Helen Musgrave, Wear Referrals
Training Success Leads To More Referral Nursing Courses
2 years ago 
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Following successful pilots, two training courses for referral Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVNs) at veterinary group Linnaeus will run again in the autumn with the addition of new course content.
Two Referral Nursing Professional Development (RNPD) programmes focusing on surgical nursing and internal medicine will restart in September and last for four months. They are open to RVNs of all levels across Linnaeus’s referral hospitals and are free to attend.
The training combines live and pre-recorded virtual lectures, skills lists and case reports, with attendees also presenting a case they had worked on to support reflection of their nursing care.
Alison Mann, Professional Development Manager at Linnaeus, commented:
“All attendees provide feedback on our courses so we can continue to improve the training we offer. While the feedback was very positive, for surgical nursing we’re introducing new content on cardiology due to growing interest in that specialism.
“The focus on sutures was particularly popular for our surgical nursing course. We offered a practical session online and sent suture kits to all attendees so we could all perform the task together. It shows how practical training can be a success even when you’re not in the same room together.”
A pilot RNPD programme in neurology also completed in July, with plans to host further cohorts for referral RVNs next year. Following a similar structure to the other courses, it offered virtual lectures with attendees giving case presentations and completing skills lists.
Alison added:
“There is increasing demand across our referral nursing teams to develop their expertise in neurology, and nurses from eight hospitals joined this course. During the second virtual attendance day, we held breakout sessions to discuss nursing considerations for a range of neurological cases, which led to really interesting discussions. It was great to see nurses from all parts of the UK sharing their experience and knowledge.”
Helen Musgrave is a neurology RVN at specialist multidisciplinary small animal hospital Wear Referrals in Bradbury, County Durham, and completed the neurology RNPD programme. She said:
“As one of six neurology nurses at Wear, the course gave me a different perspective and approach to neurology. We take patient care very seriously and the training covers all aspects of this, from long-term hospitalised patients to the vet's perspective on clinical assessment and examination. This provided me with a wider knowledge and understanding of the patient's assessment and neurological grading system.”
For more information about professional development for RVNs at Linnaeus, visit
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