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Vet group to run teen vet nurse course
Teenagers will have the opportunity to try various nursing tasks, including suturing, bandaging and clinical examinations.
The two-day course will give teenagers an insight into the vet nurse career.

An independent veterinary group in Scotland is to run a veterinary nursing course for 15- 17 year olds.

Thrums Vets will run the two-day course at various points throughout the year, to inspire more young people to join the veterinary nursing profession.

During the course, participants will be able to shadow nurses at the group’s Kirriemuir practice as they complete their rounds. They will then have the opportunity to perform various nursing tasks including suturing, bandaging and clinical examinations.

Students will also carry out fluid therapy, radiography positioning, patient care and laboratory work.

As well as practical experience with veterinary nursing, students will learn about the studying and qualifications needed to become a veterinary nurse. Thrums Vets’ team will present talks on their own experiences, and their paths into the profession.

Following the course, those interested in pursuing a career in the industry will be assigned a mentor to support their progression.

The first course will be launched in May, to coincide with Veterinary Nursing Awareness Month 2024. It is already fully booked, and the team are planning another course for June or July.

The idea to run a course for teenagers follows the success of The Thrums Vet School Preparation Programme, a three-day course for 16 and 17 year olds interested in becoming veterinary surgeons.

The veterinary group believes that running these courses for young people will help to ease the recruitment crisis within the veterinary industry.

Ashley Wilkie, associate managing director at Thrums Vets and a registered veterinary nurse, said: “Both these courses are amongst the first of their kind in the UK and we’re hoping that they can help ease the veterinary industry’s recruitment crisis over the long-term. At the end of the course, attendees will have a mentor to support them if they choose to pursue a career in the industry.

“The mentorship is part of our ambition to help produce a cohort of skilled, engaged and talented individuals that will benefit both Thrums and the veterinary industry as a whole in the future.”

Image © Thrums Vets

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
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