This course is ideal for those wanting to combine working in practice with studying for an advanced qualification. All compulsory delivery is flexible and online, with optional study days at weekends providing opportunities to access our world-class facilities and meet with fellow students and staff face-to-face. The course can be tailored to fit around your existing commitments, with options to complete in one year or spread out over two/three years.
The course has been designed for veterinary nurses with a special interest in advanced surgical nursing. In addition to advancing your surgical nursing knowledge and skills, the course will encourage you to suggest creative solutions to applied problems in surgical nursing practice, even in cases of incomplete evidence or uncertainty, while acknowledging professional responsibility.
You'll be supported to set aspirational individual and team goals, and to supervise others to achieve these. This course will develop your approach to providing, monitoring and evaluating safe and effective advanced nursing care during the perioperative period. As patient safety is a key focus during this time, you'll be supported to develop skills in identifying factors that contribute to the safety of the surgical patient, including client liaison, and in planning and conducting clinical audits in practice.
You’ll benefit from the expertise of our professional veterinary nursing team, whose research interests include veterinary professional ethics and law, equine intensive care, behaviour and rehabilitation, and end-of-life care for animal patients. At Hartpury, you’ll join an inclusive, supportive and welcoming learning community that will help you to develop as an advanced practitioner.
All applicants will be interviewed to reassure both parties that this course is the most appropriate choice and to discuss the most appropriate learning pathway for each individual student. Individual programme planning will be discussed with each applicant at interview to suggest the most appropriate schedule.
Only applicants who are RCVS Registered Veterinary Nurses, or who are on a statutory register in their home country, are eligible to gain the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing.
Please contact us for further information.
Hartpury offers students opportunities to join a flourishing postgraduate research community, attend regular research meetings held both on-site and online and present research at events.
Industry professionals form an important part of your learning, enabling you to gain insights into current approaches to practice. You'll hear from guest lecturers on this programme, from a range of veterinary practice types and with a wealth of specialist knowledge.
Additionally, an important aspect of our Postgraduate Certificates is the inter-disciplinary nature of the subjects being studied. Thanks to our close links with the University of the West of England, parallels and differences with the care of human patients can be explored through the expertise of guest lecturers from the field of human nursing.
We're committed to supporting you to fulfil your unique potential while you're here so that you can achieve your personal and professional goals.
This pathway has been designed to take one year to complete
However, options can be tailored to suit your needs, enabling you to complete your qualification in two or three years
You'll benefit from a strong support network from day one. This will range from your lecturers and your personal tutor to our specialist academic support (Achievement and Success Centre), employability (Innovation, Careers and Enterprise) and wellbeing teams.
This course is ideal for those wanting to combine working in practice with studying for an advanced qualification. All compulsory delivery is flexible and online, with optional study days at weekends providing opportunities to access our world-class facilities and meet with fellow students and staff face-to-face. The course can be tailored to fit around your existing commitments, with options to complete in one year or spread out over two/three years.
The course has been designed for veterinary nurses with a special interest in advanced surgical nursing. In addition to advancing your surgical nursing knowledge and skills, the course will encourage you to suggest creative solutions to applied problems in surgical nursing practice, even in cases of incomplete evidence or uncertainty, while acknowledging professional responsibility.
You'll be supported to set aspirational individual and team goals, and to supervise others to achieve these. This course will develop your approach to providing, monitoring and evaluating safe and effective advanced nursing care during the perioperative period. As patient safety is a key focus during this time, you'll be supported to develop skills in identifying factors that contribute to the safety of the surgical patient, including client liaison, and in planning and conducting clinical audits in practice.
You’ll benefit from the expertise of our professional veterinary nursing team, whose research interests include veterinary professional ethics and law, equine intensive care, behaviour and rehabilitation, and end-of-life care for animal patients. At Hartpury, you’ll join an inclusive, supportive and welcoming learning community that will help you to develop as an advanced practitioner.
All applicants will be interviewed to reassure both parties that this course is the most appropriate choice and to discuss the most appropriate learning pathway for each individual student. Individual programme planning will be discussed with each applicant at interview to suggest the most appropriate schedule.
Only applicants who are RCVS Registered Veterinary Nurses, or who are on a statutory register in their home country, are eligible to gain the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing.
Please contact us for further information.
Hartpury offers students opportunities to join a flourishing postgraduate research community, attend regular research meetings held both on-site and online and present research at events.
Industry professionals form an important part of your learning, enabling you to gain insights into current approaches to practice. You'll hear from guest lecturers on this programme, from a range of veterinary practice types and with a wealth of specialist knowledge.
Additionally, an important aspect of our Postgraduate Certificates is the inter-disciplinary nature of the subjects being studied. Thanks to our close links with the University of the West of England, parallels and differences with the care of human patients can be explored through the expertise of guest lecturers from the field of human nursing.
We're committed to supporting you to fulfil your unique potential while you're here so that you can achieve your personal and professional goals.
This pathway has been designed to take one year to complete
However, options can be tailored to suit your needs, enabling you to complete your qualification in two or three years
You'll benefit from a strong support network from day one. This will range from your lecturers and your personal tutor to our specialist academic support (Achievement and Success Centre), employability (Innovation, Careers and Enterprise) and wellbeing teams.
This programme will develop your skills as an advanced nursing practitioner in your chosen area of specialisation. You’ll learn how to utilise the latest research and cutting-edge industry knowledge to evaluate your current practice, introduce new protocols and work with your team and your clients to maximise the welfare of patients in your care.
An important part of these qualifications is working with your fellow learners to share experiences, problems and solutions. Your learning community, although principally online, will use peer discussions to maximise collaborative learning. Assessment strategies will relate strongly to the practice context, enabling you to use your prior knowledge and experience, together with new learning, to produce work that is applied and relevant to your situation.
You'll be invited to join our veterinary professional specific ‘community of practice’ which aims to share knowledge with and between practices and consult professional practitioners regarding areas for future research.
Below you’ll find the modules for this course. Successful completion of your modules (4 x 15 credit modules = 60 credits in total) will enable you to gain your final Certificate award (pass, merit or distinction).
Upon successful completion of your modules you’ll gain academic credit that accumulates towards your certificate.
This module will develop your professional and ethical knowledge as well as your ability to reflect and evaluate your own practice to support your role as a clinic-based, community or referral advanced nurse practitioner in either equine or small animal practice.
This module will develop your ability to evaluate current research in the veterinary context, to construct and answer appropriate research questions and to communicate research findings. You will explore the use of evidence-based practice in advanced veterinary nursing and will develop the skills required to conduct knowledge summaries in small animal or equine practice.
The role of the advanced veterinary nursing practitioner in providing optimal care to surgical patients before, during and after surgery will be explored using evidence from current research. Topics will include patient monitoring during anaesthesia and recovery, and liaison with clients during patient admission and discharge.
This module will consider factors influencing patient safety, including human factors and the role of team communication. It will highlight the important role of clinical audit in evaluating and improving patient safety in practice.
This programme will develop your skills as an advanced nursing practitioner in your chosen area of specialisation. You’ll learn how to utilise the latest research and cutting-edge industry knowledge to evaluate your current practice, introduce new protocols and work with your team and your clients to maximise the welfare of patients in your care.
An important part of these qualifications is working with your fellow learners to share experiences, problems and solutions. Your learning community, although principally online, will use peer discussions to maximise collaborative learning. Assessment strategies will relate strongly to the practice context, enabling you to use your prior knowledge and experience, together with new learning, to produce work that is applied and relevant to your situation.
You'll be invited to join our veterinary professional specific ‘community of practice’ which aims to share knowledge with and between practices and consult professional practitioners regarding areas for future research.
Below you’ll find the modules for this course. Successful completion of your modules (4 x 15 credit modules = 60 credits in total) will enable you to gain your final Certificate award (pass, merit or distinction).
Upon successful completion of your modules you’ll gain academic credit that accumulates towards your certificate.
This module will develop your professional and ethical knowledge as well as your ability to reflect and evaluate your own practice to support your role as a clinic-based, community or referral advanced nurse practitioner in either equine or small animal practice.
This module will develop your ability to evaluate current research in the veterinary context, to construct and answer appropriate research questions and to communicate research findings. You will explore the use of evidence-based practice in advanced veterinary nursing and will develop the skills required to conduct knowledge summaries in small animal or equine practice.
The role of the advanced veterinary nursing practitioner in providing optimal care to surgical patients before, during and after surgery will be explored using evidence from current research. Topics will include patient monitoring during anaesthesia and recovery, and liaison with clients during patient admission and discharge.
This module will consider factors influencing patient safety, including human factors and the role of team communication. It will highlight the important role of clinical audit in evaluating and improving patient safety in practice.
The programme is designed to be delivered entirely online, except for the optional study days.
Modules contain a mixture of flexible learning resources including online lectures.
Workshops and discussion sessions are designed to be delivered live.
The course is taught in English.
Contact learning | Independent learning | |
Postgraduate Certificate Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Perioperative Nursing and Patient Safety) | 16% | 84% |
Teaching contact time and method will vary depending on the module you’re studying. You’ll be expected to dedicate at least two to three hours of independent study per week.
You’ll be assessed through a combination of written exams, coursework, oral assessments and written assignments. All modules will include a mixture of assessment types. Feedback will be provided in written form, with the option for follow-up discussions with academic staff.
Written exam | Practical exam | Coursework | |
Postgraduate Certificate Advanced Veterinary Nursing (Perioperative Nursing and Patient Safety) | 15% | 33% | 52% |
This course is made up of two semesters. Semesters normally consist of 12 weeks of scheduled teaching and then assessment weeks, with an overview below:
Please visit our student finance page for information on tuition fees and student loans, as well as non-repayable grants, bursaries and scholarships, eligible to different groups, to support with study costs.
RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing
There will be an additional fee if you wish to enrol for the RCVS Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing. Find out more.
Our Resource Library is where you'll find all the essential details about Hartpury University's courses. It includes Programme and Module Specifications, along with Course Information Sheets for every course. You can easily download a complete revision history for each of these, clearly showing the dates changes were made.
Course Information Sheets: These are PDF versions of the course webpages. They provide an overview of the course, what to expect during your studies, and the topics covered.
Programme Specifications: These are detailed, validated documents containing academic specifics for each programme. They include descriptions of the programme, its aims, learning outcomes, year and module structure, as well as teaching, learning, and assessment strategies.
Module Specifications: Each Programme consists of several Modules. Our Module Specifications outline the topics covered and the expected outcomes for students studying each Module.
It's a good idea to think about fees and funding around your course as early as you can. We can help you to understand and take control of your finances. Here’s everything you need to know at a glance.
Our specialist facilities match our specialist nature. Students benefit from access to some of the most advanced facilities in the world at an educational institution.
Our courses are accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). On graduation, you’ll be eligible to join the RCVS Register of Veterinary Nurses and practise as a Registered Veterinary Nurse.
We're a top 3 UK university for postgraduate teaching, and top 5 UK university for overall postgraduate satisfaction (PTES 2024).
Our research has been recognised as 'world-leading' and 'internationally excellent' (Research Excellence Framework 2021).
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of our published course information, however our programmes are reviewed and developed regularly. Changes or cancellation of courses may be necessary to ensure alignment with emerging employment areas, to comply with accrediting body requirements, revisions to subject benchmark statements or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make necessary changes and will notify all offer-holders of changes as and when they occur.