Small Animal Nutrition

Whilst most delegate complete the certification within a 12–18-month time period (depending on course start and assessment dates). Delegates have 3 –years to attend 75% of the taught modules to be exam eligible and a further 4-years to pass the ISVPS assessments.

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Registration for the examination (and associated written assessment) is automatic and delegates are required to confirm via a response e-mail. Those wanting only to take the modular programme as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours can do so. However, they should notify both Improve Veterinary Education and ISVPS upon starting their programme. Please note delegates will not be able to use the post nominals associated with the particular subject qualification and be awarded the qualification badge.  

Upon confirming with ISVPS delegates will be sent a confirmation email containing a password to access the ISVPS ‘Candidates’ Area’, which is separate to Improve Veterinary Education’s Learning Management System (LMS). In addition to providing access to assessment guidance, the ISVPS 

‘Candidates’ Area’ also permits candidates to submit their written assessment to ISVPS anonymously. 

We suggest that all delegates english@isvps.org  to their contacts to ensure they receive correspondence from ISVPS.

The majority of NCert/VTCert/VPPCert programme are worth a minimum of 100 CPD hours (approximately 48 hours of delivered sessions and 52 hours self-study time). Please note that CPD hours are depending on the number of modules per programme.  

The programme is worth a minimum of 12 CPD hours (approximately 48 hours of delivered sessions and 52 hours self-study time).

Even though you may access our world-leading Learning Management System via any browser, it is recommended that you choose a browser that supports integrated HTML editor. Google Chrome or Edge on a Windows operating system, and Chrome, Edge or Safari on a Mac system. 

While using Internet Explorer (Edge) should not cause any issue, it has been reported that some security settings and adherence to W3C standards prevent the browser from operating in some instances. If you experience a problem, please try one of the other browsers before contacting Improve for additional support. 

Progress of the completion of your module and programme are tracked in different ways. 

For online programmes – Each module consists of 9 interactive lessons including a reflective/case study, MCQ writing and calculation practice during week 4, depending on the specific module. The interactive lessons will track and remember your progress whilst you complete it. When you return to a specific lesson or case study, you will return to the page that you last visited. 

Once a lesson is completed, a tick will appear next to the lesson icon on the module course page. You will also see a progress indicator at the top right-hand corner of the course page and a more detailed Progress Bar in the collapsible side menu on the left. 

Upon completing all 9 lessons and the 2 case/reflected studies, you will be awarded a Digital Badge, recognising your achievement. As you progress through the programme, badges will be awarded at 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 completion stages. 

Once you have completed a module you will also be marked as attending the taught session and will be able to download your CPD certificate.  

For attendance programmes – We will ask you to sign in at arrival. Once you have signed delegates will then be able to download their CPD certificate.  

Our programmes are postgraduate qualifications and require a sound knowledge of veterinary anatomy, physiology and nursing prior to entry.

• NCert – you must have received and passed a Veterinary Nurse qualification. Proof of qualification will be required for eligibility.
• VPPCert – you must have been working in a veterinary environment for two years and provide evidence that you have been involved within the discipline, which is being taught on the particular programme, for which you are seeking access. This will require proof of employment with reference, current CV and self-certification.

• To obtain either the NCert/VTCert or VPPCert delegates will require to: 
  • Attend 75% of the taught modules 
  • Submit a 2500 word written assessment (requires academic writing and Harvard referencing) 
  • Complete and pass a one-hour remotely invigilated online examination consisting of 25 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)  and 90 minute online applied knowledge examination (OAKE) 

Registration for the examination (and associated written assessment) is optional, and delegates undertaking an Improve Veterinary Education modular training programme can choose to attend the course without undertaking any assessment. Delegates choosing NOT to undertake any assessment receive acknowledgement of their ‘Continuing Professional Development’ (CPD) hours from Improve Veterinary Education but ARE NOT eligible to receive the NCert/VPPCert in their chosen discipline.  

Registration is via a unique registration link provided at the start of the course via the online learning platform Moodle. Upon registration, you can anticipate email confirmation. (Please add english@isvps.org to your contacts to ensure you receive correspondence from ISVPS).  

The confirmation email contains a password to access the ISVPS ‘Candidates’ Area’, which is separate to Improve Veterinary Education’s Learning Management System (LMS). In addition to providing access to assessment guidance, the ISVPS ‘Candidates’ Area’ also permits candidates to submit their written assessment to ISVPS anonymously. 

In addition to the 2500-word written assessment, we suggest that delegates spend an additional 52 hours of self-study. You will also require access to journals and articles via an internet library service. All modular nursing programme have access to the RCVS knowledge library. Delegates will be required to register via the online learning platform. Other internet library services are available   (e.g. PubMed; Google scholar) which may incur an additional registration fee. 

The examination fee is included in the full course price however those delegates that require to resist any part of the assessments will be subject to additional assessment fees which are paid directly to ISVPS. Delegates will also be provided with a suggested reading list where there may be additional cost of books and articles depending on the individual preferences. 

If attending an attendance programme, travel and accommodation fees will also be applicable. We suggest ensuring that your travel and accommodation reservations are always refundable for unforeseen situations. We try our best not to cancel or move dates, however there may be times when speakers are unable to attend at short notice.  If we need to change dates, we will notify delegates at the earliest opportunity and do our best to replace and or reschedule.  

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. 

• Notes to support every lesson 
• Reading list 
• Module Tutor (diploma holder and or above in their field) 
• Improve Education Programme Tutor 
• Discussion Forum 
• Pre and post-module questions 
• Reflective sessions incorporating multiple-choice writing and study skills 
• Summary videos at the end of each week