary In-house training, unless I was first booked onto a course. Then a course provider told me that I could not enrol on a course unless I first got some In-house experience lol.
Anyway, I have spoken directly to the college concerned. I have now been told quite categorically, that I can take the Veterinary Care Assistant ( Level 2) Diploma, WITHOUT any work experience. I will be asking a ton of questions at the open day up here in Edinburgh.
One organisation told me that I could not take on any voluntary In-house training, unless I was first booked onto a course. Then a course provider told me that I could not enrol on a course unless I first got some In-house experience lol.
Anyway, I have spoken directly to the college concerned. I have now been told quite categorically, that I can take the Veterinary Care Assistant ( Level 2) Diploma, WITHOUT any work experience. I will be asking a ton of questions at the open day up here in Edinburgh.
Oh I understand, I currently work in a pretty lame job and have cried many times over my lack of ability to find a practice to take me on for the apprenticeship (can't afford the lack of earnings for a college course either.) It's incredibly frustrating.
The last time I tried to get into a practice I wanted, they'd taken another college girl in just 2 or 3 weeks before!
So now I'm on her radar, they're my current vet, and the nurse just adores me. 
She keeps me in the loop of any practices she knows about that are taking people on/have just lost staff. So fingers crossed I'm schmoozing my way in. I expect it's going to be another year before I get anywhere with my vet nursing however, but that's just how it is.If you can worm your way in to things like the RSPCA, then when you've got the experience volunteering there, vets will look at you more seriously as a volunteer, and then on to an actual candidate etc. In that sense it requires a lot of loop jumping, but it's pretty straight forward really.
I hope you get all the answers you want. I'm pretty clued up as I've been trying to get into VN for just under 2 years now and have explored most routes. However I'm unfamilar with things way up North
Good luck!
I think that the Regulatory body, the RCVS, need to seriously re-think their entry routes to the profession. In a day and age of learning for all, there certainly is a roadblock of sorts to entry, be it through a lack of gaining experience, or having access to courses.
If you wanted to enter any other profession, then you will see that there are clear and unfettered access to those professions. Look at law, or medicine, as a case in point.
If you wanted to become a lawyer, or take legal education at uni, then there is a clear entry route. If your a mature returner to education, then you take an access course. You pass this, and there is a 99 percent chance that you can go on to study law,and get your access to the profession in time.
Same for medicine. You can take your access course, and if capable academically, you can go on and become successful. Point being, no other discipline has so many obstacles in its path from the initial stages of entry, other than the veterinary industry. Take a look at entry to become a veterinary surgeon. Its easier to become an astronaut lol.
It is something that needs looked at asap. In an ideal world, you find a course, lets say the level 2 diploma in veterinary nursing. On average, a 12 month course. Through this course, the college uses its `contacts` through the 12 month period, to give you a few placements of say 4 weeks or so. That would make any course a nice rounded one, as it gives you a hands on experience too.
Up here in Scotland, we only have ONE university, running the BSc veterinary Nursing degree course, whereas down in england, there are several. This would be my preferred route to the industry. Glasgow university do several courses, but they all revolve around medicine, and aspire to those, respectfully, who want to become more than just veterinary nurses.
P.S. Statistics show that retention rates are low, for veterinary nurses. So keep plugging on, im sure you will get your spot at some point.
If you wanted to enter any other profession, then you will see that there are clear and unfettered access to those professions. Look at law, or medicine, as a case in point.
If you wanted to become a lawyer, or take legal education at uni, then there is a clear entry route. If your a mature returner to education, then you take an access course. You pass this, and there is a 99 percent chance that you can go on to study law,and get your access to the profession in time.
Same for medicine. You can take your access course, and if capable academically, you can go on and become successful. Point being, no other discipline has so many obstacles in its path from the initial stages of entry, other than the veterinary industry. Take a look at entry to become a veterinary surgeon. Its easier to become an astronaut lol.
It is something that needs looked at asap. In an ideal world, you find a course, lets say the level 2 diploma in veterinary nursing. On average, a 12 month course. Through this course, the college uses its `contacts` through the 12 month period, to give you a few placements of say 4 weeks or so. That would make any course a nice rounded one, as it gives you a hands on experience too.
Up here in Scotland, we only have ONE university, running the BSc veterinary Nursing degree course, whereas down in england, there are several. This would be my preferred route to the industry. Glasgow university do several courses, but they all revolve around medicine, and aspire to those, respectfully, who want to become more than just veterinary nurses.
P.S. Statistics show that retention rates are low, for veterinary nurses. So keep plugging on, im sure you will get your spot at some point.
Has anyone read this report ? Doesnt make inspiring reading. A few years old but still worrying.
http://www.lantra.co.uk/Downloads/Research/Research-reports/Veterinary-Nursing-Man-Power-Report-(April-2004).aspx
http://www.lantra.co.uk/Downloads/Research/Research-reports/Veterinary-Nursing-Man-Power-Report-(April-2004).aspx
Original post by easyboss
How is a person supposed to enter this sector, if they bring all these crazy critieria and rules, that effectively put an end to some people ever getting to do a course in vet nursing.
If someone is willing and able to fund a course, then why do they have requirements for previous experience. Who in the uk actually trains you without the requirements of previous experience ?
Its totally nuts. In any university in the country, you can get in to any course you desire, dependent on your grades, fair enough. It seems in the veterinary world, something that should be rather straightforward, is made quite deliberately complicated for no good reason.
Its a catch 22 situation. Cant train because no one will give you on the job experience ( free), cant take a course , because the rcvs say you need experience first. Perhaps its a cynical view, but i think maybe they want to keep the veterinary sector elitist and out of reach for your average joe.
If someone is willing and able to fund a course, then why do they have requirements for previous experience. Who in the uk actually trains you without the requirements of previous experience ?
Its totally nuts. In any university in the country, you can get in to any course you desire, dependent on your grades, fair enough. It seems in the veterinary world, something that should be rather straightforward, is made quite deliberately complicated for no good reason.
Its a catch 22 situation. Cant train because no one will give you on the job experience ( free), cant take a course , because the rcvs say you need experience first. Perhaps its a cynical view, but i think maybe they want to keep the veterinary sector elitist and out of reach for your average joe.
sorry for the v. late reply. I think the reason that they want experience is so the practice knows that it is definitely the job and course for you. With finding work ex, I found that writing loads of letters to practices and cold calling after a couple of weeks if you havent had a reply helps and make it clear that you want to be a vet nurse. Getting work ex at training practices is a good idea as you can find out how the other SVNs got jobs there and if they like you there is more chance of them offering you a position over someone who has not done work ex. Have you made any progress with finding a position? I am currently on the vet nursing foundation course at harper, so if you have questions just ask
hope this is helpful to you :PQuick Reply
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