Midlands-based Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service is launching a new three-year veterinary nursing residency programme in September which it says is the first of its kind in the world.

The programme, which is open to experienced veterinary nurses, will give successful candidates the opportunity to train alongside world-leading specialists, highly-trained clinicians and experienced specialist RVNs, working within the specialisms of emergency and critical care and internal medicine.

Tracey Morley Jewkes, Managing Director at Willows, said: "We intend this to be a professionally-rounded training programme which offers opportunities not only to work alongside the world-renowned specialist vets and highly-skilled referral nurses here at Willows but to also cover areas such as public speaking development and article writing."

Tom Reilly, head of clinical support services at Willows, led the design of the residency programme and is hoping it will provide much-needed pathways of professional progression for RVNs and retention of talent within veterinary nursing. He said: "This residency is a three-year programme which follows a similar pattern to the veterinary surgeons’ specialist residency programme.

"Each resident nurse will have a specialist vet or nurse mentor and will spend the first year working solely in the area of their chosen discipline.

"The second year will see our resident nurses undergo training in the American Veterinary Technician Specialist qualification, benefiting from the volume and complexity of cases within the working environment at Willows.

"In the final year, residents will attend an international conference in the US in their area of specialism where they will also sit their internationally recognised exams to complete their residency."

For more information, visit www.willows.uk.net.

PS: Whilst you're here, take a moment to see our latest job opportunities for vet nurses.