Information

The Review Process

Occupational Standards
During 2001 the Occupational Standards which set the national standards of competence for veterinary nurses were reviewed by Lantra, the National Training Organisation for the agricultural sector. This review was conducted by a working group comprising veterinary and veterinary nursing practitioners and representatives from the RCVS (as the Awarding Body for VN awards) and other major stakeholders in veterinary nurse training (BSAVA and BVNA). 

Assessment Strategy
The Assessment Strategy (regulations) for veterinary nursing has also been subject to review by Lantra. 

Portfolio and Syllabus
The veterinary nursing syllabus and portfolio have been reviewed by the RCVS in order to ensure that they underpin the knowledge requirements of the new Occupational Standards and their assessment in practice.

The portfolio was substantially revised in 2001 using the (then draft) new standards as a guide. The current revision was therefore predominantly a re-formatting exercise to facilitate ease of reference between the standards and portfolio. The re-formatted document was made available for information in April and has been issued to all candidates enrolling for the re-accredited veterinary nursing awards since August.

The review of the syllabus has taken place in two stages:

• Level 2 draft document
• Level 3 draft document

The time available for the review of the syllabus document was governed by the availability of the accredited occupational standards (in January 2002) and the need to submit a proposal for re-accreditation of the veterinary nursing awards (in April 2002). This tight timeframe left no time for effective and essential consultation with the veterinary profession. It was therefore agreed that, whilst the award proposal and portfolio were submitted for accreditation in April, the syllabus development was extended in order to allow time for feedback from practitioners and veterinary nurse educators. This means that the new syllabus has been available for the guidance of colleges and centres in final draft form since August and will be submitted for accreditation in the autumn.