VN Summer Examinations - updated results

A small number of veterinary nurses who thought they had failed their practical examination this summer have in fact passed, with an examination scoring problem to blame for the error, according to the RCVS Awarding Body for the Veterinary Nursing NVQ. 

The issue concerns 16 candidates who sat their level 3 practical examination at Harper Adams or Glasgow in July of this year where certain candidates were marked as failing an anaesthetic task when in fact they had passed. 

In ten cases, candidates have now been informed that they have passed the examination. In six other cases, conversion from failure to pass for this task means that the candidate is now only required to re-sit one section of the examination instead of all four sections. 

The Awarding Body has carried out a comprehensive review of all failed candidates at both examination centres in question and can confirm that the problem is restricted to a small number of candidates, out of a total of 617 who took this practical examination section during the summer.  All 16 of the candidates involved have been notified of the change to their results, and an up-to-date pass list is available on the website.  

There is no need for candidates who have not been contacted by the Awarding Body to be concerned about the reliability of their result.  

"This is a very unfortunate situation and we are sorry for any distress that it may have caused those candidates concerned. It does only involve a small number of candidates but we appreciate that when it is your exam results that are in question, the total number involved is irrelevant," explained Libby Earle, VN Awarding Body Manager at the RCVS.  

"The RCVS Awarding Body takes the consistency and quality assurance of its examination process very seriously and we are taking immediate steps to reduce the risk of such an occurrence in the future. For example, we are stipulating training programmes for those examiners involved.  

"We will also be introducing optically-read marking for the winter examination, as part of the new Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) model of assessment," she concluded. 

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Lizzie Lockett (020 7202 0725) [email protected]
External Affairs Department
RoyalCollegeof Veterinary Surgeons

NOTES FOR EDITORS

 1. The RCVS is the regulatory body for veterinary surgeons in the UK and deals with issues of professional misconduct, maintaining the register of veterinary surgeons eligible to practise in the UK and assuring standards of veterinary education.

2. The RCVS has two key functions in relation to veterinary nursing: the maintenance of the statutory list of veterinary nurses and the award of veterinary nursing NVQs and RCVS diploma qualifications.