Veterinary nursing - Further Ed route or degree?

[basilbrush]

I was wondering if anybody had any knowledge experience of their child training to become a vet nurse or someone who has done it themselves?

As far as I can work out there are two options -

1. Do a Level 3 Diploma in Vet Nursing at an FE College at age 16 which takes two or three years
2. Do A levels including Biology at school and then apply to do a Vet Nursing degree which takes three or four years

There seems to a huge difference in the amount of money required to train - uni fees compared with no fees at all for FE!

Is there a big difference in starting salary / job opportunities / career progression for those who choose to go the degree route rather than the diploma route?

Am I right in thinking that to do the diploma you also need to be accepted by a local practice as an apprentice?

Any insight gratefully received!

My brother in law is a vet
Said he would never recommend vet nursing. Pay is poor- expected to stay on to recover pets post op so not off on time atall and their receptionist can be trained in what the vet needs off a vet nurse that has been to college !!

I went to college to train, was paid for my hours at work whereas a lot of degree nurses weren't paid for their placements, at the end we were all paid the same so I would say College is better. However I would agree its not the best profession to go in, the hours are long, pay isn't great, your mental and physical health takes a toll and its difficult to do as you get older

If degree vet nurses qualify at age 21/22 but others “qualify” at 18/19 and do exactly the same work and get paid the same, what on earth is the point of the degree? Why would anyone bother? Oddly, they do. I know someone with Vet Nursing and Bioveterinary science degree who is now working for the Government in a non animal role. More money!

@TizerorFizz Yes, well I was asking myself the same question...

Trouble is, we live in a remote area and there is no FE College offering the Level 3 Diploma for over 70 miles. So my DC would have to either move away and stay with grandparents at 16 to attend an FE course near them or wait and do A-levels here and then try and get onto the degree course which wouldn't earn them any more money (based on the replies here)

So looks like we need to persuade DC to think about different career path!

The college path does need a placement on a training practice where you work full time and go to college one day a week on top to learn the theory,so it is intense and poorly paid.i would recommend your DC to go and volunteer in a practice before deciding it as a career as like pp have said it's low wages and your pretty poorly treated in alot of places.

Agricultural colleges often seem to have boarding houses for those who live too far away for a daily commute.

The degree probably offers more scope for diversifying into other jobs down the line. Which, sadly, many vet nurses do.

Harper Adams has a 16-18 boarding house? Not sure how it would be to be 16 on campus with a bunch of rowdy undergraduate farmers, but might be worth looking at?

Option 3 - an apprenticeship in veterinary nursing
https://findapprenticeshiptraining.apprenticeships.education.gov.uk/courses/333

@Mmmmpavlova Is this not all about pay? Plus out of hours working? It’s an issue that we have a country of animal lovers but many who don’t have the money to care for their pets when it’s needed. The demise of the independent vet practice is also an issue.

@Radyward
Your brother sounds like everything that is wrong with the veterinary profession and it’s treatment of nurses!

@basilbrush it is entirely possible for vet nurses to earn liveable salaries (corporates pay around £30,000) though it definitely isn’t a profession to get rich on. Progress to PG qualifications and areas of specialism such as anaesthesia, oncology and ECC are increasingly common. There’s a growing movement for nurse practitioner status, similar to human nurses. However these career options are more likely if a nurse has a degree - you can’t do MSc level training later in your career with only a level 3 NVQ so the degree opens more doors. Nurses are also involved in teaching research and academia and can be employed by charities, universities and referral centres.

nursing degrees also usually include management and leadership skills, and it’s entirely possible for nurses to buy into joint venture practices and run their own businesses.

And a role they wouldn’t have got without a degree. Degrees open up a greater diversity of career opportunities

Thank you @FurAndFeathers this is v useful

I think it’s a shame you’re persuading your child against their chosen career based on a couple of MN replies.
its hardly a robust evidence base for persuading them out of a rewarding career they may love and succeed in.

VN degrees like any other degree open doors to lots of opportunities, but regardless of this many RVNs are very happy doing a job they love.
why wouldn’t you want that for your child?

I notice Bristol is not offering the degree I referenced above now. The bio veterinary element has been replaced by animal behaviour. Maybe this allows the grad nurse to make more money?

Also £30,000 is low. What salary profession is there? A medical nurse starting out now gets close to that. Their average salary is £37,000. You take a big pay hit looking after animals!

Yes. The profession as whole is poorly paid 🤷‍♀️

the only way to increase that would be to pass the cost on to clients and there’s already enough vile behaviour from clients towards vet staff regarding finances as it is.

Feel free to pm me, I worked for an organisation that delivers both the diploma and degree for vet nursing

I wouldn't do the degree. Ridiculous way to train a bet t
Nurse. Fees are huge and after the pay is low and career progression limited Most vet nurses do other jobs after a ten years It's hard work.

Do the collage route.

.

And we offer virtual learning, so your location may not be an issue. There are pros and cons to both routes into vet nursing. Yes it's hard but it's also very rewarding.

And if you left clinical vet nursing after 10 years with only an NVQ what career prospects do you think would be available?

Also why do you think degrees are ‘ridiculous’ for vet nurses?
do you feel the same about nurses in the NHS?

The fact that people don't always stay in vet nursing long term is EXACTLY why it's better to do the degree.

I have many friends who are vet nurses and after leaving clinical practise they have used their VN degrees to get into lots of other varied jobs both within the veterinary industry but also other industries - pharmaceutical, insurance, business/management, medical etc etc. Often with a potential for a pretty good earning power. It's good to have a degree.

I was a vet nurse and trained through day release.

I feel it's too much money debt to a shell out for a low paid profession. Also feel the same about many other professions.

It's not right that a young resin is Saddled with 50k debt for many jobs. I just don't agree that degrees are need for every profession. We need to go back to a mix of degree and day release training but this isn't common.

Oh And my crappy day release qualification did get me into the pharmaceutical industry and I got a good job with good perks.

I wouldn't do the degree. Ridiculous way to train a bet t
Nurse. Fees are huge and after the pay is low and career progression limited Most vet nurses do other jobs after a ten years It's hard work.

You're contradicting yourself there. As most veterinary nurses leave that role after a short period (for all the reasons stated on this thread), they need to be qualified to do other jobs later on. This can be quite difficult without a degree. Doing the college diploma might get you into the role of a veterinary nurse more quickly and cheaply. But if you're only going to do that job for 5 years and the diploma isn't accepted for anything else, it's a false economy.

I’m glad that worked out for you but I wonder when that was? I suspect it’s less common now.

my experience is that degree qualified nurses have greater opportunities across nursing practice in terms of further study/career diversity, and easier entry into other roles if they choose to leave clinical practice