10 Mar 2023
Wear Referrals, Southfields Veterinary Specialists and Willows Veterinary Centre are now accredited by the College of Animal Welfare to run in-depth training for SVNs.
Rachael Buzzel
Job Title
Trish Scorer, lead pre-registration experience manager at Linnaeus, said her company is “making a significant investment in the future”.
Three Linnaeus hospitals are now recognised as accredited training centres for student veterinary nurses, the veterinary company has revealed.
Wear Referrals in County Durham and Southfields Veterinary Specialists in Essex have joined Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in the West Midlands to become accredited by the College of Animal Welfare (CAW), as part of a partnership between the college and Linnaeus to provide satellite training centres to help train and develop the VNs of the future.
All three centres will deliver on-site practical sessions in conjunction with virtual theory sessions. The theory exams can be taken remotely online to ensure accessibility.
Students can use the facilities at each referral hospital for their practical RCVS day one skills training, while completing an e-portfolio of evidence to demonstrate competency in these areas. This complements the virtual theory training at CAW and the workplace experience gained in their practices.
Each site can accept up to 16 candidates, with at least two intakes throughout the year in April and September. The three hospitals also offer RVNs the opportunity to train as a clinical skills supervisor with CAW and share their expertise with the students.
A dedicated team – led by Alison Simpson, head of veterinary studies (satellite centres) at CAW – ensures the smooth running of the programmes.
The team at Linnaeus includes training lead nurse Samantha Parkhouse at Wear, nurse team leader Emma Hill-Gowing at Southfields and nurse team leader Jen Meaden at Willows.
Trish Scorer – lead pre-registration experience manager at Linnaeus – said Willows, Wear and Southfields are already encouraging new recruits from Linnaeus and surrounding practices to enroll for the next two-year training course in April.
Mrs Scorer said: “We are making a significant investment for the future with this exciting partnership with CAW, and are committed to creating the optimum environment for learning and development for students. Having three different hospital sites accredited as training centres helps to break down geographical and logistical issues for candidates who may have previously struggled to travel for their training.
“Students will be studying for a VetSkill Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing that, on completion, will enable them to register as a veterinary nurse with the RCVS and to use the postnominals ‘RVN’.
“This means students will be in the fantastic position of training alongside our highly qualified vets and nursing teams within our state-of-the-art referral hospitals.”
