25 Aug 2020
Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service to offer experienced VNs chance to undertake three-year residency programme in industry-leading programme launching next month.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
A world-first residency programme to provide specialist training to RVNs is launching at Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in September.
Willows will welcome its first intake of nursing residents in what it is describing as an industry-leading programme.
Willows, part of Linnaeus, is offering positions to experienced VNs to undertake three-year residency programmes, launching with the specialisms of emergency and critical care, and internal medicine.
Tracey Morley Jewkes, managing director of Willows, said the programme would help progression of VNs in the profession.
She said: “We intend this to be a professionally rounded training programme that offers opportunities not only to work alongside the world-renowned specialist vets and highly skilled referral nurses here at Willows, but to also cover areas such as public speaking development and article writing.”
Tom Reilly – head of clinical support services for Willows, who spearheaded design of the new programme – said: “This residency is a three-year programme, which follows a similar pattern to the veterinary surgeons’ specialist residency programme.
“Each resident nurse will have a specialist vet or nurse mentor and will spend the first year working solely in the area of their chosen discipline.
“The second year will see our resident nurses undergo training in the American Veterinary Technician Specialist qualification, benefiting from the volume and complexity of cases within the working environment at Willows.”
Mr Reilly added: “In the final year, residents will attend an international conference in the US in their area of specialism, where they will also sit their internationally recognised exams to complete their residency.
“The residency will also provide tutoring support for writing veterinary articles for publication, and public speaking skills, with residents encouraged to share their specialist training with their industry peers.”
To find out more, visit Willows’ website or search “Willows Veterinary Centre” on social media.
