Newly-qualified veterinary nurses to be welcomed into the profession at upcoming RCVS VN Evening

On Thursday 21 October 2021, the RCVS will formally welcome newly-qualified veterinary nurses to the profession at the RCVS VN Evening. During the event, attendees will take their professional declaration, hear speeches from the Chair of VN Council, Matthew Rendle and RCVS President, Kate Richards and find out about the VN Futures initiative’s upcoming activities.

The evening is an important marker in the VN calendar, as it recognises the achievements of Diploma, overseas and CertAVN nurses, through a roll-call where each newly-qualified VN will have their name read out.

As well as welcoming attendees, Matthew will also be delivering the event’s keynote speech, which he will use to talk about his extraordinary career in exotic wildlife nursing and how far the profession has come since he started out in veterinary nursing. There is a lot for the veterinary nursing community to celebrate this year, as 2021 marks the veterinary nursing Diamond Jubilee, is the first year where 20,000 VNs will be on the Register, and in August 2021, the first VN was appointed as a Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) Assessor.

RCVS Director of Veterinary Nursing, Julie Dugmore (pictured) said: “VN Evening is always a highlight for my team and the wider veterinary nursing community, and we are really looking forward to welcoming the newly-qualified veterinary nurses to the profession. This is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the achievements of veterinary nursing, in a very special landmark year for the profession.

“We took the decision to make this VN Evening virtual, which is a choice we didn’t make lightly as we know how much attendees enjoy meeting other veterinary nurses from across the country in person. However, we feel confident that this is the safest and most accessible format for the event, and attendees can be assured that the upcoming VN Evening will be as special and uplifting as always."

All veterinary nurses who are eligible to attend the upcoming VN Evening will be sent a link in an email to register for their place. For further details, please contact the RCVS Events Team at [email protected]. VN Evening is open to all members of the profession to attend, and an email invitation with registration details will be sent in October.