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Veterinary Nursing interview information and guidance

Congratulations! You've been shortlisted for an interview.

This is an opportunity for us to find out about you and your journey so far. Remember that there are no trick questions and we'll try our best to make you feel comfortable and at ease.

What to submit

What you will need to submit

You will be required to submit the following clear scanned documents on an online platform:

  • Original academic certificates - GCSE/O-level, A-level and/or any other equivalent certificates (such as BTEC) already achieved
  • References - veterinary practice and animal work experience that you may have completed already
  • Original birth certificate
  • Original passport photo page and/or UK Driving Licence photo page/card

Work Experience

Gaining at least 2 weeks work experience in a veterinary practice will be a distinct advantage for your application, however any animal related or customer focussed work experience will be considered by admissions tutors.

The following types of work experience are useful for your application and future career:

  • Kennels/catteries
  • Zoos
  • Rescue centres (small and large animal, wildlife, reptile)
  • Equestrian centres/equine yards/riding schools
  • Farms/city farms
  • Pet shops
  • Dog groomers
  • Dog day care/pet sitting/dog walking
  • Care work with humans
  • Customer focused work experience

If you have work experience references to submit, your reference letter should be in the following format to maximise your success:

  • On headed paper and signed and dated by the referee
  • Include the dates you worked there and number of hours completed
  • Include a brief synopsis of your duties
  • If a veterinary practice work experience reference, signed by a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) or Veterinary Surgeon (MRCVS). If you would like a template for this letter then please email bscadmin@caw.ac.uk
Tips and Guidance for Prospective Students video thumbnail
Tips and Guidance for Prospective Students

Preparing for the interview

Online interview

You should expect your online interview to take up to an hour. You can download a copy of the Veterinary Nursing Applicant Interview Questions .

How we'll assess you at the interview

Your knowledge

  • Demonstration of your knowledge and understanding of the role of a Registered Veterinary Nurse
  • Experience of caring for animals and challenges for personnel providing this care in veterinary practice
  • Awareness of a Registered Veterinary Nurse’s role and responsibilities in the field

Your outlook

  • Evidence of appropriate personal awareness, empathy and caring approach

Your skills and qualities

  • Clear and coherent communication skills
  • Good time management skills
  • Knowledge of, and coping strategies for the challenges of the programme
  • Knowledge of advantages and disadvantages of working in teams
  • Able to carry out practical tasks with accuracy and efficiency

Further reading

We highly recommend you read the following material for additional information and guidance given by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) relating to recruitment for veterinary nursing programmes:

After your interview

We aim to contact you within seven working days to inform you of the outcome of your interview and test. If you are successful we will update your UCAS track record with your offer and the conditions you need to meet. You will also receive an email from us if you have been successful.

Studying at Middlesex University and the College of Animal Welfare

Learn more about the BSc Veterinary Nursing at Middlesex University

This undergraduate course has been jointly developed, delivered and assessed by Middlesex University and The College of Animal Welfare (CAW) and is the first of its kind in Europe. It offers a unique opportunity to study a degree in veterinary nursing and has direct accredited status by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).

Meet some of the team and students video thumbnail

The programme lead for the BSc Honours in Veterinary Nursing here at the College of Animal Welfare and Middlesex University. The benefits of a degree are largely around your future career and having those graduate attributes from studying at university. Throughout your programme, you will undertake clinical placements. These will be in veterinary practices where you're dealing with real clients and real animals. We have a specialist placement liaison officer and um she will less with practices in your area and then we'll support you during your block of placement. Partnership between the college run and middle sex university was the first veterinary nursing degree in the UK and all the way through our programme. We've been the first to do things and one of the things we have integrated into our programme is virtual reality not only in the classroom but we also have a virtual reality assessment. The reason I love teaching veterinary nursing is to watch veterinary nursing students have light bulb moments um and of course the best day of the academic year is graduation day where we see everybody go off to be registered veterinary nurses. Hello, my name is Lauren Norton and I've been a veterinary nursing lecturer for the last 11 years. I actually graduated from our BSC veterinary nursing programme. So, I've got a true insight into the program as both a student and a lecturer. As a student on this program, you can expect to be taught by highly qualified and experienced lecturers who are experts in their field. You'll be allocated your own academic advisor. They will get to know you as an individual and will follow your progress throughout the course and get to know your learning preferences and styles. Our ideal applicant for the BSE veterary nursing programme is somebody that wants to make a positive impact on the lives of pets and their owners. Hi, I'm Jess and I'm the student engagement officer. So, I'm a registered veterinary nurse. I went into practice and then I realized that I love supporting student veterinary nurses and then I moved into my exciting role and it's amazing to support our SBMs in their journey to becoming registered veterinary nurses. We believe every student has a voice and when you study with us you become an active participant in shaping your university experience. We are really proud of our veterinary nursing degree programmes and our students agree. In the latest national student survey, which asked students across the UK about their university experience, we scored over 90% satisfaction for our teaching across all our campuses. We are all about highquality education and training to help you achieve a successful career in veterinary nursing. I I'm actually very happy with the way the degree is being delivered. I feel there is a really good balance between assignments and exams and I really feel the assignments make me learn. What I like about Middle Sex University and Core obviously is that they have like the perfect balance of the way they've structured this courses. You go into theory blocks and then you jump into placement and then you apply all your knowledge. I agree. I think there's a benefit to the staggered learning of your practical and then your theory is because you start learning and then you immediately practice. The good thing with this uni get updated about student discounts um support such as mental health support um burseries and any additional help that we need throughout the 3 years that I've been here. They've been very supportive because they have like the disability and dyslexia service which helped me get my diagnosis. They then helped me put into place for exams and assignments in the future how I can um approach that. I feel like the moment that I have not understood something they have been able to find a way to explain it and now towards the end of the course we had the chance to actually have a careers event um where they were able to show us so many different options and different routes for us to take when we finish our degree as obviously it is very hard to make a decision yet who I want to become tomorrow once I've got my degree um I'm able to go off and do many different certifications The degree qualification is seen widely and I think that it's going to be great to take me all over the world. My hope is to go back to home to Greece and develop the nursing and maybe teach them what that nurses do. I feel like this degree has so many opportunities looking towards the future. Uh shortterm I would like to try and work on a referral center as I feel like I'm so new and I'm so flexible to learn so many new skills. long now. I might want to go into teaching and educate other future nurses. A lot of people might be apprehensive about coming to do a university degree course, but I feel the degree really did help put you through that like development phase, getting you to a point where you're in practice, you understand what you have to do and how to do it to the level that you need to. My advice for um potential nurses would be if you're in practice on your placements, just get stuck in. Just try your best. Ask as many questions as possible. It's going to benefit you a lot more if you use all your theory and like apply it in practice. It'll also help you be a better nurse and make you feel a lot more appreciated in practice.

Meet some of the team and students

Get in touch

Got a question about your interview? Ask our admissions team