CPD for veterinary nurses: Our 7 most popular courses for 2025
We know the value that well trained veterinary nurses can bring to veterinary practice, and we’re committed to creating CPD that helps vet nurses – whatever their level – expand their knowledge and skills. In fact, we provide so much CPD for veterinary nurses that it can all get a little confusing. So, we decided to put together a list of our top 7 vet nurse CPD courses for 2025.
Choosing CPD as a veterinary nurse
When it comes to choosing your vet nurse CPD, you’ll first want to decide what sort of CPD you want to do. Do you want to do a practical short course, which gives you instant skills to take back to practice, or work towards a further qualification like a veterinary nurse certificate, which gets you international recognition of your further skills?
Another important consideration is what subject or discipline you want to study in. The RCVS recommends that vets and nurses plan CPD (rather than take random free cpd courses) which allows you to identify and fill skill gaps or gain confidence in areas you’re struggling with. So have a think about what subjects you’re less confident in as you plan your CPD. Aside from that, you’ll want to think about whether the speaker is a good one, whether you learn best hands-on or need the flexibility of online learning, and when you can get away to do your CPD. We’ve also got a blog article full of more tips for choosing vet nurse CPD and a free nurse CPD webinar about planning your CPD. Or, why not read how our CPD Advisors can give you free careers advice.
Our most popular CPD courses for veterinary nurses
Without further ado, let’s look at our CPD for veterinary nurses, and what’s popular for 2025.
1. Veterinary Nurse Anaesthesia Certificate
We offer a vet nurse anaesthesia certificate programme to help veterinary nurses gain a Nurse Certificate – a globally recognised further qualification accredited by the International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS). With a face-to-face option and an online-only option (with optional practical modules), this anaesthesia certificate is one of the most popular courses we hold each year. You’ll gain important skills, including anaesthetics for complex cases, fluid therapy, exotic anaesthesia, and CPR. The face-to-face vet nurse anaesthesia certificate programme is held in our well-equipped Clinical Excellence Centre in Swindon, and starts in September. For those who struggle to travel, the online programme to achieve a certificate in veterinary anaesthesia starts in June.
Already got an anaesthesia certificate, or very experienced in veterinary anaesthesia already? We also offer an Advanced Certificate in Anaesthesia Nursing to help you progress your skills further.
2. Small Animal Nutrition Certificate
For veterinary nurses who enjoy clinics, the Nurse Certificate in Small Animal Nutrition is ideal. It’s always a popular course, because nutrition impacts so much of our pets’ lives. It’s also a good one for veterinary nurse careers – every veterinary practice wants a nurse they can direct clients to for nutrition queries! Our veterinary nurse nutrition certificate programme starts in October and, over 8 modules ending in May, prepares nurses for the ISVPS exams to achieve a Nurse Certificate (NCert), an international post-training certificate for vet nurses.
Sound interesting? Read more about our Small Animal Nutrition Certificate programme for veterinary nurses.
3. Practical CPR CPD for Veterinary Nurses
Ever-popular, this CPR course is designed for vets and nurses to complete together, although this isn’t mandatory. On registering, you’ll get access to 8.5 hours of online training with RECOVER, which you should complete ahead of the two practical days, which provide 12 hours of CPD. In total, this emergency CPR CPD for veterinary nurses is worth 20.5 hours. Delegates that complete this CPD course will be named ‘RECOVER Rescuers’ – a recognised CPR certification. We’re running the practical days in March (in Sheffield), July, and October (in Swindon), but the course closes to bookings a month before these dates to ensure people have enough time to complete their online training. Numbers are strictly limited to allow proper teaching and support, so book now to avoid disappointment!
Find out more about our CPR training for veterinary nurses.
4. Practical Ultrasound Triage CPD for Veterinary Nurses
Another fantastic CPD option for vet nurses focusing their CPD around emergency care is this practical ultrasound triage course. This one-day ultrasound CPD course will teach you how to do Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) scans, including TFAST and AFAST scans, to triage emergency patients when the vet is already busy. This year, we’re offering it in June in Sheffield and August in Swindon – but it books up fast, so if you want to get 6 hours of CPD in veterinary nurse ultrasound skills, get booking!
Find out more about our veterinary nurse ultrasound triage course.
5. Advanced Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care Nursing
If you’ve got at least 5 years of experience as a veterinary nurse or already have a Nurse Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care, the Advanced Nurse Certificate might be of interest. This popular course is designed to help nurses extend their emergency medicine skills further, covering topics such as transfusion medicine and toxicology, as well as a unique clinic management module to help nurses manage emergency medicine teams. This is not just CPD for veterinary nurses – it’s a next-level certificate programme for those that want to reach the very top of their game in ECC nursing. The 8-module programme next starts in August.
Find out more about the Advanced Certificate in Emergency and Critical Care Nursing.
6. One-day Online Wildlife Nursing Course
We’d argue there isn’t a veterinary nurse in practice who hasn’t tried to hand-rear wildlife, pick ticks off hedgehogs, or deal with deer RTAs. This course (suitable for both vets and nurses) covers ethics, handling, triage, treatment, and rehabilitation and release of wildlife, making it a must-do CPD course for veterinary nurses. This one-day course is held entirely online, so you’ll just need to book the time off work and curl up on the sofa with your laptop to get your 6 CPD hours. We’re only holding the course once this year – in May – so book now to reserve your space!
Find out more about the short online Wildlife Nursing Course.
7. Nurse Certificate in Diagnostic Imaging
Since diagnostic imaging is extremely common and important in small animal practice, and because veterinary nurses are often heavily involved (especially in radiography), this is a hugely relevant and popular veterinary nurse certificate programme. The 8 modules are delivered in a blended format – online theory and in-person practical sessions – so that they’re easily accessible for even the busiest vet nurses. It starts in June, so get booking!
Find out more about the Nurse Certificate in Diagnostic Imaging.
More help choosing your vet nurse CPD
Of course, we have more CPD for veterinary nurses than just the list above. You can browse through our Veterinary Nurse Brochure for a full list of our courses, or drill down for a particular course with our Advanced Search. Or, if you’re still stuck and need help choosing the right course or level for you, contact us or fill out this form to speak to our dedicated CPD advisors.
