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Veterinary Nursing Science

University Centre Sparsholt

UCAS Code: D311 | Foundation Degree in Science - FdSc

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,E

Including a relevant subject/science @ C or above (80 UCAS tariff points)

Access to HE Diploma

M:45

Merit in a relevant subject/science (96 UCAS tariff points)

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

24

Including a relevant subject/science and one other at H4 or above with Maths and English at S3 if no GCSE or equivalent (112 UCAS tariff points)

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H4,H4,H4,H4

Including one in a relevant subject/science (90 UCAS tariff points)

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DMM

In a relevant subject/science (112 UCAS tariff points)

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

In a relevant subject/science (112 UCAS tariff points)

Scottish Advanced Higher

C,C

Including one in a relevant subject/science (80 UCAS tariff points)

T Level

M

In a relevant subject/science (120 UCAS tariff points)

UCAS Tariff

80

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Veterinary nursing

**Why choose this degree?**
- Three-year full time FdSc programme designed to meet **RCVS Day One Competencies** and **Day One Skills** for Veterinary Nurses.

- **1800 hours on clinical placement**, working in collaboration with over 60 local registered training veterinary practices.

- Build vital **industry experience** through handling skills, clinical skill development, extensive work placements and strong links with industry.

- Be eligible to register as a veterinary nurse upon graduation with **excellent rates of employment**.

**What makes UCS special?**
University Centre Sparsholt has a very strong provision for teaching and training Veterinary Nurses. Our teaching staff bring experience and expertise in all areas of animal work including vet nursing, health and welfare work as well as animal training.

Our purpose-built **Veterinary Nursing Centre** boasts radiology, consultation preparation and theatre rooms and is stocked with all the equipment veterinary nurses use on a daily basis. In addition, our **Animal Health and Welfare Research Centre** is stocked with a diverse and extensive range of animals that allows you to develop your practical animal handling and husbandry skills.

**What will I learn?**
The programme is designed to equip you for the veterinary industry, studying in a supportive environment with **industry professionals**. Throughout the course you will be taught a wide range of science-based subjects, vital in developing your knowledge of companion animal nursing within **diverse topics** including anatomy and physiology, analytical techniques, professional skills of the veterinary nurse, anaesthesia, pharmacology and animal behaviour. You will learn through a combination of formal lectures, laboratory sessions, animal handling and clinical practicals, along with guided and independent study.

Work placements are key to your professional development and benefit from the University Centre’s **strong links to diverse organisations** within the veterinary and animal professions. To meet RCVS clinical placement requirements you will spend a minimum of 1800 hours in veterinary practice in a year placement.

We also offer students the chance to participate in optional **overseas study tours** including **South Africa** and in **Costa Rica**.

You will be encouraged to undertake challenging and innovative research. Previous student projects include:
- Does obesity in canines affect the rate of recovery after an anaesthesia?

- Comparing the effectiveness of warming methods used in anaesthesia to improve clinical practice.

- Do veterinary professionals and the general public perceive clinical signs of Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) to be "Normal" for the Breed?

**How will I be assessed?**
A wide range of assessment methods are used including written coursework, presentations, practical examinations and traditional written examinations. While you are working within the clinical environment, your progress will be monitored with practical competency assessments, designed to assess RCVS Day One Competencies and Day One Skills for Veterinary Nurses.

**Where can I go from here?**
Veterinary nursing is a diverse and satisfying career with many opportunities for registered veterinary nurses. Following graduation, you will be able to **work as a RVN** within the companion animal profession in general practice.

Students completing the FdSc are also given the prospect to continue their studies for a final year in a wide range of related **BSc top-up** courses including BSc (Hons) Applied Animal Science, BSc (Hons) Applied Animal Behaviour or BSc (Hons) Zoo Biology, all of which are offered by University Centre Sparsholt.
The veterinary industry also presents increasing opportunities for veterinary nurses to work within patient rehabilitation, specialised referral hospitals, equine practice, the pharmaceutical industry, zoological/wildlife parks and in education.

Modules

• LEVEL 4
• Analytical and Diagnostic Techniques
• Animal Husbandry, Inheritance and Disease
• Functional Anatomy
• Industrial Experience
• Practice Organisation and Personal
• Development Planning
• Principles of Veterinary Nursing
• LEVEL 5
• Application of Veterinary Nursing Care
• Diagnostic Imaging
• Pharmacology
• Animal Behaviour
• Applied Industrial Research
• Recent Advances in Animal Health
• Veterinary Nursing Clinical Skills

Assessment methods

Assessment is through a combination of coursework, including laboratory investigations, assignments and presentations and, for the elements of the Professional Syllabus, closed book examinations. Whilst on placement you will also complete a Nursing Progress Log to evidence practical competencies and on your return to college you will undertake a practical clinical examination.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£6,950
per year
England
£6,800
per year
EU
£6,950
per year
International
£6,950
per year
Northern Ireland
£6,800
per year
Republic of Ireland
£6,800
per year
Scotland
£6,800
per year
Wales
£6,800
per year

Extra funding

If your household income is under £32,960 you could receive a bursary of up to £750 per annum. This can be used to help towards travel costs, books and equipment or anything else that will help you during your course.

Depending on the financial information disclosed in your Student Loan application, UCS may make an automatic bursary award based on specific criteria as set out in our Access and Participation Plan. If this is not the case you may still be able to apply for financial support to the UCS HE Hardship fund by completing a Bursary Application Form (available from end of |Term 1).

For more information please [email protected].

The Uni


Course location:

University Centre Sparsholt

Department:

Veterinary Nursing Science

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

74%
Veterinary nursing

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Others in veterinary sciences

Teaching and learning

81%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
70%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
93%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

63%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
59%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

After graduation


Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.

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Higher entry requirements
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UCAS Points: 96

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While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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