Criminal records declaration (DBS/Disclosure Scotland)

All firm offer holders are required to complete a criminal convictions declaration before enrolling on to this course.

Health checks

Enrolment will be subject to passing an Occupational Health assessment. Applicants should also read the RCVS' guidance on Day One Competencies: https://www.rcvs.org.uk/document-library/rcvs-day-one-skills-for-veterinary-nurses/

Interview

All applicants to this course must attend an interview if invited and cannot receive an offer without attending an interview. Interviews usually take place at our Hawkshead campus, normally in late February. Invitations to interview are sent by email around 2-3 weeks before the interview date. Once issued, applicants are required to respond to their interview invitation by email within 5 working days. If invited, it may not be possible to rearrange an interview for a different date, so applicants must ensure they are available for interview before applying and inform us by email of any specific days when they are unavailable. Please note that if you apply to more than one of our Veterinary Nursing courses and your application progresses to the interview stage, you will be invited to attend one interview only which will be used in our assessment of each of your applications.

Other

You will need to have completed the minimum work experience requirements to enter onto the course: A total of 70 hours (e.g. 10 full days) of work experience (paid or voluntary) in one or more small animal or mixed veterinary practices. In addition, we would strongly recommend applicants gain practical experience of handling animals through hands-on animal-related work experience and gaining some experience in this field prior to interview would be advantageous. We are aware that opportunities may differ between candidates and therefore we have no specific hour requirements in this area and there are no specific environments that we require you to gain experience in. If you are looking for experience in this areas, examples of environments you could visit include kennels and catteries (both charities and commercial options), farms, stables, lambing, pet shops, wildlife parks, zoos etc. Preference is given to those who have completed all required work experience by the application deadline. Applications are still encouraged from those whose work experience is ongoing, but to be considered for interview, you must have completed at least 35 hours in a small animal or mixed veterinary practice. Applicants who satisfy our preliminary academic requirements will be sent a Work Experience Form to complete in order for us to gain more information about their work experience placements. Applicants successful in reaching the interview stage will be required to provide references to support the information given on this form. The RVC uses email as the primary method for contacting applicants about their application. Emails may be sent from either [email protected] or [email protected] and applicants are strongly encouraged to take the necessary steps to ensure emails from these addresses do not end up in spam or junk inboxes, as the RVC cannot accept responsibility for any applications that are unsuccessful as a result of missed information or deadlines