Animal Behaviour

The veterinary nurse certificate programme fee does not include:

• Travel and accommodation costs (if needed for your course)
• Assessment fees or exam fees after the first attempt
• Missed module fees if you haven’t notified us in writing more than 14 days before the module date
• Access to further textbooks, libraries, and journals of your choice.

The vet nurse certificate programme fee includes:

• Learning materials
• Access to the online learning platform
• Registration with ISVPS and exam fee (first attempt only)
• Access to a programme coordinator
• Refreshments and lunch during face-to-face and practical sessions

The length of the training programme for the veterinary nurse certificates varies depending on the subject. Start and end dates can be found in the course information for each subject. Planned module dates (subject to change) are visible in the ‘modules’ tab. The assessments are then held after the training programme is complete. Most delegates complete their veterinary nurse certificate programme within a 12–18-month time period (depending on course start and assessment dates).

Taking a veterinary nurse certificate can have significant benefits for the nurse and their practice as a whole. While these can vary depending on a nurse’s position, the practice environment, and the subject area they study, nurses with certificates generally:

• Acquire new skills, enabling them to manage cases with confidence
• Gain respect from colleagues and the public, contributing to higher job satisfaction and easier salary conversations with current and future employers
• Develop valuable study skills that support further post-qualification studies and enhance professional development

Further qualifications like veterinary nurse certificates don’t just benefit the individual – the practice usually sees a benefit too, which is why many practices provide funding and time off to allow nurses to complete certificates. Practices may see:

• Improved patient outcomes due to the candidate’s enhanced nursing skills, and the spreading of those skills through the team
• Increased client satisfaction from improved in-house nursing capabilities, which may be the difference between referral and in-house care
• Better staff retention and easier recruitment resulting from higher job satisfaction and clearly demonstrated support for professional development
• In some cases, a veterinary nurse certificate will equip a delegate with the knowledge and skills to run clinics or offer services that were previously unavailable, such as nutrition consultations or physiotherapy services. This can provide a new revenue stream for practices.

Veterinary nurses will need to successfully complete the following assessments in order to be awarded the veterinary nurse certificate (or paraprofessional certificate, if this applies):

• A written assignment (usually a case report, pass mark 50%) linked to their chosen field of study
• An online 60-minute Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) exam, for which the pass mark is standardised.
• A 90-minute Online Applied Knowledge Examination (OAKE), which uses a variety of questions to assess the application of clinical knowledge, for which the pass mark is 60% 

The assessments are organised and run by ISVPS and may vary slightly depending on the exact certificate you are taking. More information will be given in your MyImprove area once you have started the programme, but you can also contact us if you have questions.

Delegates who successfully complete the Nurse Certificate (NCert) or Veterinary Paraprofessional Certificate (VPPCert) assessments are awarded the certificate and are allowed to use the postnominals NCert or VPPCert followed by their abbreviated discipline in brackets. For example, nurses taking the Certificate in Anaesthesia will be allowed to use the postnominals NCert(AnaesthNsg) . The ISVPS NCert/VPPCert awards are not currently approved for inclusion in the RCVS register. They are internationally, peer recognised awards.  Your postnominals can be displayed wherever you deem appropriate, except on the RCVS register.

The Veterinary Paraprofessional Certificate (VPPCert) is a certificate programme for people working as veterinary nurses but who have no formal training. There are strict eligibility criteria. Delegates do not have to be RVNs, but they do need to be working mainly in a nursing role in veterinary practice, for instance, animal care assistants and kennel assistants who have nursing duties.

A Nurse Certificate (NCert) is an internationally recognised qualification for veterinary nurses, accredited by ISVPS. It is awarded in a specific subject area or discipline, and is evidence of a veterinary nurse’s dedication to their chosen area of medicine. In studying a veterinary nurse certificate, nurses develop their skills and learn new techniques, enabling them to improve the care of their patients. Veterinary nurses with certificates are highly employable, and the ISVPS Nurse Certificate is highly regarded by peers and employers all over the world.

We recommend taking each module in order and taking the assessments on the first attempt. If this is not possible you have 3 years to attend the 75% of the taught modules required to be exam-eligible and a further 4 years to pass the ISVPS assessments. This means that if a module needs to be missed due to unforeseen circumstances, or you need more time to prepare for the assessments, your course can be flexible. If you are worried about missing multiple modules or needing longer to complete your veterinary nursing certificate, we recommend contacting our friendly team for help and advice.

Proof of qualifications as awarded in the country of origin will be required prior to enrolment on the programme. These are required by ISVPS for exam registration. Please do contact us to discuss your eligibility for further information. 

Please note that you may require a visa to attend a face-to-face programme. Guidance on this can be obtained from your local embassy. Delegates should ensure they are able to attend all sessions prior to booking. Please note that the Student Tier 4 Visa is not applicable to Improve Veterinary Education delegates as a result of us being a private education provider. We do not provide support with obtaining visas but can provide supporting documentation to support your application if requested.

We have two main venues for our practical modules and CPD courses:

Courses and sessions marked as ‘Swindon’ will be held in our Clinical Excellence Centre, which can be found on the Ground Floor, Delta 1200, Delta Business Park, Welton Road, Swindon, SN5 7XZ.

Courses and sessions marked as ‘Sheffield’ will be held at Benchmark House, 8 Smithy Wood Drive, Chapeltown, Sheffield S35 1QN.
Find out more about our venues and facilities.

Start times vary between 09:00 and 09:30, depending on the course you are attending. Please refer to communications from your Programme Coordinator or Practical Course Coordinator, or check the online learning platform for details. UK venues open at 08:30 to give you plenty of time to get settled in.

You will have a short morning and afternoon break to get refreshments and an hour-long lunch break.

Improve Veterinary Education established the Pet Gifting scheme several years ago, which allows local veterinary practices to offer clients the option to donate their pet to us at time of euthanasia. Please contact us or speak to a member of the team at the venue if you would like more information.

Practical surgical sessions, held in the wet labs, will have PPE provided (surgical gowns). You may chose to bring scrubs, if you wish. For modules/courses involving live dogs (including ultrasound and physiotherapy courses), we recommend bringing a scrub top. No open-toed shoes are to be worn for practical modules.

Delegates attending face-to-face or practical CPD from overseas may require a Visa in order to participate in sessions. Please seek advice from your local embassy in relation to exact requirements. Improve Veterinary Education (IVE) does not provide support in obtaining Visas, but we can supply documentation to support your application. Please also note that a Student Tier 4 Visa is not applicable because IVE is a private education provider.

No, we do not sedate dogs used in practical CPD courses, including ultrasound scanning courses. The dogs we use are chosen for their relaxed and compliant temperament and if they show signs of distress, they are removed and allowed to settle.

The dogs we use are clinically fit and healthy. We are not able to source animals with specific problems and we feel that would be unethical. Learning to accurately scan and assess normal physiology is the best approach when teaching ultrasonography.

We are very grateful to the owners of dogs who allow their dogs to be used for our ultrasound CPD. We always ask the owners whether their dog can be clipped and make them aware of the benefit to our vets and nurses of having a clipped patient. However, clipping is sometimes denied, especially if the dog has previously had clipper rash, as many of our ultrasound scanning dogs are return patients. We find enabling the ultrasound gel to soak in by applying in advance allows non-clipped dogs to be used.

We do not provide cats for any practical ultrasound courses or modules, due to the stress this would cause to the animal through transportation and restraint. As it is not clinically necessary to scan the cat, it would not be ethical to use them for learning purposes.

We accept payments by credit card/debit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and bank transfer (BACS).

It is not possible to set up a payment plan for short or practical CPD courses. However, vet and vet nurse/paraprofessional certificate programmes have payment plans available, allowing you to pay a deposit for enrolment and then monthly instalments. Details about the amount and number of instalments can be found in the pricing tab for each programme on our website.

Not all payment methods can be used for direct debit due to their technical characteristics. For direct debit you can use a debit card, a credit card, or your bank account number.

Before starting to pay instalments, you will receive an invoice detailing the remaining balance (e.g the remaining amount after deducting the deposit you’ve paid from the total cost of the enrolment).

Your instalment payments will be allocated against this invoice, which reduces the outstanding amount with each instalment you pay. There won’t be a separate invoice for each instalment.

Depending on the payment method chosen for the Direct Debit the payment can take more days to be processed. For example, credit and debit card payments will be charged immediately and might appear on the same or the next day in your bank account statement. However, payments charged on your bank account (BACS/SEPA payments) might take up to 5 business days to be processed.

There might be other reasons for the payment not being processed. Here are the main reasons:

• Insufficient funds on the account
• Transaction is not authorised by the bank
• Card used for the payment has expired
• Card issuer suspected fraud and declined transaction

If the transaction has been declined by the bank, please contact them to discuss the problem, then try again to make the payment.

• Bad internet connection.
• Amount you have tried to pay is much higher than your daily spending pattern so your bank didn´t authorise the transaction for safety reasons.
• You have exceeded the limit of the transactions per day.
• Missing Strong Customer Authentication.
• Insufficient funds on the account.

If you wish to pay for your CPD course or certificate programme by bank transfer (BACS), the bank details are at the bottom of the invoice.

According to our terms and conditions you have a 14-day cooling off period from the date your order was placed. If you cancel your order within this time, your full order will be refunded. If your circumstances change after the 14 days have passed and it is more than 30 days from the start day of the CPD course you would be liable for the deposit, and the rest will be refunded to you. If it is less than 30 days from the start date of the course you would be liable for the full cost of the course. We are sometimes able to offer the option to defer to another cohort or to substitute another person into the place on the course. Please contact our friendly team for more information.

• Full payment – the total amount of the enrolment price must be paid within 30 days of registration.
• Deposit + remaining amount – deposit for the enrolment must be paid within 5 days of registration, while the remaining amount of the enrolment must be paid up to 30 days before the course starting date.
• Deposit + instalments – deposit for the enrolment must be paid within 5 days of registration, while the remaining amount of the enrolment will be split into instalments and paid once per month following an established payment plan.

The cost of any CPD course or veterinary certificate programme, including applicable payment schedules, can be found in the ‘pricing’ tab of any programme page.

For those taking a programme that includes a HAU qualification (eg a PgC programme), the cost of the assessments is included in the fees. However, this only applies to first attempts – if you require a re-sit, you’ll need to pay HAU directly. Please contact our team for more information on how to do this.

For those taking a programme that includes an ISVPS qualification, the cost of the assessments is included in the programme fee. However, this only applies to first attempts – if you require a re-sit, you’ll need to pay ISVPS directly. If you need more information, contact our friendly team.

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