ABSTRACT: The two main attributes required to become an internal verifier (IV) are being able to keep an open mind and having confidence. It always surprises me how many different (and correct) ways there are to do anything related to veterinary nursing.

Approaching internal verification

It is always important to remember that as an IV you are assessing the assessors and not the students. It is very easy to reassess a student rather than the assessor. It is vital to monitor each assessor for each unit; and at Bottle Green Training (BGT) we have found the best way to achieve this is to track each unit sampled and aim to cover all units of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) over a period of five years.

At BGT there are comprehensive practice files which detail all assessors and students within each of them

We visit each training practice (TP) at least twice a year and whilst there we observe the assessor and student, either performing a direct observation or having a tutorial should their portfolio be complete. During this observation, we monitor that the student is being given support and is able to achieve the required standard. Also, we need to ensure there is adequate planning for the assessment, that the assessor is referring directly to the NOS and that feedback is given. In turn, we must give feedback to the assessor and provide support.

During the visit, we check all of the documentation required for a TP and the practice’s facilities. This ranges not only from reviewing the content of the portfolio, but also checking equipment maintenance records, the students’ activities within the practice in areas, such as laboratory, anaesthesia and radiography, and checking job descriptions.

The students’ portfolios are sampled on site to ensure that the cases referred to actually exist on the practice database. There have been (rare) cases when reviewing portfolios where some patients have managed to return from the dead to fulfil certain elements! Veterinary medicine is moving forwards very quickly but bringing animals back to life after a few weeks is beyond most!

Student involvement

Student nurses start their training at level 2 and these students are required to have enhanced verification. This form of assessment is to further quantify the assessor’s decision. The student nurses are required to have finished unit VetN3 which covers providing basic nursing care and emergency first aid and treatment to animals. Once this unit has been completed, we visit the practice and actually assess the student performing a task. These tasks are to provide basic nursing to an inpatient. The student is allowed to choose the task prior to our arrival, but he or she has to perform it on a real live patient. We then assess the student as the assessor would to ensure the student is competent.

Practice visits are a crucial part of the IV process, but they can be very time consuming. We have tried to make our paperwork as efficient as possible, whist maintaining the required standard. Each practice visit does still take around two hours though. This is a lot of time to take student nurses and their assessors from a busy veterinary practice, and I am always impressed by the patience and level of commitment shown by most assessors and practices.

The portfolio of evidence that the student nurse needs to complete for each year is a good document to prove a student’s competence in tasks directly relating to veterinary nursing. This portfolio is assessed by the assessor within the veterinary practice and is sampled by us at mid-term review and upon completion.

During our sampling, we look to see that the evidence presented is sufficient, reliable, valid, current and achieves the standard required. Evidence can be presented in several ways – in the form of direct observations, expert witness statements, candidate case logs, assessor statements, work product evidence and written questions. Using a range of assessments is a good way to prove the student’s competence and hopefully does save time and paperwork.

All evidence is tracked by the assessors against the required NOS. These standards do provide a good level for the students to achieve, but they can be a little cumbersome and repetitive at times. It can be very time-consuming reviewing the portfolios too, particularly as students are required to complete their level 3 portfolios prior to sitting their practical exams. This often means there is a sudden influx of portfolios at certain times of the year, all requiring verification. It does make you very efficient though. I am sitting at my desk with a mountain of portfolios to conquer at the moment!

Practice goodwill

The most important element to ensure a trainee is successful is to have the whole practice helping. This does mean that the students and assessor need to be given adequate time together to plan and prepare for evidence collection. It is also important to ensure the assessors are not being overstretched and we insist upon a maximum ratio of two student nurses to each assessor.

Assessors are also required to attend standardisation meetings held at BGT. These meetings are presented by the IVs and usually involve an update from the external verifier (EV), any changes to the training scheme, feedback from portfolio reviews and a standardisation exercise. These meetings are a crucial part of the training and assessment process as they give assessors a chance to share ideas and also to cement our relationship with them.

It is important for the Veterinary Nurse Approved Centre (VNAC) to have a good relationship with the practices it supports and the assessors. At BGT there are comprehensive practice files which detail all assessors and students within each of them. These are vital and must be kept up to date as assessors and students do move around a lot.

Maintaining standards

As IVs we too must ensure we are all working to the same standard. This involves internal standardisation meetings and all paperwork is reviewed by the head of centre. We are also visited by the external verifier (EV) from the RCVS. This EV basically assesses us. He or she will accompany us on some practice visits and review the VNAC’s files. They will also review a sample of reviewed portfolios. We are also expected to attend standardisation meetings provided by the RCVS.

From my training and time as an IV,I have learnt how robust the veterinary nurse training scheme is. It is a qualification that I am proud to have. I also now realise how important the role of the assessor is to this qualification.

Author

Judith Parry DipAVN(Medical) RVN

Judith Parry qualified as a veterinary nurse 19 years ago and worked as head nurse in the same practice in Staffordshire throughout this time. The practice started to train its own VNs 11 years ago and, as the only nurse at the time, Judith trained as an assessor. She subsequently gained her DipAVN (Medical) and was invited to lecture at Bottle Green Training where she now works as an internal verifier, alongsid
e three other colleagues, covering approximately 60 practices and 120 assessors.

• VOL 25 • No3 • March 2010 • Veterinary Nursing Journal