Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Re: Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Heidi Young — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:30:53 GMT

I dont know to be honest I never asked about accomodation as I live in Perth so would just commute.

Its the Royal (Dick) veterinary school in Edinburgh where the vets train aswell so I suppose it is a university.

Re: Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Pippa Louise — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:33:02 GMT

[quote user="Heidi Young"]

I'm maybe about to start a full time diploma in veterinary nursing (level 3) at the college of animal welfare in Edinburgh. Its a mix of college and placement and the college finds the placements for you. Its a 2 year course and this is the first year they have done it. Its RCVS approved and at the end you are a qualified veterinary nurse.

You need 2 weeks work experience before you start. Ours starts in Sept.

Maybe they have something like this near you?

[/quote]

Heidi, is this course and college like going to university?? Like accommodation do you have to find your own or is it provided??

Re: Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Stella Skelton RVN — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:24:24 GMT

Hey,

I'm 27. I got into the field by first volunteering at my local dog pound and then got a job as an inexperienced vet assistant/nurse. I'm now lucky enough to be in a vet practice training to become a qualified vet nurse. I would definitely get some experience first as it can often be different to what it seems. There's a hell of a lot of cleaning, really gross stuff, hard, physical manual labour and tiring hours for little pay. It's also rare you'll only be dealing with small animals in a small animal practice as they mostly treat cats and dogs. As you're in Wales you do have a better choice of either small animal, large animal (farm) or equine. However, you can simply do small animal. There are lots of them around. Just need to get your c.v.s and covering letters out as soon as you have some animal handling experience. Good luck. x

Re: Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Sophie — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:44:22 GMT

I sent out numerous CV's to RCVS approved Veterinary practices. Nearly all replied within a few weeks with helpful information/no positions/yes (Only 2 though) and thankfully, I was lucky enough to get an interview. I had no experience apart from being brought up with animals like nearly every person, so I thought my chances were slim but still gave it my all, because I really wanted to get in! And i did! I know experience is a plus, but I would not let it stop you from looking round, because you never know! Take me for example.

Good Luck x

Re: Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Maisy — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:50:31 GMT

For anyone interested in veterinary nursing it is well worth getting in work experience first before making a huge leap. Often the job is different to how it is assumed so it is good to have that experience plus it helps to put you in a good position to apply for jobs as student vacancies are extremely popular.

Re: Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Heidi Young — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 10:30:33 GMT

You need 2 weeks work experience before you start. Ours starts in Sept.

Maybe they have something like this near you?

Re: Interested in Being a Veterinary Nurse, Need advice :)

Selena Carnell — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 08:15:49 GMT

Have a look on the BVNA website and there will be details on there.

There are various courses that you can do.

Why not see if you can get a couple of days or a weeks work experience with a vets to see if it is really for you. The reality is a lot of cleaning! alot of hard work, for very little pay.

To start training you will probably be looking at a wage of around 10k per annum.

A fully qualified nurse can be on anything between 14 and 20 k depending on where they are based and the experience.

Also with you being in Wale, you will probably end up in a mixed practice dealing with farm work and horses.