No more portfolios for student VNs

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Samantha Evans — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 14:34:37 GMT

Yes what happens to the trainee veterinary nurses that are already in full time employment as a trainee vet nurse waiting to start the day release training next year?!Who can not afford to be out of full time work?!

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Helen Patience — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:24:19 GMT

I hated writing my portfolio with a burning passion, yet even I am forced to admit that it was an important tool in my training. Writing caselogs made me stop and think about what I had been doing, and made me do plenty of extra background reading. Simplification would definitely be beneficial, but abandoning the portfolio altogether would be a backward step.

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:34:56 GMT

I have worked in veterinary practice for 5 years and have just completed my VCA. My practice is very reluctant to put me one to my first year due to the amount of paperwork involved. This would be very time consuming as I work in a very small practice. If the RCVS where to simplify its bureaucracy maybe more small practises would be willing to train. The only whey I can now do my training is to get a job at our out of hour’s hospital which is very difficult (I’ve tried). So changing the system will do nothing but make more competition for jobs which there are all ready to little.

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Kirja — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:30:02 GMT

Hey! I am a 4th year degree SVN and I love portofolio! Yes it is a bit lengthy and a lot of paper work but it makes me do some stuff like trigene concentrations which I would not have reseached by myself!

The course could be a bit shorter - 3 years may be, as we do get a lot of holidays, but otherwise I am always working in practice doing my work experience and not just sitting in classroom!

In a way I am a bit jelous that those new students will have less debt than me but hey - I love what I am doing and I will continue doing it!

Sorry I did not have any constructive proposals, its just my thoughts on the whole issue.

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

pennypotter — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:27:28 GMT

Although many comments here show valid concerns I do feel that some of you should take the time to read the proposals fully. Although the first year is college based a full time course is only two days a week of teaching. 25 days is the minimum amount of placement to be completed but students would be encouraged to undertake as much as they were able. A two day week would make this accessible. It is very easy to condem the proposals but veterinary nurse training is well overdue an overhaul and I would suggest to the negative amoung you that perhaps your comments would hold more weigh if you could bring some constructive ideas to the forum.

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

tinydancer — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:46:05 GMT

Im currently a nursing assistant and will hopefully train next september, am i right in thinking that my course will now last three years?!!

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

rosalyn cooper — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:48:39 GMT

i'm doing my ana this year and would like to do vn next but not sure now if they change everything!! i've got a house and life to pay for on a bad wage already!! not sure???

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

zeebee — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:59:34 GMT

I agree with Lynn. As an assessor I applaud anything which simplifies the portfolio. A halfway stage between little green book and current standards would be great. When I did the 'green book' my practical training was taken seriously by my mentors and was not simply as case of ticking boxes. Many of my students have been great nurses, but have not found it easy to articulate their practical ability which has resulted in them (and me!) spending an enormous amount of effort on the portfolio despite passing exams first time.

Practical and theoretical skills should be learnt alongside each other, it simply does not make sense to have one without the other.

I also agree that farm and equine skills should be kept as an additional qualification. Why spend time learning a subject that the majority of nurses may never use?

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

andrea downes — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:53:27 GMT

If you look on the proposal, the "secondment" year in a vet practice does not have to be paid employment. This concerns me as the students nurses do not even have to be paid a minimum wage. How many people realistically can afford to commit to this type of training? What about all the mature students who desperatley want to become vet nurses and struggle as it is coming from a higher wage back to a trainee wage?

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:36:46 GMT

As an assessor I fully agree that the Portfolio has become time comsuming with all the paper work involved, however if it could be simplified it is a vast improvement on the 'little green book'. The portfolio shows the knowledge the student has gained and their practical skills - it is also shows the student what they have achieved.

Pratical experience is essenstial as ours is a practical job. Students need hands on while someone is guiding them as to why they are doing what they are doing. The deeper theory needs to be learnt in the classroom but they need the pratical experience first to be able to relate to the theory.

I feel farm animals and equine should be kept seperate and become an additional qualification should an individual nurse require/want it.

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Emma Hollingworth — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:16:44 GMT

these proposals will degrade the profession, degree students do lack practical skills and feel these this new framework will land nvq students in the same boat, I feel that entry to the vet nurse qualification should include work experience, to ensure that you are that special kind of person it takes to do our job.

the portfolio is time consuming but if you can get through that then you have definately deserved your qualification!!there must be some way of quality assurance which the portfolio provides whether done through direct obs or caselogs, it shows competence, we have also worked very hard to maintain TP status and allowing any practice to train could lead to poor mentorship from anybody!

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

cat_w86 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:52:14 GMT

I agree that the portfolio needs simplifying, and maybe someone should have a look at Bristol Universities method of assessment using the clinical assessment tool. Taking away the portfolio could be detrimental to our profession and effect the standard and quality of nurses produced.

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Sarah Scott — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:25:51 GMT

Prior to becoming a student VN I was a human nurse. Something similar to the RCVS proposals was done in human nursing a few years ago with detrimental consequences for nursing-academically brilliant trained nurses who had little practical experience!

While I agree that the portfolio is over the top and needs simplifing, I can't stress enough the value of hands on, practice based experience.

In the 16 months that I have worked in a TP I have acquired so much practical knowledge. I can't see how you can gain experience in dealing with clients and handling their pets in a college classroom!

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Frog77 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:29:12 GMT

As an assessor the thought of less/ no portfolio work is tempting, however I strongly feel that the quality of nurses qualifying will drop dramatically. Veterinary nursing will always be a practical, hands on job. Over the years I have seen qualified degree nurses who have no practical ability and in reverse nurses who try to do the practical side of the job, find they are not competent and choose to go into the full time degree course instead! In my opinion this is a waste of their time as they are unlikely to develop the practical skills required.

I work for a practice which recruits and trains nurses with no prior experience. For some, the reality of the work (emotional, physical and financial) comes as a shock and they choose to rethink their options anbd go down more lucrative avenues. It would be a great shame for potential nurses to spend 1 or 2 years doing their theory only to find that the practical aspects of the job are not for them. I wonder if there will be an entry requirement of a number of weeks work experience at least?

RE: No more portfolios for student VNs

Katie Johnston — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:46:44 GMT

I think this would be fantastic in many way but also bad in others.I would love to have my small animal nursing but also to do the equine nursing as with a yard of 10 horses a deeper knowledge then just 1st aid and nutritional understanding would be very usefull. But i dont think there is much replacement for the case logs, that is where you realise where you need further depth of knowledge, if you cant put it on paper how can you express yourself clearly to impatient vets or owners! I have recently got Distinction pass at ANA from a practice that offered me no help or training whatsoever and i had to fight to get case logs!! Problem is there are no training practices taking on new nurses for training or fully qualified nurses, in the last 2 yrs here i think i have only seen 2 maybe 3 positions for a trainee nurse how can i move ahead? Maybe it would encourage more practices to hire trainees and become TPs if there was only 1 year of training and college costs?