Why you will benefit from this course

This course will enable you to create clear ideas for planning, implementing, developing and promoting nurse clinics within practice.

  • The course is ideal for those who wish to start running nurse clinics in their practice, or those who are already running nursing consultations and wish to expand on this area.

  • The course provides information, motivation and support and to enable you to develop, run and manage clinics with confidence and success.

  • Ideally suited to senior nursing team members within the practice, the course will also benefit additional team members who will support nurse clinics.

What will you learn?

You will learn about the many aspects of planning, setup, delivery and ongoing management of nurse clinics, the professional responsibilities of veterinary nurses, development of clinic protocols, and using a team-based approach to achieve the best service you can. View the course curriculum below which offers you more information of the broad range of topics addressed within the course.
Nurses discussing

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Welcome to the course!

  • 2

    Module one - Opportunities

    • Module one overview

    • The value of nurse-led clinics

    • Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

    • Review and research

    • Exercise

    • Exercise

    • Test your learning
  • 3

    Module two - Which clinics should we run?

    • Module two overview

    • Core clinics

    • Core clinics

    • Advanced clinics

    • Advanced clinics

    • Clinics - ideas

    • Exercise

    • Test your learning
  • 4

    Module three - Setup and structure of clinics

    • Module three overview

    • How will you schedule your appointments?

    • Appointment tips

    • Who will provide the clinics service?

    • Staffing - key points

    • Exercise

    • Consideration of training needs

    • Training needs - thoughts

    • Creating protocols for clinics

    • Protocols - summary thoughts

    • Create your first clinic protocol
  • 5

    Module four - Professional responsibilities

    • Module four overview

    • The nurse's role

    • Professional considerations

    • Resources

    • Managing referral back to the vet

    • Consultation structure

    • Building relationships

    • Consent

    • Reflection and wellbeing

    • Perform a reflection

    • Guide to reflection
  • 6

    Module five - Equipment for clinics

    • Module five overview

    • Equipment requirements

    • Assessing equipment needs

    • Resources

    • Equipment - starter list

    • Exercise

    • Handouts and literature
  • 7

    Module six - Monitoring clinic progress

    • Module six overview

    • Monitoring clinic progress

    • Meeting management

    • Resources

    • Gaining client feedback

    • Exercise

    • Knowledge check
  • 8

    Module seven - Fee structure

    • Module seven overview

    • Why charge a fee for nurse time?

    • Basic fee principles

    • Contributors to cost

    • Resource
  • 9

    Module eight - Marketing and promotion

    • Module eight overview

    • Marketing and promotion of nurse clinics

    • Referral from your vets

    • Exercise

    • Knowledge check
  • 10

    Module nine - The power of teamwork

    • Module nine overview

    • Effective team working

    • Teamworking - a summary

    • Knowledge check

    • Create a practice plan
  • 11

    Practical outcomes

    • Coursework - why and how?

    • Coursework guidance

    • Coursework submission
  • 12

    Contact tutor

    • Your tutor's contact details

How will you learn?

This course provides on-demand learning that you can access and complete at any time during your 12 month access period. The course provides short lectures, quizzes and exercises to support and enhance your learning. In addition, the final module will assist you in considering how you can setup and manage clinics within your own practice setting, and create a proposal for your practice which you will receive feedback on from your tutor
On-demand learning

Enrol on this course

Course fee: £175. This includes 12 months' access to the course content and quizzes, and final assessment of submitted coursework

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Your Tutor

Jill Macdonald DipAVN (Surgical) RVN FHEA

Jill Macdonald

Jill has been a veterinary nurse for over 20 years, has worked in primary care small animal practice as a head nurse, and developed a passion for the wide variety of clinical, business, training and professional aspects that a career in veterinary nursing has to offer. She completed a project at the University of Liverpool to setup, deliver and tutor online modules for the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (CertAVP), and was involved in the teaching and development of the professional and communication skills aspect of the undergraduate curriculum. Jill has taught veterinary communication and professionals skills in a variety of settings and led a research project, working with team of panellists, to develop the Veterinary Nurse-Client Communication Matrix – a tool to assist with the teaching and practical application of communication skills for veterinary nurses. Jill has a passion for advancing the role of the veterinary nurse and also works for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) as project lead for the VN Futures project.

Learning outcomes

Successful completion of this course will enable you to:

  • Appreciate the role of the veterinary nurse in the provision of nurse-led clinics, develop ideas for expansion, understand limitations and monitor progress

  • Understand the need for clinical protocols, and how to develop these based upon the facilities within practice

  • Understand the need for clinical protocols, and how to develop these based upon the facilities within practice

  • Devise a proposal for the development, marketing and monitoring of nurse-led clinics in own practice

Syllabus

An overview of the key topics that will be covered during the course

  • Principles behind why nurse clinics are so valuable to your practice and to patient care. You will also review any current clinics you are providing in your practice, and research other practices’ services.

  • Consideration of which clinics you would like to set up and offer to your clients – from basic ‘core’ clinics to more advanced clinics.

  • Structure of clinic appointment scheduling, staffing of clinics, identification of training needs, and devising clear clinic protocols

  • The veterinary nurse’s professional responsibilities including the Code of Professional Conduct, Schedule 3, communication with clients and professional colleagues

  • Assessment of equipment needs for running the clinics, including supporting literature and handouts, and how to perform a cost-benefit analysis

  • Consideration of the aspects of your clinics you need to monitor and evaluate, and why. You will also learn about meeting management - a key element in monitoring your clinics alongside your team

  • How to apply a fee structure to your nurse clinics services, including why we should charge a fee for the service, the basic principles of fee generation, and considering the contributors to the cost of running the clinics

  • Exploration of the tools you can use to promote your nurse clinics, including how to ensure cases are referred from the veterinary surgeon

  • The importance of teamwork and gaining the input from your whole team in setting up and delivering your nurse clinics

Support

In addition, this course will provide email support from your tutor, giving you the opportunity to ask any specific questions you may have, and help you to ensure that you implement your learning into practice.

Ask a question about this course

FAQ

  • Can I sign up and start straight away?

    Yes! Once you have purchased the course, you will be able to begin your study as soon as you wish.

  • Do I have to complete the course within a certain time?

    You will have 12 months' access to the course, so you will have plenty of time to complete it.

  • Is assessment included?

    Yes. Our courses offer interim quizzes to check your knowledge, and a final test to enable you to be awarded your certificate of completion. Some courses also have additional submitted coursework which is assessed by your tutor.

  • Are any of the resources downloadable?

    Yes - we provide a selection of resources on each course that you can download and take away.

  • Do I need to be good with computers?

    No, we don't think so. The learning platform we use offers straightforward course structure and access, so you are led from one section to the next and can see where you are up to.