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Veterinary Nursing at University Centre Reaseheath - UCAS

Course summary

As the range of responsibilities held by veterinary nurses increases, practices are looking for veterinary nurses qualified at degree level to fulfil this requirement. If you have the motivation and commitment to build a career within the veterinary nursing profession, this degree is for you. Accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), this course enables you to develop a range of professional skills, knowledge and competencies needed in the veterinary nursing profession. You will enjoy a unique combination of academic study and practical learning, utilising our animal centre and dedicated clinical training facility to advance your skills and knowledge. This will be reinforced through the completion of a clinical placement* in an approved veterinary training practice. This course is still subject to provisional accreditation by the RCVS. As with any RCVS validated course, this course will not receive full accreditation until the first cohort has graduated. This does not affect your final qualification. Programme Modification - Pending approval This course is currently being reviewed. In response to student and stakeholder feedback, we anticipate that there will be some minor changes to the course for September 2025 entry. Once these are approved by our validating partner, the University of Chester, we will update our published information and communicate changes to existing applicants. *Travel arrangements at your own cost. Course Features

  • Learn in our modern laboratories, clinical skills suite and diagnostic imaging suite
  • Work with our industry-standard anaesthetic, radiography and theatre equipment
  • Use ultrasound imaging, endoscopy and prep facilities
  • Accredited by RCVS
  • Clinical placement for a minimum of 52 weeks
Career Options
  • Veterinary nurse
  • Lecturer
  • Clinical coach
  • Practice manager
  • Drug representative
  • Head nurse
  • Referral and specialist nurse
  • Training practice liaison
  • Workplace assessor

Modules

Year 1 (Level 4) – all modules are compulsory · Comparative Functional Anatomy and Physiology · Companion Animal Husbandry, Behaviour and Welfare · Professional Practice and Communication Skills · Veterinary Operational Standards and Legislation · Foundation Skills in Veterinary Nursing · Introduction to Scientific Communication · Clinical Placement (6 weeks) Year 2 (Level 5) – all modules are compulsory · Diagnostic Imaging and Laboratory Skills · Hospitalisation and Care of Companion Animals · Companion Animal Surgical Support and Perioperative Care · Clinical Placement (21 weeks) Year 3 (Level 5) – all modules are compulsory · Anaesthesiology for Veterinary Nursing · Evidence-based Clinical Practice · Research Methods · Clinical Placement (21 weeks) Year 4 (Level 6) – compulsory modules · Dissertation · Veterinary Nurse-led Clinics · Advances in Veterinary Nursing Year 4 (Level 6) – optional modules · Care, Nursing and Rehabilitation of Wildlife and Exotic Species AND Animal Rehabilitation Therapies Or · Clinical Animal Behaviour AND Animal Assisted Interventions Students must also complete the OSCEs for Veterinary Nursing during Year 4.

Assessment method

Assessment will take a variety of forms including reports, essays, academic posters, presentations, clinical role play and examinations. Assessment components will be identified in line with the University of Chester modular framework guidance. An additional requirement of the assessment strategy will be the demonstration of clinical skills competence through observation during clinical placement This programme is accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as conveying a license to practise. This means that successful graduates are eligible to apply for entry to the register of veterinary nurses and use the post-nominal RVN. Students are expected to complete and pass all the identified modules at the required level of study in order to progress to the following year. To successfully progress to the next level of study, students are required to achieve the minimum weighted module mark of 40% for each module. In addition, for specified modules at Levels 4 and 5, each item of assessment in the module must achieve the minimum threshold attainment of 40%. If an item of assessment within a module is failed (i.e. it does not achieve the minimum mark of 40%), a reassessment opportunity may be offered. Whilst the format of a reassessment is likely to be the same as the original assessment, the specific details will be different. Failure to complete outstanding components of assessment may result in the student not being eligible for progression. Students must complete and achieve the requirements of the clinical placement before they are eligible to take the OSCEs. A variety of assessment forms are included in this programme. These include written reports, presentations, case studies, research proposals, workbooks, academic posters and written and practical exams. Typically, students will complete 2 to 3 items of assessment for each module which will include a combination of the assessment types identified above. A number of modules in years 1 to 3 include written and practical exams in line with RCVS requirements. In addition, students undertake a formative assessment at the start of the programme. This is designed to help identify any additional support needs the student may have but also to establish expectations in terms of the requirements of higher education level work. Formative assessment opportunities are built into all modules through the use of in-class activities such as question and answer, debates and seminar discussions and through the completion of activities using the virtual learning environment, Moodle. Details of all assessments are made available to students at the start of the academic year, typically via their course handbook. This includes details of the modules, assessment components, learning outcomes assessed and launch, submission and return dates. Each coursework assessment is accompanied by a specific brief that provides details of the assessment task along with the assessment and grading criteria that will be used for marking purposes.

Professional bodies

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

  • Veterinary Surgeons, Royal College of

How to apply

Application codes

Course code:
VN01
Institution code:
R14
Campus name:
University Centre Reaseheath
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 4

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Mature students (aged 21+) will be considered on an individual basis on their prior knowledge and experience. This may be assessed by interview, completion of coursework/essay or other methods. There may be a requirement for a formal qualification to be completed first e.g. Access to HE course.

Please click the following link to find out more about qualification requirements for this course

https://ucreaseheath.ac.uk/ucr-courses/bsc-hons-veterinary-nursing/

Additional entry requirements

Interview

Successfully shortlisted applicants will be invited to an interview with a member of the Veterinary Nursing team. Decisions will be made based on interview performance, entry qualifications and acquired work experience with supporting references.

Other

140 hours work experience with companion animals, 70 hours of which to be in a veterinary practice. This need not be in blocks but can be made up by hours and days. A minimum of 37 hours in a veterinary practice will be required for successful interview shortlisting.


Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students

There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £13000 Year 1
England £9250 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 Year 1
Scotland £9250 Year 1
Wales £9250 Year 1
Channel Islands £9250 Year 1
International £13000 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

This programme includes significant periods of compulsory clinical placement. Students should consider the costs associated with accommodation, travel, subsistence etc that are likely to arise from this when selecting their clinical placement provider. Students may also wish to purchase their own personal copies of recommended set-texts to assist them in their studies and to support them whilst on clinical placement. A full list of recommended texts is available prior to enrolment. It is not essential to purchase key texts as the campus library is well stocked and has multiple copies of the main texts. *Equipment Costs* Pens Pencils Notepad A laptop that is windows compatible Scientific calculator – can use mobile phones Leaver arch files or equivalent USB memory stick/hard drive or cloud based digital storage space Protective steel toe capped boots (£20 min) Sensible clothing Dark coloured clothes that can be easily cleaned Vet nursing scrub tops (£25) purchased from the online shop Fob watch for practice placement – about £3-£5 Lab coat Prices of equipment are subject to change dependent on retailer.
Veterinary Nursing at University Centre Reaseheath - UCAS