Introduction to Veterinary Nursing

dip your paw into the world of veterinary nursing

Contemplating becoming a Vet Nurse, but do not have the time to dedicate to the Certificate III in Animal Care Services? Perhaps you’re not yet 100% sure that this is the right career for you?

Our Introduction to Veterinary Nursing Short Course is specifically designed to give you an introduction to the skills and knowledge you need to work as a veterinary nurse and show you what this exciting career is all about. It’s been set up to provide internal credit to our accredited programs so it’s a great way to try out online study and see if veterinary nursing is for you.

This course is your stepping-stone to the ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care or ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services (Animal Care) if you’re not yet ready to commit to a full qualification. It’s a great way to test out if online learning is for you, and if veterinary nursing is really what you want to do.

In this short course, you’ll learn all about veterinary nursing as a career and what to expect, plus animal handling techniques, and some great foundation nursing knowledge all about looking after hospitalised patients. There are no written or practical assessments to complete. You will instead complete online learning activities to demonstrate your knowledge.

While Introduction to Veterinary Nursing is not an accredited course, once you complete it we can transfer your results as internal credits to both the ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care and ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services (Animal Care) programs, so you won’t need to repeat any work from the subjects that you have already done. You’ll cement your learning through completing the written assessments and performing work placement once you do enrol in a qualification. If you’re lucky enough to gain employment in a clinic and enrol in the ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing, we can also apply the internal credits to this course.

Subjects covered

Working with Animals

Discover what’s involved in working in the veterinary industry from the ground up. We’ll cover the career pathway for veterinary nurses then branch out into basic animal identification and profiles, terminology, work schedules and prioritising tasks, sourcing information on drugs and other veterinary products and Animal Welfare legislation. There are a few quick Learning Activities to complete this subject. If you enrol in the ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care program, you’ll receive an internal credit for the learning activities.

Safe Animal Handling Techniques

This subject is devoted to the correct handling and restraint of the animals in our care. Although a large focus is on dogs and cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, wildlife and birds are also covered. Providing safe and low stress animal handling is a vital skill for any Veterinary Nurse. You have several online Learning Activities to complete in this subject. If you enrol in the ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care or ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services (Animal Care) or ACM40418 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing programs, you’ll receive an internal credit for the learning activities.

Animal Husbandry

This subject covers the basic husbandry requirements of common companion animals and how to look after them when housed in a veterinary clinic or other animal care workplace. You will learn about hygiene routines, feeding and watering, physical exams, basic observations and about a variety of common clinic tasks that you will be expected to perform as a Veterinary Assistant. You’ll complete several online Learning Activities in this subject. If you enrol in the ACM20121 Certificate II in Animal Care program, you’ll receive an internal credit for the learning activities. The content is also applicable to the ACM30122 Certificate III in Animal Care Services (Animal Care) program.

Course Inclusions

• 6 months of online access to complete your course (extensions available for when life gets busy)
• Access to Nurse Educators via Student Assist
• Printed Learner’s Guide and all reading materials
• A range of self-tested and auto-marked activities to check your learning
• Printed Certificate of Achievement upon passing
• Internal credit of learning activities towards our qualification programs with the same subjects

Please note: There is no practical placement required for Introduction to Veterinary Nursing.