Careers
TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
We believe that it is essential for our vets and other clinical staff to keep abreast of current developments in the veterinary field in all species, and we exceed the minimum requirements of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in this respect. We encourage our staff to attend courses and meetings on work-related topics where they can further their knowledge and exchange ideas with others.
The Vets of Tomorrow - Vet Students Seeing Practice
STUDENT GUIDELINES
Welcome to Alnorthumbria Vet Group!
Here at Alnorthumbria Vet Group, we want you to enjoy your seeing practice experience but also make the most of your time with us.
Your first day
Please report to reception at 8:30am where a designated staff member will greet you and give you a brief tour of the practice, a health and safety talk, ask you to sign the health and safety register and briefly show you how to use the computer diary. When using the computer please do not change any events/times/details etc.
A member of the veterinary team will be assigned as your ‘mentor’ and will help you organise your days and get the most out of your time seeing practice. Also they will be the best vet to complete your assessment forms etc.
Please wear suitable smart clothes: no jeans. Also bring plenty of warm clothes/ coats and extra pairs of socks, and of course wellies and waterproofs!
Please be advised whilst seeing practice with us you will be party to discussions, visits, and situations which are private and confidential. Therefore must remain so and should not be repeated by yourself to anyone outside of this practice.
Planning your day
Once you get to grips with the computer and have met the vets, check on the diary each evening what visits are booked in for the following day on the computer diary. Then arrange with a vet if you can join them on that visit the following morning. Don’t take it personally if they say no: some farms are more student friendly than others!
Feel free to make use of the practice libraries, but do not remove any books.
Branches
The four branches: Wagonway Road, Rothbury, Wooler and Ponteland all do a large proportion of farm work. Please feel free to travel between the branches to get the most from your EMS. Again use of the computer diary and coordinating with vets will help with this.
Always ask questions
Make the most of your one-on-one time with the vets when travelling to and from visits and ask as many questions as you like. Take the opportunity to expand your knowledge and improve your understanding on your weaker areas.
Interests
If you have any particular areas of interest please let us know early on so we can try and expose you to these where possible.
Out of hours
It is essential to your future in practice that you are exposed to emergency work. We strongly recommend students get involved in out of hours farm work. Please give your phone number to the farm vet on call so they can contact you. The on call rota is on the computer diary.
Vets Cars
When coming back after calls, offer to help carry used equipment back into the practice and clean any kit that needs cleaning.
Booking slips
After each visit, vets need to write a booking slip to record work done and drugs used including batch numbers. Offer to fill these in coming away from a visit: it will help you to familiarise yourself with drugs used etc.
Tasks to get involved with
A great way to get some practical experience is in the lab, worm egg counts, blood smears etc. Speak to nurses / assistants who usually coordinate lab work.
If you are involved in cases that involve a number of vets, it is very useful to write follow up case reports for the vets involved.
Lunch
Because you’ll never know where you’ll be, it’s always best to bring a packed lunch.
Cups of tea
All branches have tea and coffee making facilities, please feel free to help yourself whilst offering a cuppa to the rest of the staff: it is an essential skill of any student. Lists of how people like it are above the sink in the kitchen area.
Student Questionaire
On your departure, please complete our questionnaire so that we can improve our student placements.
Name: College: Year:
Type of practice you want to enter on graduation:
Main vets you spent time with:
Areas in which most experience was gained:
Best bits of your time with us:
Worst bits of your time with us:
How could we improve your experience with us?
Please give this to the reception staff to be forwarded to Jenny Hull @ Rothbury.
· Training to Become a Qualified Veterinary Nurse
· Work Experience for Secondary Education Students
· Voluntary Work· General Enquiries
Previous page: Wooler
