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Unit information: Professional Veterinary Nursing Practice in 2023/24

Unit name Professional Veterinary Nursing Practice
Unit code VETS20023
Credit points 40
Level of study I/5
Teaching block(s) Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director Mrs. Irwin-Porter
Open unit status Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)

All first and second year units

Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)

Other third year units

Units you may not take alongside this one

N/A

School/department Bristol Veterinary School
Faculty Faculty of Health Sciences

Unit Information

This Unit will cover the key aspects of practising as a veterinary nursing professional, including consideration of what a professional is and the rights and responsibilities associated with the role. The students will develop a clear understanding of clinical governance and evidence-based practice and the importance of both when practicing professionally. The unit aims to foster the development of reflective and proactive practitioners, capable of taking responsibility for their own professional growth and development and who understand and embrace the concept of lifelong learning.

Unit Aims:

Build on the knowledge and understanding gained in the first and second year of the programme regarding the legal and ethical frameworks that govern the clinical work of veterinary nursing professionals

Provide a critical reflection framework enabling students to examine and evaluate their own performance in the work place and having a work- life balance using a reflective approach to practice

Foster the mindset of a proactive professional able to take responsibility for personal and professional growth and development through devising and implementing relevant strategies

Develop an understanding of the role of interprofessional relationships, to enhance client communication and build the practice-client relationship.

Critically analyse the importance of professional and personal development and accountability and the roles which evidence-based practice and clinical governance play as part of this.

Develop the skills required to provide support and mentorship to colleagues within the work place

Select and implement a range of quality assurance and risk management strategies to create and maintain a safe clinical environment

Develop the skills required to deal with difficult conversations with clients and colleagues

Your learning on this unit

On completion of this Unit, veterinary nursing students should be able to:

  1. Apply legal and ethical frameworks to professional practice
  2. Demonstrate the use of a reflective approach to practice
  3. Demonstrate the mindset of a proactive professional who takes responsibility for their own growth and development through devising and implementing relevant strategies
  4. Analyse and evaluate the role of interprofessional relationships in building and maintaining the practice-client relationship
  5. Critically analyse the importance of professional and personal development and accountability, including the role of continued professional development, evidence-based practice and clinical governance.
  6. Model the skills required to provide support and mentorship to colleagues within the work place.
  7. Describe strategies to recognise and manage external and internal factors influencing work-life balance
  8. Select and implement a range of quality assurance and risk management strategies to create and maintain a safe clinical environment

How you will learn

Online synchronous and asynchronous teaching and learning

Small group working

Use of Virtual learning environment (Blackboard)

How you will be assessed

Students must pass each of the following assessments:

A reflective presentation on a critical incident (100% weighting).

A set of 3 reflective logs to be completed and submitted at given deadlines through the year (Must pass each submission)

Students must achieve a passmark of 40% in each component. All components must be passed to pass the unit and all units must be passed in order to progress to the next year of study.

Students may be offered a resit opportunity during the resit period.

Please note that practical and technical skills will also be assessed via the RCVS Nursing Progress Log.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. VETS20023).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.

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