Review of the Standards Framework for Veterinary Nurse Education and Training

Please note: this consultation is now closed.

Introduction from VN Education Committee Chair 

As a responsible regulator with quality assurance at the heart of everything we do, we have a commitment to regularly review our educational standards for veterinary nursing in order to ensure that they remain up-to-date, fit for purpose and reflect the latest developments in the educational landscape.

This consultation on our Standards Framework for Veterinary Nurse Education and Training is part of a five-year review cycle for this document, which sets out the professional values, skills and behaviours required of approved educational institutions (AEIs), delivery sites and training practices (TPs) responsible for providing training and support to our student veterinary nurses.

The aim of the standards framework is to provide AEIs, delivery sites and TPs with the flexibility to develop innovative approaches to education for student veterinary nurses, while being accountable for the local delivery and management of accredited programmes.

We are looking for veterinary nurses in all walks of life – as well as student nurses and veterinary surgeons – to provide constructive and specific feedback on our proposals.

Your insights will help us ensure that the standards continue to enable veterinary nurse educators to deliver the best training and support possible for our students, prepare them for life in clinical practice, and ensure that animal health and welfare is a foremost consideration.

In fact, animal health and welfare and public safety is central to our standards. Students will be in contact with patients and their owners throughout their education and it is important that they learn in a safe and effective way.

Some of the key changes we are proposing to the standards framework are around sustainability, including the potential impact of delivering the veterinary nurse training on the environment, and academic integrity, for example, around assessment and moderation processes. We would particularly appreciate feedback in these key areas.

We are grateful to the members of the task-and-finish working group set up to develop the changes and all other stakeholders and contributors for the development of this new proposed framework.

Please do take the time to read through the Standards Framework in full before undertaking the survey. If you have any questions about the document or how to respond to the survey please don’t hesitate to contact the RCVS Veterinary Nursing Team on [email protected]

Sue Howarth RVN
Chair, VN Education Committee  

The consultation

To review the full draft standards framework as part of the consultation survey, you can either download the PDF version, or browse the web version below.

The survey itself will allow you to leave feedback on each of the six overarching standards, the individual requirements within each standard and the evidence lists that are provided alongside each requirement. 

Download the PDF version

To read the consultation draft standards framework offline, please download the PDF.

NB On mobile devices, we recommend you use the Adobe Acrobat app, and select 'Liquid Mode'.

Browse the web version

Alternatively, to browse the web version, please use either the links below or the navigation on the right (or above on mobile). 

• Standard 1 - Learning culture
• Standard 2 - Governance and quality
• Standard 3 - Student empowerment
• Standard 4 - Educators and assessors
• Standard 5 - Curricula and assessment
• Standard 6 - Effective clinical learning

Any questions?

If you have any questions on any aspect of the consultation please contact the Veterinary Nursing team, on [email protected]