Please help a confused newbie :)

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

albatross — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:28:36 GMT

[quote user="Kim Blowing RVN"]

You won't have any trouble getting a job once you are qualified! There are soooo many practices looking for qualified nurses!

[/quote]

and isn't it a shame that there's hardly any looking for trainees......what are these places doing that don't get the staff - are they making do with unqualifieds or are they struggling to cope with the work?

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Kim Buckley — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:09:01 GMT

You won't have any trouble getting a job once you are qualified! There are soooo many practices looking for qualified nurses!

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

KatyW — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:55:58 GMT

I'm definitely going to give some more thought to doing the degree route. I think it is the prospect of starting uni again at the age of 30 that is taking some getting used to! But it's really reassuring to hear so many people say they enjoyed the course and had no probs getting a job afterwards.

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Claire Cameron — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:26:00 GMT

[quote user="Maisy"]

[quote user="Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA"]

Like Kim it opened my eyes to a lot of new and different things, and if I am honest opened my eyes up to not being afraid of change.... which sadly a lot of nurses , especially ones who have worked in the same practice forever! are afraid.

[/quote]

Snap. I LOVED locumming. Great experience

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Maisy — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:17:16 GMT

[quote user="Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA"]

[/quote]

Completely agree, for me it was the best thing I did! After qualifying I stayed in the same practice as became HN and would have probably stayed there forever despite wanting to move on and see other practices. I found locuming great at learning new things and just having a change. This is also what I have found with working with degree SVNs/VNs in practice in that they have generally seen how other practices work and have have useful ideas on different methods.

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Nicola Russell — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:14:03 GMT

Please don't think that I'm slating Degree nurses, I was just reinterating what a vet told me, I do not think the same way as she does.

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Sandra Taylor RVN, MBVNA — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:06:50 GMT

[quote user="Kim Blowing RVN"] I went to at least 4 different practices during my training and saw so many different ways of doing things. [/quote]

This in my opinion should be what employers look at, instead of judging a nurse solely on how they gained their qualification.

I gained mine through the NVQ, but after a year qualified and working in the same practice, I decided to locum for 2 years, and it was the best decision I made, Like Kim it opened my eyes to a lot of new and different things, and if I am honest opened my eyes up to not being afraid of change.... which sadly a lot of nurses , especially ones who have worked in the same practice forever! are afraid. I am not saying all nurses, so dont anyone get on their high horse.

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Kim Buckley — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:35:55 GMT

Hi Katy,

Don't be silly! You haven't opened a can of worms! Sorry for having to have a rant on your thread! Just get fed up of people slating degree nurses, especially when I loved it and wouldn't have chosen a different route.

With some practices advertising for 2nd year students, it's because some people do change practices in the middle of their training. A vet practice will normally prefer to employ a 2nd year over a 1st year simply because they require less training and cost less money!

I live in Oxfordshire and did my degree at the Middlesex/RVC (this has since been changed and they now both have seperate degrees). I don't know of anywhere closer to you that does the degree. Been working with a RVC foundation degree student at my current locum job and she is brilliant! So enthusiastic and knowledgable. I know it costs money and can be a bit of a pain as you have to do blocks of theory at the RVC but I think this route is really good. You get taught by people who are the best in their field and you have the faclities that vet students get to use.

Good luck!

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

claire Speight — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:31:45 GMT

Yes, I did mine via the NVQ route too!

Claire

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

claire Speight — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:31:02 GMT

The best student nurse I have ever worked with (who has just qualified) was a degree nurse - very capable, intelligent and willing to learn. It is a bit of a sweeping statement to label all degree nurses as having poor practical skills and those who were on the NVQ route as being more practically competant - it is the way people are taught and not how they decide to qualify that makes them a good nurse or not.

Claire

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

KatyW — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 08:28:12 GMT

Oh goodness, sorry if I've accidentally opened a can of worms! I do have one more question about training in practice - I noticed that some jobs are advertised for '2nd year students' - does that mean that you might be employed by a TP for your 1st year of training and then told that you can't do your 2nd year? Or is it that some people might want to move practices between years 1 and 2?

Thanks

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Kim Buckley — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:57:59 GMT

Well said Jeniflower! It takes a lot to get my hackles up but degree nurse slating works a treat!

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Jeniflower — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:53:42 GMT

[quote user="Kim Blowing RVN"]

[quote user="Nicola Russell"]

I was speaking to a vet last week who also does interviews and is a clinical coach and she is wary about employing degree VNs as although they know the theory, they have very limited practical skills due to having limited time for "work experience". Therefore they prefer to employ VNs who have gone through the NVQ (diploma) route.

[/quote]

I'm so sick of all degree VN's being said to have rubbish practical skills! I did the degree and if anything I feel it improved my practical skills! I went to at least 4 different practices during my training and saw so many different ways of doing things.

I think there are a lot of NVQ nurses out there who have been trained to one practices standards and once you take them out of that environment they don't have a clue what they are doing. I'm not saying that degree nurses are superior but I think you get good and bad nurses out of both routes!

[/quote]I'm also sick of this! I crammed so many hours of (FREE) work throughout my 4years which meant unlike other students, we couldn't earn money through a summer job to support our studies. As well as cramming in part -time work around placements, often meant I worked 7days a week. I also worked for a year in practice before even beginning the degree! - so you can imagine how annoying it is that I'm still viewed as not having enough 'hands-on' just beacuse I have a Bsc(hons) before my RVN. Its not a plague..its a great acheivement that should be supported by fellow VNS.

There have been posts about this before so why are all degree nurses tarred with this brush? Its all about the individual RVN - regardless of how we got there!

Rant over... sorry, just getting tired of this now

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Sal the 1st — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:15:49 GMT

[quote user="Kim Blowing RVN"]

[/quote]

definitely

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Kim Buckley — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:09:42 GMT

[quote user="Nicola Russell"]

[/quote]

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Doolally — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:43:43 GMT

The RVC/CAW (The College of Animal Welfare deal with the practical side of things, and RVC the theory but all very much interlinked) did arrange/offer placements, but if there was somewhere you particularly wanted to go, or didn't like their offers you could arrange your own. They tried to find people placements close to where they lived, so people could be residential for theory blocks and go home for placements. Or they can arrange placements at the Queen Mother Hospital which is an amazing place to learn.

We had theory blocks of 3 weeks, then on placement for 6-8weeks or so, theory block, then placement etc.

When at college for theory blocks lectures were usually most of the day every day, we got a half day once a week. I only live 15mins away so travelled in each day but lots of people stayed in halls for the lecture blocks then went home on placements.

I really really enjoyed it, and I think the level of teaching was top class (some of our current students moan about the teaching on their NVQ courses - but I think that depends on who is actually doing the teaching)

Any other questions just ask

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

KatyW — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 13:34:10 GMT

Thank you all so much for your lovely encouraging replies! It all feels like a big step into the unknown at the moment.

Doolally - can I ask a few questions about your course? Did the RVC arrange your placements, or were you expected to find them yourself? Did you have lectures/practicals all day every day when you weren't on placement? I live in Oxford and I don't know if there are any universities/colleges which offer vet nursing degrees close enough so I could get there every day.

In the meantime my next goal is going to be arranging some work experience at a vets as I guess that is going to be essential regardless of whether I do training in practice or a degree.

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Doolally — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:56:35 GMT

I did the Foundation Degree. It's 3 years instead of the 4 years BSc (so one year less tuition fees!!) and you can always top up to a full BSc at a later later.

When I had 6 months of my degree left the practice I had been on placement at offered me a full time job, and luckily they gave me the time off to attend college so I was able to combine the last 6 months with working. I stayed there a few months after qualifying, then got offered a job at the 1st interview I went for (and still here now 18months on)

I was taught at the RVC by some fantastic lecturers, had access to a really good clinical skills centre and spent plenty of time on placements, so I don't feel my skills are any less than colleagues who have done the NVQ route, and it certainly hasn't affected me getting jobs!

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Nicola Russell — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:18:37 GMT

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Susan Jackson — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:05:05 GMT

[quote user="KatyW"]

Hello everyone,

I'm thinking about changing careers to become a vet nurse but am totally lost and confused as to what my next steps should be. At the moment I am working in a totally unrelated field (geography lecturer!) but I hate it. I have thought long and hard about what I would like to spend the rest of my life doing and my heart is set on vet nursing. I grew up on a farm and have seen lots of births, ceasarians etc so I know I can handle the blood and guts. And I *think* I am being realistic about the amount of cleaning/paperwork/other boring stuff that is involved - I know its not just cuddling animals! I am currently volunteering at an animal rescue centre to get some work experience but it's hard to fit anything else in because I work full time.

As i understand it there are two ways of training - get a job at a TP and do an NVQ, or go to university/college and do a BSc Vet Nursing. I've seen some posts from people who are really struggling to get a place in a TP because of high competition. Apart from having to find the tuition fees and not getting paid, are there any other drawbacks to going through uni rather than training on the job? Is it easy to get a job afterwards with a vet nursing degree? I have the right qualifications to get onto a degree course but I don't know if I can find the money for the fees so I would rather go through a training practice...but I don't know if any would take me with my 'unconventional' background. Argh!

Sorry this is a long rambling post, if anyone has any advice I would be very grateful!

[/quote]

No NVQ now, done very much the same way, in practice with college but is classed as a diploma.

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Sara Benton — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:31:47 GMT

Hi Katy,

Vet nursing is the best job in the world, well I think so!! The work based learning route is currently being re-jigged a little to make it easier for practices to take on trainees and improve the learning system for the trainees.

Try having a look at the BVNA website. They are a very helpful bunch!

All the best

Re: Please help a confused newbie :)

Sophie Bedford RVN CertVNECC — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:48:37 GMT

Hi Katy,

Great to hear that you have decided on vet nursing as your career, I changed my job completely to get into it aswell so know how you feel!

What I did was go onto the RCVS website (link below) and printed off all the training practices in the areas of the country I was looking at, then went through and wrote to all of the ones I could realistically travel to (ended up being about 120)

http://www.rcvs.org.uk/Templates/InternalVNAward.asp?NodeID=89968&int2ndParentNodeID=89649&int1stParentNodeID=96117

If you send a good covering letter and CV to them, bearing in mind I didn't have any prior experience or qualifications I still got 2 interviews and a job out of it!

Also keep an eye on here in the jobs section, there are sometimes 1st year placements available. There are also agencies you could join but I didn't have much success without experience with them.

Anyway, best of luck with everything and I'm sure other people will come up with even more ideas for you to try!