Veterinary Education | Veterinary Events and Conferences

BSAVA adds Nutrition Course to Vet Nurse Merit Awards

vetreportNovember 6, 2020

The BSAVA has added a nutrition course to its Veterinary Nurse Merit Awards (VNMA). The course, which is sponsored by Royal Canin, equates to 30 CPD hours.

The new nutrition course combines a series of online lectures, a practical teaching day and a variety of resources and quizzes, together with a discussion and Q&A forum. A clinically relevant assessment at the end of the teaching will help to embed the learning experience. On completion of the course, VNs will be awarded a BSAVA Veterinary Nurse Merit Award in Nutrition and will receive a certificate and badge.

Lucie Goodwin, Head of Education said: “We are pleased to be able to add this important and highly topical course to our expanding repertoire of learning resources for RVNs. Practices really recognise the value of VNMAs and are continuing to send their nursing teams on multiple courses.”

The BSAVA Veterinary Nurse Merit Awards are designed for vets in first opinion practice, and offers structured CPD for nurses wanting to develop their knowledge and skills without the commitment of a certificate or diploma. To achieve the award certificate and badge students must show understanding through a final online assessment.  Each award holds between 30- 50 CPD hours, depending on the subject.

The new Nutrition VNMA, which starts in March 2021, will be led by Georgia Woods RVN who holds the Canine and Feline Veterinary Health Nutrition Certificate and the American Veterinary Technician Specialist (VTS) Nutrition Certificate. Georgia is a ROYAL CANIN® Weight Management Clinic Nurse at the University of Liverpool, Small Animal Teaching Hospital, where she deals exclusively with pet obesity and nutrition.

Following completion of this course, delegates will be able to:

• Discuss methods of obtaining a thorough nutritional history, extracting all relevant clinical information and how to holistically appraise the situation
• Recognise the different techniques for building good communication with the pet owner and its importance for attaining compliance with nutritional recommendation
• Discuss the role of nutrition in both life stage and clinic disease management, where nutrition will play a pivotal role
• Gain a more in-depth understanding for non-standard diets and how to manage differences of opinion
• Describe the many ways in which rabbit nutrition differs from that of the cat or dog, and how their anatomy relates to their different essential nutritional requirements.

Elisabete Capitao, Royal Canin Veterinary Marketing Manager said: “At Royal Canin, we believe that nutrition is the foundation of health. Pet owners are looking for expert advice regarding their pet’s wellbeing and the RVN role within the veterinary practice is critical to bond with them, increase the perception of value, decode some of the complicated technical messages regarding cat and dog diseases, and increase preventative care compliance.

“We are proud to partner with BSAVA and sponsor the new VNMA Nutrition Course which is set to equip RVNs with increased knowledge and develop their confidence approaching nutritional conversations, ensuring more cats and dogs receive a nutritional recommendation tailored to their needs.”

The nutrition course costs £525.00 for BSAVA Members or £787.50 for Non-Members.  For further information please visit: https://www.bsava.com/Education/VN-Merit-Awards or contact us courses@bsava.com

For information on how to become a BSAVA member visit https://www.bsava.com/Membership/Member-categories

Find more information on courses offered by BSAVA here.