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Veterinary Medicine is a highly sought after profession with thousands of applicants each year requesting places on the courses. As a result of this the entry requirements are stringent for the six university courses available. For any school student who wishes to start on the road to veterinary medicine, science and maths are the main subjects that you must reach high grades in. Most universities require at least two A-Levels at A grade to allow entry. As well as this, increasingly these days, universities are insisting that a certain period (differing in duration, depending on the university) of work experience, or employment in a veterinary surgery is completed before you start the course. This is so that the students are aware of the reality of the job before committing to the degree course.

What University can I go to?

Currently there are seven universities in the UK offering the Veterinary Medicine course:

• Bristol University
• The University of Nottingham
• The University of Liverpool
• The University of Glasgow
• The University of Edingurgh
• The Royal Veterinary College (University of London Veterinary School)
• The University of Cambridge

How Long is the Course?

For the majority of universities, the Veterinary Medicine course is 5 years long. In the case of The University Cambridge, the course is run slightly differently. The course is intercolated; one year in the middle of the course is taken to complete a secondary related degree. This means that the course is six years in duration but the applicant will leave university with two degrees.

Work Experience

During the Veterinary degree course you have to under take many weeks of work in different clinics and animal establishments. Many veterinary clinics also offer work experience to school and college students (over the age of 16), but must give priority to the veterinary under-graduates.

Further Advice

If you require further advice on becoming a veterinary surgeon, you can contact:

• Any Veterinary Clinic
• The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (a link to their website can be found in the LINKS page of this website)
• The University you are wishing to apply to

The beauty of Veterinary nursing is that it is open to anyone who is willing to work for it.

• You can complete GSCE�s, A Levels and go to university
• You can leave school at 16 with 5 GSCE�s (including English, Maths and Science) and start your training, completing an NVQ and getting a full time training salary!
• You don�t even need to have your GSCE�s! You can start working in a clinic straight away and work towards a qualification as an Animal Nursing Assistant. This will allow you to get onto the veterinary nursing training course and will even put you far ahead with some of your practical skills.

Getting Started

The best thing to get you introduced into the veterinary world is, as in any field of employment is work experience. The veterinary world is not always what you expect it to be and not all people are suited to work in the field. The best way to find out if you can do the job is to enter the environment and see what it�s really like. Ask your local veterinary clinic for the best place to get relevant work experience. Some people decide that they don�t want to start nursing straight from school and wish to fill the additional time with more education.

Animal Nursing Assistants

This option is open to anyone, there are no entry requirements. You will be hired in a Veterinary Clinic as a Trainee Animal Nursing Assistant. You complete four days in clinic and the on the fifth day you go to college. You will learn about all aspects of animal care and produce a portfolio of evidence related to your practical work. At the end, you become a qualified Animal Nursing Assistant. You then have the choice to continue working as this or use your qualification as a stepping stone to start on the Veterinary Nursing course.

NVQ or Degree?

It�s your choice. The NVQ route allows you to work in a veterinary clinic. When you reach the age of 17, you can start on the training course. While you are training, you will, in most clinics work 4 days a week and the 5th day will be spent at college.

The training itself will last two years, though most clinics will increase this period to 3 years so that the allocated number of weeks practical work is completed in time for your qualification. The additional year is completed at the beginning of your training. This also ensures that nursing is really for you and so you have the practical experience to ease your understanding of the college course.

In this two year period, you will spend your 4 days a week at work, involved in on the job practical training. You will also collect information on cases you are involved in, to create a portfolio of evidence proving your practical competence as a veterinary nurse. Along side this you will attend a college course one day a week, learning the theory of veterinary nursing and studying for two sets of exams, at the end of the first year and the end of the second year. Don�t worry, it sounds daunting but speaking from experience, it�s not that bad!

The newer version of veterinary nurse training comprises of a degree course:

• This is run out of The Royal Veterinary College, The University of the West of England or Bristol University at the moment, but more centres are developing the course all the time. This is run in a similar way to many other degrees, you study for 4 years in total. You will also complete several periods of working in practice, including one which lasts a whole year. This time will allow you to gain practical experience and is also used to complete your portfolio of evidence to prove your practical competence. This is identical to the one required by the NVQ course.

Then What?

So what happens after qualification?

It might not be an immediate concern for those who want to start on the road to being a qualified Veterinary Nurse but reality sinks in and it will become a concern to all of us later. A lack of consideration for this at the beginning has led to a high number of nurses leaving the profession after qualification as they see that it has no future. The doors open to us these days are more varied now than ever.

In the Veterinary world, there is a great emphasis in continual improvement and keeping up with the most modern and advanced technologies available to us. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is compulsory for listed veterinary surgeons and is greatly encouraged for veterinary nurses. There are many opportunities for this throughout the year and you will be encouraged to attend these by your veterinary clinic. Most clinics even pay for you to go!

Special Member Associations

The British Veterinary Nursing Association has been around almost as long as the profession has been running, existing to represent the general views of Veterinary Nurses in an official capacity. You can become a member of the BVNA as soon as you start nursing and enjoy the benefits that they offer, including:

• A monthly magazine (The Veterinary Nursing Journal � VNJ)
• Invitation to regional meetings
• Discounts on CPD
• Legal advice and support where required
• Discounts on certain Nursing textbooks

Further advice

If you wish to investigate this avenue further, you can contact the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons or the British Veterinary Nursing Association. Links to these websites can be found in the links section of this website.

There are other areas of the veterinary world that are open to people who do not wish to, or who are unable to go down the path of Veterinary Surgeon, or Veterinary Nurse.

Cleaning Staff

As you can imagine, a veterinary clinic requires a lot of cleaning and some choose to hire dedicated cleaning staff to manage this task. Depending on the size of the clinic, (as smaller clinics use their veterinary nurses to ensure the cleanliness of the clinic) there may be part time or full time positions available.

Kennel Assistant

As a non-medical animal handler, you can expect to be in charge of the kennels with regards to bedding, cleanliness and animal exercise. The kennel assistant is often a vital member of the team, ensuring the comfort of all the patients. This job is often suited to a person aiming to progress in the veterinary world in the future.

Veterinary Receptionists

A veterinary receptionist goes above and beyond any other receptionist job. You can expect to deal with people on a very personal level and acquire veterinary and medical knowledge along the way. A highly rewarding job suited to hard working, compassionate and organised individuals.

Administration Staff

As with any other company, the Veterinary Clinic requires an office staff to ensure the smooth running of the business. The office team are generally specifically trained in their field of expertise.

Practice Manager

Every business needs a manager to run it. This role is occasionally taken by the owner of the business, or progressed to via another route within the profession (Veterinary Nurses occasionally progress to become practice managers). More and more these days, experienced business managers are being employed to run clinics and can be an ideal step for the diverse business manager to face a new challenge.