New awarding organisations for veterinary nursing diploma

For the first time, student veterinary nurses have a choice of approved awarding organisations for the Level 3 Diploma in Veterinary Nursing, as the RCVS has fully approved City & Guilds and Central Qualifications to deliver the qualification. 

Central Qualifications and City & Guilds received RCVS approval to award the Diploma following a meeting of the Veterinary Nurses Education Subcommittee on Monday 2 December 2013.

They are the first awarding organisations to be approved for the Level 3 Diploma since the College decided to wind down its awarding organisation status in order to avoid potential conflict of interest with its role as regulator of the veterinary professions.

Julie Dugmore, Head of Veterinary Nursing at the RCVS, comments: “We are delighted that both Central Qualifications and City & Guilds are now fully approved as it means that students achieving the Level 3 Diploma from either organisation will now not have to pass the RCVS pre-registration Objectively Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in addition to their Diploma exams.

“This is a landmark for the profession as, up until now, there was only one awarding organisation – the RCVS – for Further Education veterinary nurse training.”

Other institutions to receive approval at the VN Education Subcommittee were the Royal Agricultural University, which was provisionally approved to award an FdSc in Veterinary Nursing; the Scottish Qualifications Authority, which received full approval to award an HND in Veterinary Nursing; and Oxford Brookes University, which was provisionally approved to deliver the RCVS Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing.

View a full list of approved awarding institutions and centres.