VN advice

Re: VN advice

Fiona Leathers — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:58:16 GMT

Faxing would be good my work fax is 01324 814488

Re: VN advice

Deemus — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:35:33 GMT

No problem. I'll have a look tomorrow when I'm back in work. Would you like me to fax it to you or send a msg on here? I would put it on Wiki but I'm a bit of a technophobe and would probably end up using language to make the dog blush!

I have to admit, I got really cross at my student's college and threw a bit of a wobbler. My level 3 students' portfolio has just been submitted so I don't know how well the statement of APL has gone down. Well I hope, or I can feel a whole new wobbler coming on.

Has anyone else been adivsed to write down specific cases that appendicies relate to? I did hope they were joking but alas not.

Re: VN advice

Fiona Leathers — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:20:36 GMT

Deemus - that sounds good, I would appreciate any notes you could give me. As for speaking to the college, they still haven't returned calls I left last week, so I may email them.

I was worried that it would be a whole load of extra assessment but if you only need that one sentence then its not so bad.

Re: VN advice

Maisy — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 08:49:13 GMT

Those few weeks between getting exam results and certification are a pest as usually thats when the relevent cases come in. Some VNACs can't always agree with APL use which makes things difficult for the student, especially like a couple of years back when there was a major delay with certificates from RCVS which meant the students had to put their portfolios on hold for a long time.

Hope you and your student can get something sorted out Fi.

Re: VN advice

Deemus — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:53:18 GMT

Hello Bouncyfi,

I had a simliar problem with one of my girls. Her certificate wasn't received until Feb this year from her level 2 exams in July last year! At one of our Assessor standardisation meetings, we were advised that we could use APL as part of assessing caselogs collected before the certificate arrived. All I had to do was mark as normal but write an extra statement saying "As (stundent) has not yet received her certficate, this caselog qualifies as APL.

APL stands for accredited prior learning which could apply to anything your student has done presvious to getting his/her level 2 cert. I could try and dig out some notes for you if you like.

Hope that helps rather than clouding the issue! Might be worth ringing the college to see if they support APL. Good luck!

Re: VN advice

Fiona Leathers — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:20:04 GMT

Re disillusioned SVNs - my college student is with me for 3 weeks then goes back to college, she finished her Level 2 portfolio in time & its been passed. Sat her Level 2 exam but didn't get the results until 2 days before she was due back from her summer holidays. She understood that she could collect cases from the moment she was back in practice, which we started doing. We've had amazing cases in this week & done lots of tick sheets, photo evidence & she's written up some really good cases.

She then got a letter from the college saying that she can't collect cases, until the college get her certification from the RCVS. What is the point in her being at practice if she can't collect cases??? Wh couldn't she have gone back to college for these 3 weeks then came to us, once the certification was complete???

My student's mentor at college has told to keep her updated on her progress with the portfolio, so somewhere there are lines crossed, cos one person's saying do portfolio and another isn;'t

I assess portfolio work in my own time, and having already spent 5 hours this week with her, I feel very pissed off. The college have told her she can keep the cases but they need to be re-assessed after her certification comes back - why???? Isn't the first lot of assessing good enough - how much is going to change in 3 weeks??????

I usually like the way this particular college is run but this really annoyed me and put my student on a low.

So if anyone from this particular college is on this site (& I know they come on here) answer my questions cos no-one has bothered to return my phone calls!!!

(rant over)

Re: VN advice

Mrs Dot Dot — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:44:23 GMT

Hi Clare.... do you have anymore info on how things willbe changing training wise? or what they are looking at? Would be v v v interested to know, especially as have 2 dissillusioned SVN's (with the portfolio)...are they getting rid of the PF???????

Re: VN advice

Bowzer — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:20:29 GMT

Hiya

Just to follow that, I too started work in practice when I was 21, nearly 22 and am an IV now. I got the list of training practices from the RCVS (ATAC's then, TP's now) and wrote to every one of them asking for a job, full time, part time, voluntary and would they keep my details on file, and gave them all a stamped addressed envelope to save them some trouble in replying! I didn't ahve a car at the time and Lord knows how I was going to get to some of them! I had some interviews and a lot of rejection letters which I stil have and get out from time to time to smile at! I started doing my Vet Nurse training without a job (probably wouldn't get away with that now) with the strong words of if you're not employed by this date you're out, one of my tutors said a local practice I had already written to had a part time place, so I wrote again, rang and turned up on the door step! Needless to say I got the job, you've got to show initiative and willing otherwise the 10 other people behind you snapping at your heals will get the place. Eventually I got given full time hours and could finish my studies just as my peers were doing, soon I was deputy head, then assessor, the rest is history you might say.

I also found in practice a lot of work experience volunteers or students were given jobs, if you came from college on placement doing an animal care course and you fitted in and worked hard you often got employed, same for degree nurses and even the odd volunteer. You've got to get out there though, if you can't commit to hard work, dedication and motivation perhaps another job is best for you. If that's you then go for it because there's no reason why you can't do it.

Also VN training is changing Sept 2010. Many people are training to be RVN's or wanting to be but they're not staying in the job so RVN's are hard to find, the changes next year will try to combat that and you may find the changes advantageous.

Good luck

Claire

Re: VN advice

Debbie Summers — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:18:02 GMT

good luck Hannah!

Re: VN advice

Hannah Wise — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 10:59:23 GMT

Wow - that looks fantastic. Well I've asked for an application form - but said if it has already been filled, I'd be very eager to come in and help out on a voluntary basis if they had need.

Here's hoping *crosses fingers*

Re: VN advice

Debbie Summers — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:29:51 GMT

Just seen this posted in the latest vet times:

Forest House Vet Hospital, Windsor, Berkshire

1st/2nd year student vet nurse

accredited training practice with excellent facilities & equipment

Looking for a committed, hard working & conscientious team member. 1 night duty per week, half weekend duty in 3. Accomodation available. Good salary package.

For an informal chat or an application form please contact Katie on 01753 858877 or email katie@foresthousevets.com

Hope it could help you or someone else!

Debbie

Re: VN advice

Hannah Wise — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:14:52 GMT

I must admit, moving away to train isn't ideal at the moment, which I know limits my options a lot. This could change in a few months though so I think it's definietly something I should keep in mind.

I'm based in Reading though so it's quite good as there are lots of surrounding towns and cities as well as London, which I'm hoping might broaden my options a little. Especially as I wouldn't mind traveling a fair distance for a job. My commute at the moment runs to just over an hour so if I was given a shot at training and at doing what I really want to do, I wouldn't be at all put off by a bit of a journey. However I'm a bit worried as I only seem to have one RCVS training practice near me, so maybe I wont have any choice but to move away to train in the end.

Thanks for the advice on mentioning the illness. I guess I kind of had in the back of my head that I'd have to mention it in order to explain the sudden change of heart I've had career wise. I guess I was kind of worried they might be a bit perplexed as to why I've suddenly taken such a drastic swoop away from what I've been doing before. I think you're right though, I think if I have to mention it I should try and explain it, but otherwise, it's perhaps not necessary and instead just focus on why Veterinary Nursing appeals to me and how serious I am about this new career path.

I've just made an appointment with a government careers advisory centre in the south east too. Hopefully they might have some good contacts to get some experience and voluntary work within the area. If nothing else, it would be lovely to spend some time around animals.

Thanks again :)

Re: VN advice

Debbie Summers — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:16:04 GMT

No problem Hannah. I think if you end up having to discuss your previous illness with any prospective employer, it would be a good idea to focus on how you recognised what was happening, and what you did to change things for the better. We all have issues from time to time, and it is how we manage them that makes the difference. Recognising that you needed to alter direction, and having the courage to do this is a huge undertaking & commitment, but shows that you are willing to get up and make that change happen - proactive personality, which is a really good quality. You don't need to mention your illness unless you are asked directly (eg. pre employment health questionnaire).

I think your love of busy environments, and being able to think on your feet, react to changing situations and not be phased by it are very good qualities too

Are you willing to move away from your local area? If this is not possible, it obviously limits your options, but some practices will offer accomodation to student nurses as part of the package, so it may be possible to move away and train (as I did), and return to your home base later?

Let us know what location you are interested in working - someone may know of a vacancy!

Debbie

Re: VN advice

Hannah Wise — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:52:20 GMT

Thanks Debbie, that's all really useful. Some food for thought too.

I guess it's the idea of doing something important - helping heal animals and really making a difference to owners and pets lives. The scientific side seems really interesting too - I'd find the medecine and surgery side fascinating. I know the long hours would be hard work but it seems like a role you get real job satisfaction from, so I don't think I'd begrudge it as much as say working ridiculous hours in a boring I.T. job or something of that ilk. I know it'd be stressful too - which is why I'm slightly nervous about mentioning my past illness to any prospective employers. But that stress was caused by feeling like I'm not doing anything worthwhile with my life and getting upset about it. Where I work now is often really busy and stressful and I never get effected by it, it's only when I have nothing to do that I have a problem. The thing is I really love working in busy environments where you have to think on your feet and be confident in what to do next for the best. Hard to put that across to a prospective employers though. :S

It's also really good to know you started off as a receptionist, as I think that might be my best chance to get a foot in the door. I am a fiercely hard worker and thank goodness have really good references. But I've always worked places where there's no real chance of progression (I did half a day's work experience at a library once and the lady said if she had an opening she'd have offered me a job at lunchtime but there was literally two of them working there and no chance of other openings.) So I'm really hoping that if I can get a job in a practice and show them I'm a really hard worker and serious about training as a VN, that might be a really good natural stepping stone up.

Thank you so much for your post, it's really useful to hear real life stories from people in the business.

Re: VN advice

Debbie Summers — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:18:42 GMT

Hi Hannah,

Firstly, any experience, paid or voluntary, within practice is always a bonus. It shows you know how a practice works, the reality of the job, and that you are serious in wanting to train. I know several nurses who started out as receptionists, and I am one of them!

The BVNA http://www.bvna.org.uk/ is the UK representative of VN's, and is an invaluable source of information and advice. The RCVS actually runs the formal training scheme http://www.rcvs.org.uk/ and can also be a mine of information.

It is a very competitive industry to enter; there are always many more applicants than vacancies, and not all practices are involved with the formal training scheme; some will train their own nurses in their own way. If you want to become a registered VN, you will need to find a practice that offers full training towards this. Again, BVNA & RCVS can help.

I used to write countless letters, ring local practices, keep my eyes open in local papers' jobs section (going back to before the internet was the way to search!!!) and generally kept going (for 5 years!!) before I found somewhere to train, so its not easy, but anything you can do in the meantime to enhance your application would be worthwhile,

As far as interviews go, your degree gives you the edge as you are used to research & study, therefore you should have no trouble with the academic work required, though be warned - the job is full time with studying on top and it's tough! Nights and weekends, and what can be incredibly stressful days are the norm!! Try to pinpoint exactly why you want to be a VN - is it the nursing you want, the scientific side, or something else? What skills can you transfer from previous experiences? Being prepared and understanding what you want from it helps.

There are many websites that may hold training positions, google / bing /search engine searches on a regular basis can bring forward useful vacancies.

To give you hope, I didn't enter vet nursing til I was 21, qualified just before I turned 24, and am still nursing now at 35 (albeit part time) and I have been involved in recruiting several mature nurses, so don't think age is an issue either!!

Good luck - if you really want it, it is out there for you.

Debbie