career change help :)

[woody2211]

hi everyone.

i am desperatly looking for a career change (typing this while at work says it all)
i have looked in to becoming a veterniary nurse.
i was wondering if anyone has any advise on how toy get started.

in short im 30 weeks pregnant and working as a police officer 4 and half years in (for my sins)
before any one points it out i am aware that there is a massive difference in wages but this isnt too much of a problem.
i cant go to fulll time uni obviously because of the above, but bearing in mind i am going to be off work on maternity for a good 9 months (yes baby in tow so i appreciate i will be busy) but if its possible and i have heard many people have done it i would love to do some distance learning courses or something similar to learn something.

i have no idea where to start but i am going to pop in to local vets ect and see what advice they can give me.

i have no idea why i joined the police as my passion has and will always be animals. i have my own horse and my beautiful german shepherds.

any advice is always appreciated. i can not continue doing a job that i really dont like for another 30 years IM ONLY 24!! so much more to give

many thanks

x

 

[staceyn]

YES! there are a few options.
Option 1- if you do not have grades c or above in maths and science you re take your maths that is accredited by city and guild ect it must be at level 2 and double check. To get you science there is something called a ANA correspondece course which is online through myerscough or various colleges it costs approx £800-900 and most of the time you can pay in installments. Then you would do a work based apprentiship for 2 years as a vet nurse. so 3 years in total.

Option 2- you have you maths and science at c or above. Find a college that supplies the RVN course such as myerscough you find a placement within a practice and do your 2 years.

Option 3- you can do a vet nurse degree through uni approx 3 years long and a lot more in depth but the easiest way to get into it.

After you have decided you will have a situation.
a- if you want to be a equine vet nurse you have to find a accredited practice that teaches this and once you are qualified you can do a top up course to do small animal vet nursing. If you want to do equine you must must must! do equine first for 2 years then the small animal

b- If you do the small animal first you can not choose the equine after you are qualified.

If i was you depending on which route you want to take call some colleges this is up to date info as i am doing this now.

you will find it very hard to find a practice that will offer equine and will still find it hard to get a placement. It took me 3 years to find a practice that would take on as it is very high demand and waiting lists are a joke!.

Hope this helps . if i was you i would try the degree option. or do a full time course so you dont have to find a practice to work in but again corses are booked up very quickly.

It's also a lot harder then you expect. All my coursework is
Terminology, Body cavities, cells & tissues, cardiovascular system, skeletal, urinary, nervous system, nutrition, infection control, pharmocology, digestive, endocrine, respritory, reception duties, aneathesia, accomadation and basic treatments. ect.. The one i am doing is very in depth with the maths and science and i do not enjoy writing 4 thousand word essays on the endocrine system ect.. but in the end its all worth it for the job.

Hope i havent put you off , Go for it! but im rather annoyed that i have to pay £900 for all this work just on my first year. when the pay for vet nurses is terrible. i would much rather train to be a veterinary surgeon but im ill now so after this year i have to quit the lot .

Go for it ! you have nothing to loose and its brill when you finally get to work in the practice most of the stuff i do is help with a lot of castrations in theatre, and all the basic illnesses but its always dogs and cats which for me makes it less interesting. Would much rather be getting thrown about by a horse haha!

 

[staceyn]

Sorry just re read you post if you looking for something that will help you that you can do from home. The ANA - animal nursing assistant correspondence course is good you have to pay and volunteer once a week at a vets. This is basically the exact same as what you will do in the first year of vet nursing so you will already be a few steps ahead.

 

[Princess Jess]

You could try looking at local colleges as I know the one near me does a veterniary nurse course and you may find one thats part time which you'd be able to do once the baby is born.
Meanwhile try to get as much experience as possible. You should be able to find a vets which will let you do some work experience there but you could also look at other animal career (in the short or long term) such as working in a kennels. Another good place to contact to get experience would be an animal rescue centre as they are always appreciative of volunteers, or something like the RDA too.
Hope it all works out for you

 

[kajabe]

Quite a lot of veterinary practices take on students (normally at 16 but oh well) and train them up to be vn's whilst getting paid. it's worth contacting your local practices and see if they do this

 

[woody2211]

Staceyn- thank you so much for your advice
And everyone else that's so useful Staceyn I will print Ur bit off and read through it throughly to get my head around it.

Oh and just out of interest do u know if the colleges or whoever needs to know knows where I can prove I got my gcse's all A - C as I have no idea where my certificates would be I don't even have my a level certificates! Typical me thinking "why would I need them again"

 

[staceyn]

Haha oh god. I would think it would be fine if you just get them to contact your old colleges or tutors . Just keep finding info and any questions call the rcvs direct and tell them everything that's how I found out

 

[staceyn]

Also if you state you can't do full time you can do the 2year course in 3 years and do less hours per week. Minimum hours per week is 16 you can get away with , it might just take you a little longer to qualify

 

[horsesatemymoney]

Oh and just out of interest do u know if the colleges or whoever needs to know knows where I can prove I got my gcse's all A - C as I have no idea where my certificates would be I don't even have my a level certificates! Typical me thinking "why would I need them again"[/QUOTE]


I had this problem too, you can email the exam board who you sat them with and they can do copies for you or sometimes the exams officer from school will verify your gradses...I lost all mine too!

 

[woody2211]

Perfect

 

[Quantock-cob]

Sorry to be a killjoy here, but OP I think you really need to consider how being a vet nurse will fit in with your future family life. It is a very physical, demanding and often stressful job and you will really have your hands full with a FT job, studying for your qualification, a baby, horse and dogs. I wouldn't want to take all that on!
You also need to check with the vet practice who will be training you (if you are lucky to get a place, as it is very competitive) if you will be required to do nights/weekends on call. Hospital standard vet practices are required to have a VN on site 24hrs to look after inpatients. The nurses are also often the ones who will answer the phones (and deal with the numpties who call you at 2am to make an appointment for the next day!). Will you have support at home to look after your child if you are away overnight? How will you cope with a night duty if you have been up all night with your baby?
If I was you, I would enjoy my maternity leave (you will never understand how tiring a new baby is until you've had to deal with one ) and then consider your options. Are you able to go back PT to the police service - and would there be a chance to change your role to something you would enjoy. You could still be involved with animals by helping at shelters, etc. which will help your application for a VN if that is what you decide to do. You are only 24 - there is loads of time ahead for you to make changes to your career. Perhaps look for PT jobs as a vet receptionist, to give you an idea of what it is like to work in a vet practice. It's also a good way to get in with a practice, and you will then be the first to hear of any possible training positions that may come up.
Good luck - sorry if you think I'm being too negative - just wanted to point out a few things that you might not know until you've been involved with the job. xx