The UK’s largest veterinary group has launched a pioneering programme to help “upskill and accelerate” its overseas nurses to RVN status and plug a gap in the nursing workforce.
Following a successful pilot, Independent Vetcare (IVC) has given its Overseas Nurse Programme (ONP) the green light, as part of the group’s well-received Nurse Development Programme.
In a statement, the group said: “Staying true to their ‘belief in people’ principle, IVC is proactively investing in training for its overseas nurses whose qualifications are not recognised by the RCVS, therefore preventing them from working as an RVN in UK practices.”
Partnership
Working in partnership with Plumpton College in East Sussex, the course offers intensive training to upskill qualifying overseas nurses, supporting them in gaining RVN status with the RCVS in the UK.
RVN Jen Clarke, IVC nurse development manager, said: “We recognise the value, knowledge and skills in our nurses who have already undergone a veterinary nurse qualification in another country. The IVC Overseas Nurse Programme is, therefore, something we are very passionate about, enabling us to offer these key members of our practice teams the opportunity to develop existing skills, gain new ones and acquire additional knowledge through registration.”
Avoiding the lengthy period of supervised adaptation process and need for a clinical coach, the programme is designed to reduce the time to enter the register.
Delivered with its partners at Plumpton College, the programme consists of online learning, a two-week residential course with practical and theory training, one-to-one tuition, mock examinations, and concludes with the RCVS practical Objectively Structured Clinical Examinations.
Pilot
IVC ran a pilot ONP at Plumpton College in April with three nurses and the next intake of “probably a dozen” will be in August. The group is recruiting.
Miss Clarke said: “I think this [ONP] is a huge step for us. This really opens the door – not only for nurses living in the UK who are from overseas, but to welcome other skills from overseas into the profession as well.”
For further information, contact IVC recruitment manager Debbie Loding at dloding@independentvetcare.co.uk
- Read the full story in the 4 June issue of Veterinary Times.
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