Following on from the Certificate in Veterinary Nurse Consulting, this Diploma course builds on the consulting and customer service skills that the CertNCS(RVN Cons) delivered. The focus of this DipNCS (RVN Cons) is on confidence, communication and leadership and the course aims to provide RVNs with the knowledge and skills to help them manage some of the more challenging situations that they may encounter during a consulting-based role. Additionally, the psychological insights that the course provides will leave the RVNs completing it with the confidence and capability to take on some more leadership-based tasks.
After an initial overview module which sets the groundwork for the rest of the course, students move on to the Wellbeing & Morale module, which considers some of the reasons why veterinary practice can be a stressful place and looks at both how and why individuals may respond / react to that stress as well as suggesting ways to help manage / mitigate it.
This knowledge is built on in the next section which comprises 2 workshop-style focus training days. These are 2 days that each take approximately 6 hours to complete and which are designed to be worked through in one sitting. The aim is for students to delve into the subjects covered in detail, reflecting on and applying what is talked about as they work through the presentations.
- Day 1 covers Confidence, Communication and Professional Responsibility
- Day 2 covers Delegation, Direction and Legislation
Both days look at how individuals behave, discussing why we may each react differently to the same situation and why we may then make rather different decisions resulting in different outcomes (including where professional conduct is concerned). Advice is also given about how we can use this understanding to help us to take control of our responses so that we can avoid getting into difficulties and our days will run more smoothly, regardless of what 'life' throws at us!
The Lifetime Support for Pets & Owners module thinks about the opportunities that exist for veterinary nurses to provide help and advice for both clients and their animals from the time they first visit the practice to the final good-bye, considering the potential positives of such services as well as their challenges.
The final module of formal, guided learning looks at the more business aspects of veterinary practice with a focus on how veterinary nurse run consulting services deliver business benefits for the practice and potential wellbeing benefits for the wider team; the RVNs doing the course will be provided with the resources to help develop a business plan and then implement it.
Having completed the guided learning part of the course, students will then be required to complete a Consultations Case-Log and put what they have learned into practice.
Once the case-log has been assessed as satisfactory, students will complete a final assessment that takes the form of a professional conversation with the course assessor, before being awarded the DipNCS (RVN Cons).
There is no time limit on the completion of this course, although it is anticipated that most veterinary nurses choosing to enroll will take between 3 and 6 months to finish the necessary work.
If you need any further information or would like to receive a detailed schedule of work and course syllabus please email nurses@colourfulcpd.com.
This course is kindly sponsored by Hills.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this DipNCS(RVN Cons) course you will be confident about:
- The potential causes of stress in veterinary practice settings
- Why individuals may experience self-doubt and the various strategies that they may adopt to manage situations where they experience this
- The beliefs or mindsets that can undermine self-confidence and how to turn these round to improve your own self-confidence
- Resilience and emotional intelligence
- The way that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all linked and the relevance of this in relation to your own experience of different situations
- Some of the complexities relating to human communication and behaviour, recognising why misunderstandings happen and how to avoid them
- Managing difficult situations, including when faced with these unexpectedly as well as when planning for a conversation which you anticipate being 'uncomfortable'
- What it means to be a professional and the responsibilities and expected behaviours that come with the title
- The processes and decisions required when veterinary surgeons delegate tasks to RVNs
- The difference between negligence and misconduct and the potential consequences of each of these, including how the RCVS Disciplinary Process works
- The various 'touch points' throughout a patient's life or relationship with a practice where RVNs have the potential to be supportive to the client as well as the pet and how consultations can be organised to allow this
- The impacts of veterinary nurse run consultations on the wider practice, including colleagues and the business itself
- Setting protocols for veterinary nurse run consultations to ensure that all legislation is complied with and that provision of excellent client service and quality patient care is central to all veterinary nurse clinics at your practice
- Taking the lead in developing and delivering new consultation types for veterinary nurses at your practice, understanding the importance of how collaboration with colleagues of all roles and all levels of seniority is key to your success
What's Next?
Browse our range of non-clinical CPD for nurses at www.colourfulcpd.com.
What Our Clients Say
I started this course feeling ok in performing nurse consultations but knew I lacked a lot of knowledge needed for me to be great at them. I have to say since doing this course I feel exactly how I wanted to feel when I started it. I now feel confident in myself, my knowledge and my skills. Being the only consulting nurse at my practice I feel I can really deliver excellent quality clinics now, but without this course and all the help from Stephanie and Brain I don't think I would of been able to, so thank you!
