NVQ to degree?

Re: NVQ to degree?

Louise B — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:12:06 GMT

[quote user="Paulette"]

Princess Ophelia you are even starting to make the MSc sound tempting to me!!! ahh!!! Good luck with the viva!!!

[/quote]

Thanks - never mind talking chickens .... I am starting to run around like a headless chook

You'll just have to sign up Paulette!

Okay, the rest of the info as per our conversations (and emails):

The fee for the 1 year full time masters programme (120 credits + 60 credit research project - the best bit in my "unbiased - ish" opinion ) is £7,500 pa. Obviously if it is being done part time the fee will be less per year dependent upon how many modules you undertake a year. The 120 credits are broken down into 6 x 20 credit blocks.

At the moment it is undecided as to whether to have multiple start times during the year or whether to just have one annual intake. If you have any opinions on this (or other aspects) please feel free to reply to this thread or email me and I will pass on all your comments / suggestions to the course leader. I know they will appreciate feedback at this stage as they are obviously keen to giveVNs what they want!

Okay, back to chickens and wahat they want to eat

Re: NVQ to degree?

Mark Hedberg — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:57:37 GMT

Alternatively, if you're not yet certain whether you want a Masters or a PhD, you could try a bachelor level course. The College of Animal Welfare offers a BSc (Hons) in Veterinary Nursing - it's a top-up course, you can take it part or full time, so you don't necessarily need to drop you're current career if you're not completely sure which way you want to go.

http://www.caw.ac.uk/courses/vn/vndlt.aspx for more details on credits and requirements.

It's offered in conjunction with Middlesex University. If you decide you like higher education, then the next step could very well be that MSc or PhD you were talking about!

Kind regards,

Mark

Re: NVQ to degree?

Paulette — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 00:06:27 GMT

Princess Ophelia you are even starting to make the MSc sound tempting to me!!! ahh!!! Good luck with the viva!!!

Re: NVQ to degree?

Louise B — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:03:47 GMT

No worries

Thanks - I am half really looking forward to it as I have my academic hero as my external examiner(!) and half nervous as hell! After four years I will be glad to finally get it finished My external examiner is mad about chicken welfare too so I am expecting my viva to last all day!!!

It is definitely worth emailing them about fees. I am not sure about intake dates - I know the plan is to launch it this september. I will find out and get back to you. I do know that it will be very flexible - the taught part is in three sections and it is possible to take all three + the research project in one year (i.e. full time) or as little as one section each year followed by the research project. Therefore, it is likely that it will be possible to join at different points but I don't know for certain as I haven't been involved in the design of the MSc.

I wouldn't worry about research projects just yet as you won't have to know what you want to research when you start the MSc. You'll get a lot of support in deciding what to investigate anyway as you will have at least one supervisor to help guide you through that (possibly me!). My main advice when you do get to that point is try to pick something that really interests you as that will carry you through when things aren't going so well. Every research project has a hiccup or worse at some point - I had some total and major disasters during my PhD - but if you are really passionate about your topic that helps The up's are that there is such a buzz when you find out something that a) you are the first to find out, and b) could make a difference to an animal or human's life. That's what I love about research!

Re: NVQ to degree?

therainyj — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:38:35 GMT

Thank you for taking the time to reply!

This all sounds very interesting and something I'll definitely be thinking long and hard about. My other half has a PhD in a completely different field, however I think this has really opened my eyes to what a PhD involves, how it works etc. He now works in research for a top university.

Good luck with your viva by the way!

I think I would be keen to continue working in practice so the distance course sounds ideal (going from working full time for years to being a full time student would be something of a shock to the system!). Are there different intake dates at Harper Adams or is it just annual? (assuming september?). Is it worth emailing Harper Adams regarding fees? I'm not sure this is something my workplace would fund. Also, how does one choose a research project?! Start with something of interest and go from there?

Feeling excited about it all now :D

Re: NVQ to degree?

Louise B — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 10:24:13 GMT

Hello everyone!

I am probably pretty well qualified to add to this thread

I am a veterinary nurse and am just coming to the end of my PhD (thesis submitted, viva in less than one month - eek!). I also work at Harper Adams.

We are launching a masters in veterinary nursing. It will be in the form of 3 20 credit modules in related topics (these are still under discussion) that, together, will form a Postgrad certificate in veterinary nursing. They will be taught through distance/blended learning and in a flexible way (i.e. could be taken over one year or spread out much more slowly) and has been designed to make it easily accessible for nurses working fulltime in vet practice. Anybody wanting to top the certificate up to a full masters will have to carry out a research project worth 60 credits or which I will probably be one of the main supervisors as I am crazy about research . We would very much like feedback on this, what topics people would like offered, etc so please feel free to email me: lbuckley@harper-adams.ac.uk or join in the discussion on this thread.

If anybody is thinking about a PhD then please also feel free to contact me. PhDs are not high level courses though - what they are is basically an apprenticeship in research. You gradually become more and more independent as a researcher as you more through the training. Most people obtain funded PhDs (usually paid circa £13 - 15,000 per annum, taxfree plus you have student status so no council tax) and work on a project that has been offered by the prospective supervisor. Most people doing a part time PhD fund themselves and so have much more flexibility re: the research that they carry out. PhDs can be found through subscribing to jobs.ac.uk and / or searching on www.findaphd.com There are very few PhDs offered that are directly related to veterinary nursing but suitably qualified VNs can apply for PhDs in a whole range of topics for which they have the relevant background skills. I know vet nurses will PhDs in cat stress behaviour, microbiology, etc. My PhD is in chicken behaviour/welfare. Once I have completed my PhD, assuming I pass my viva(!), I will be happy to supervise nurses wanting to do research whether at masters or PhD level, so please feel free to contact me if you want more information!

Re: NVQ to degree?

Katie Mansfield — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:08:53 GMT

That's interesting. Is it taught or research?

K x

Re: NVQ to degree?

Wispa — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:20:57 GMT

There is no Phd at the moment, but harper adams has just started a masters degree in vet nursing

Re: NVQ to degree?

Wispa — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:19:54 GMT

the VN diploma will not give you a degree, its gives you a graduate diploma.

the best way is to approach middlesex university, I think they do what is called a "top-up" degree, so qualified nurses have to take certain modules and complete a dissertation to gain a degree level.

your lecturer who is a professor of veterinary nursing is actually a vet, or thats how she started, though i am not sure how she got the professorship, but she is very proactive towards training veterinary nurses.

Re: NVQ to degree?

Katie Mansfield — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:15:20 GMT

You could look into this http://www.rvc.ac.uk/Undergraduate/VNDiploma/Index.cfm

Not sure from the write up if it actually gives you a degree as such though. I think your best bet may be to ring them and speak to them.

One of our lecturers is a Professor of Veterinary Nursing and has a PHd, although I really don't know how she went about it or what subject she researched for it. Again I would say give them a ring, 01707 666660 (VN School, RVC). You may find they direct you to the Open Day, which will be in May.

Good luck,

K x