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work experience

how old should i be to start writing to vet practices for work experience?

Hi Sophie

Which vet course are you looking to do as is it veterinary nursing or vet surgery...!!!
Check with your local vet practices on this okay.
I'm a BSC qualified vet nurse.

This is for veterinary nursing below :-
What qualifications do I need to start training as a veterinary nurse?
The minimum academic requirements to train as a veterinary nurse are:

You must have a minimum of 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C (or 9-4), including English Language, Mathematics and a Science subject. Students with Scottish qualifications are required to have 5 subjects at a National 5 or Higher/Advance Higher at level A, B or C; to include Maths, English and a Science.

If you do not have the required GCSEs, you may wish to consider the Level 2 Diploma for Veterinary Care Assistants course. This qualification, along with English and Maths GCSEs (A*to C) or Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Maths will be an acceptable alternative.

Other entry requirements relating to work experience, employment status or additional qualifications may be required depending on the course, particularly with Higher Education programmes. It is advisable to check with the individual college/university you are looking to apply to as to what is required for each course.

Getting into the profession
You must be a minimum of 16 years of age to train as a veterinary nurse.

Increasingly there are large numbers of people wanting to join the profession and so entry onto a veterinary nursing programme can be very competitive with numbers as high as seven applicants for every available place. Given this, course providers will look at grades, references from veterinary practices (where you have gained work experience) in support of your application and your commitment and knowledge of the profession you will be joining.

If you are looking to undertake diploma level training, employment in a Veterinary Training Practice or a confirmed work placement will go a long way to support your course application.

Original post by sophiewilder

how old should i be to start writing to vet practices for work experience?

Reply 2

Vetgirl07

Typically, for veterinary medicine, only work experience achieved up to 3 years before the application (ie year 10 onwards if you intend on applying in year 13) will be counted towards the university requirements so I wouldn’t worry about getting work experience arranged before then. Once you’re at that stage keep contacting practices to try to get it arranged.

Some practices are a bit picky with the age of students and I found that a few places didn’t take anyone under the age of 16 (which was frustrating as I have a summer birthday). That’s not to say that nowhere will take you if you’re 14/15, there’s no harm in asking and the worst case scenario is that they’ll say no.

Reply 3

TheMixedVet

Most veterinary practices won't be willing to take anybody under 16 for insurance purposes. I would try and get atleast a week as young as possible then you know if the career is likely to be for you - it is a lot of sacrifice to make to come out not wanting to be a vet (and there are several people in my year who have realised this far too late). Placement at that stage isn't going to count towards your uni application - and the bulk of this placement will likely be done from the summer before starting sixth form onwards. As much experience as possible is great, but think outside the box - the requirements for uni application stretch beyond just veterinary practices for a reason. You will gain far more out of farm/kennel/stable work than you will standing in the corner of a vet practice for the uni application stage.