Veterinary Nursing (Top-up) BSc Honours

This module will provide you with the theoretical underpinning knowledge of evidence-based veterinary nursing skills. You will utilise these skills to search for, and effectively engage with, evidential literature by evaluating the quality of its evidence. This evidence will then be used to support problem solving and aid decision making. Students will be able to take these skills forward to support their future studies, particularly to the level 6 QI project, and professional careers.

You will study:

• Professional body expectations
• Literature searching, literature critique and use of frameworks and checklists
• Analysis and interpretation of evidence to inform practice
• Clinical audits and governance
• Reflection and reflective models
• Academic writing, referencing and journal clubs

This module will enable you to analyse the veterinary nursing care provided to patients with medical disorders. You will develop your current professional medical veterinary nursing skills by exploring and evaluating the veterinary nursing needs of individual patients with medical disorders in order to plan and deliver appropriate veterinary nursing care. You will consider how veterinary practice design, maintenance and hygiene impacts on veterinary patient care. The current evidence base will underpin your learning.

Syllabus content includes:

• Infection control
• Patient assessment and clinical examination
• Admission, discharge and informed consent
• Veterinary nursing clinics
• Pharmacological management of veterinary patients with medical disorders
• Veterinary nursing care of patients with a range of medical disorders
• Supporting patients during medical procedures and diagnostic tests and understanding how results impact on patient care
• Risks and complications of medical procedures
• Pain management and scoring
• Veterinary nursing care plans
• Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1966 and the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses
• Clinical audits and governance

As part of this module, you will analyse the veterinary nursing care provided to patients with surgical disorders. You will consider how theatre design, maintenance and hygiene impacts on veterinary patient care. You will develop your current professional surgical veterinary nursing skills by exploring and evaluating the veterinary nursing needs of individual patients undergoing surgical procedures in order to plan and deliver appropriate veterinary nursing care. You will consider how theatre design, maintenance and hygiene impacts on veterinary patient care. The current evidence base will underpin your learning.

• Infection control and the role of veterinary nurse in theatre
• Surgical instruments and equipment
• Patient assessment and clinical examination
• Admission, discharge and informed consent
• Veterinary nursing clinics
• Perioperative care of surgical patients undergoing a range of surgical procedures
• Surgical site infections and preventative measures
• Surgical safety checklists
• Tissues closure, surgical wound healing and management
• Risks and complications of surgical procedures
• Physiotherapy
• Pain management and scoring
• Veterinary nursing care plans
• Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1966 – minor surgical procedures and the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct for
• Veterinary Nurses
• Fundamental principles of anaesthesia
• Clinical audits and governance.

During this module you will foster curiosity and collaborate with others to explore contemporary veterinary nursing issues. You will investigate current issues relevant to veterinary nurses and explore possible futures for the veterinary nursing profession. You will reflect on learning to support your professional development and beyond the module you will be able to take learning forward to contribute to the future development of the veterinary nursing profession. You will cover:

• Current issues and topics relevant to veterinary nurses
• RCVS VN futures, RVN careers and career progression
• Scope of the RVN role
• One Health
• Sustainability
• Entrepreneurship
• Coaching, mentoring and leadership
• Professional development
• Reflection
• Veterinary legislation and the RCVS codes of conduct

Throughout this module you will develop knowledge and skills to enable you to deliver safe and effective veterinary nursing care to a range of species with a range of emergency and critical care disorders. You will utilise evidence-based veterinary nursing care, veterinary nursing models and frameworks to recognise, assess and successfully manage emergency and critically ill veterinary patients.  You will cover:

• Triage, first aid, and CPR
• Common poisons and toxicity
• Advanced fluid therapy and transfusion medicine
• Management of shock
• Management of traumatic injuries
• Common small animal, exotic and wildlife emergencies
• Monitoring equipment and techniques
• Veterinary nursing of emergency conditions to include cardiovascular, respiratory, neurological, acute abdominal, endocrine and ophthalmic emergencies

This module will enable you to critically evaluate the veterinary nursing care provided to patients undergoing anaesthesia. You will develop your current professional anaesthesia veterinary nursing skills by exploring and evaluating the veterinary nursing needs of individual patients undergoing anaesthesia in order to plan and deliver appropriate veterinary nursing care. You will consider how patient preparation, patient factors, anaesthetic equipment and monitoring impacts on veterinary patient care. The current evidence base will underpin learning.

You will study:

• Physiology of anaesthesia
• Local anaesthetic techniques
• Anaesthetic drugs
• Principles of balanced anaesthesia
• Safe and effective use of anaesthetic equipment
• Patient preparation and induction of anaesthesia
• Maintenance of anaesthesia including anaesthetic monitoring
• Anaesthetic emergencies and how to manage them
• Anaesthetic recovery and immediate post-operative care
• Pain management
• Nursing care plans
• Admission, discharge and informed consent
• Schedule 3 of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, 1966 and the RCVS Code of Conduct for Veterinary Nurses

This module will enable you to consolidate the skills and knowledge gained throughout the programme and apply them to conduct a quality improvement project with the aim of improving care of veterinary patients. This module provides you with the opportunity to practice evidence-based veterinary nursing and reflect upon learning to improve veterinary patient care and personal professional development.

As part of this project you will study:

• Quality improvement in veterinary care
• Review of RCVS Knowledge
• Clinical audit
• Review of evidence-based veterinary nursing processes
• Project planning
• Ethics in research
• The RVN role in quality improvement
• Interprofessional relationships and communication
• Fostering a learning culture
• Reflection

This module will enable you to consolidate the skills and knowledge gained throughout the programme and apply them to conduct a quality improvement project with the aim of improving care of veterinary patients. This module provides you with the opportunity to practice evidence-based veterinary nursing and reflect upon learning to improve veterinary patient care and personal professional development.

As part of this project you will study:

• Quality improvement in veterinary care
• Review of RCVS Knowledge
• Clinical audit
• Review of evidence-based veterinary nursing processes
• Project planning
• Ethics in research
• The RVN role in quality improvement
• Interprofessional relationships and communication
• Fostering a learning culture
• Reflection

This course is run in collaboration with The College of Animal Welfare, the UK's largest veterinary nurse training provider. The course is available via distance learning so no attendance on campus is required.

Visit the College of Animal Welfare site.

Year 1 – weekly timetable

During your first year, your weekly timetable will consist of teaching and learning activities delivered via our online platform. This will be a mixture of synchronous live online sessions and asynchronous teaching and learning materials to be completed each week. Each module has between 29-48 teaching hours.

On the full-time pathway two modules are studied each semester.

On the part time pathway one module is studied each semester.

Outside of teaching hours, you’ll learn independently through self-study which will involve reading articles and books, working on projects, undertaking research, and preparing for assessments.

Our excellent teaching and support teams will help you develop the skills relevant to your degree from research and practical skills to critical thinking. Our Sheppard Library is open 24 hours a day during term time. And we offer free 24-hour laptop loans with full desktop software, free printing and Wi-Fi to use on or off campus, even over the weekend.

Our Disability Advice and Support service supports students with additional needs such as sensory impairment or learning difficulties such as dyslexia. We’re happy to help you discover whether Middlesex is the right place for you before you apply, so please get in touch with any questions.

Wellness support

We have specialist teams to support your emotional wellness and mental health with access to free individual counselling sessions, workshops and support groups. The Student Welfare Advice Team (SWAT) offer information guides to provide support and advice during your studies.

This course is assessed 100% by coursework. 

We'll test your understanding and progress with informal and formal assessments.

The informal assessments usually take place at least once per module, from which you’ll receive feedback from your tutor. The grades from these assessments don’t count towards your final marks.

There are formal assessments for each module, usually at the end, which will count towards your module and your final marks.

Assessments are reviewed annually and may be updated based on student feedback or feedback from an external examiner.

We'll test your understanding and progress with informal and formal tests.

The informal tests usually take place at least once per module, from which you’ll receive feedback from your tutor. The grades from these tests don’t count towards your final marks.

There are formal assessments for each module, usually at the end, which will count towards your module and your final marks.

Assessments are reviewed annually and may be updated based on student feedback or feedback from an external examiner.

To help you achieve the best results, we will provide regular feedback.