So, how to get the distance student engaged with this. To encourage confidence to use this language in practice. A language is built over years, there is no expectation that the CVN students would come out after one year of study and have fully functional understanding and use. A student can effectively pass this course and go out into practice and be reasonably functional as a technician with a very basic knowledge of terminology. As I say it is picked up along the way. However, to provide high levels of care as a veterinary nurse it is essential to fully understand what is going on with our patients.  To know this we must know the language of our game.

Talking with the fulltime students,  it is something they have identified as lacking. What they said was that they wanted some more specific guidance on terminology. Although it is peppered throughout the course, the only resource for terminology is an arduous wordy power point and the one activity limited to anatomical direction at the block course (for distance students only).

What I am trying to do here I suppose is to encourage deep learning, the information is there, its freely available in a number of formats. The trick is to want to know it enough to spend a few minutes looking it up. The eternal question, how to inspire a passion for the subject. With Veterinary Nursing this is where the distance students are at an advantage, they are out in practice, they are linking their theory with the practical on a daily basis. The passion for this job lies at the kennel side, caring for our patients. It is convincing the students that a sound understanding of the theory is linked to this place.

As it Stands

Distance Learners

The distance CVN students have completed a Cert in Animal Care part time the previous year. They have had more of an introduction to terminology through A&P. These learners are mostly out in practice at least two days a week, some fulltime trainee VN’s. These students are at a great advantage in this respect. It is the students that lack a reasonable quantity of good quality work experience that require the support with this subject. 

Distance learners do have problems with pronunciation.

Fulltime Class

The fulltime class do lack quantity of work placement hours and come to do the Cert of Animal Care with the A&P component followed by the VN units. They have the advantage of the classroom being a safe (hopefully) place to test the language.