Leadership for veterinary nurses (2023)

10 weeksVeterinary NursingPersonal Development10 CPD hours

This solutions-focused course has been developed to support veterinary nurses who are currently in leadership positions or those who aspire to become leaders but have not started their journey into a leadership role yet.  This course has been specifically designed to help nursing individuals lead, manage and motivate their teams effectively; to help them to communicate more successfully and feel confident when handling difficult situations. We all know how hard that first difficult conversation can be… This course will allow you to truly gain a holistic approach to what leadership means in veterinary practice and how to really get the most out of yourself and your team.

The course is underpinned by a real-time discussion forum where you can ask any questions as you work your way through the lessons. There are also live Q&A sessions where you can chat with our speakers and other course delegates about the content or those challenging situation that you might be facing right now that you might need a little support with.

This course will run over a 9 week period and is the equivalent of (10 hours CPD/CE) for your record.

Access to this course is for 12 months from the start of the course going live on our website. If you sign up to the course after the live sessions have run, you will still be able to access the recordings from the live sessions. The discussion forum will be monitored for the course duration only.

Sponsored by

Course Content

Lesson 1: Exploring leadership 26/06/2023
learning outcomes
  • To understand what leadership is and how it is defined
  • To explore the skills essential for leadership
  • To consider the pitfalls and challenges of leadership
Live Q&A Session (Wed, 28/06/23 @ 8pm BST)
learning outcomes
  • Your chance to meet the speaker and ask any questions that you may have
Lesson 2: Being an effective leader 10/07/2023
learning outcomes
  • To explore the attributes of effective leaders
  • Understand leadership styles
  • Recognise personal values and strengths
Lesson 3: Communication for effective leadership 17/07/2023
learning outcomes
  • To understand how to communicate effectively
  • To explore appropriate assertiveness
  • To consider how transactional analysis can aid communication
Lesson 4: The role of compassion and empathy in leadership and how to build relationships 24/07/2023
learning outcomes
  • To consider how compassion and empathy can be used in leadership
  • To understand the importance of establishing trust and building relationships within the role.
  • To describe the concept of an emotional bank account
Lesson 5: Time management, leadership logistics and decision-making 31/07/2023
learning outcomes
  • To understand the concepts of self and task management
  • To consider how task management can be employed by leaders
  • To identify the practicalities of being an effective leader
Lesson 6: Team dynamics, motivation and organisational culture 07/08/2023
learning outcomes
  • Understand how to engage and motivate teams for optimal performance
  • Describe the components of consistently high performing organisations, teams, and individuals
  • Consider the importance of organizational culture
Lesson 7: Civility, conflict management and giving high impact feedback 14/08/2023
learning outcomes
  • To understand the importance of promoting civility as a leader
  • To consider how to manage conflict, difficult conversations and constructively deal with inappropriate behaviour
  • To developing effective debriefing skills.
Lesson 8: Stress solutions and resilience 21/08/2023
learning outcomes
  • To understand that wellbeing and self-care are the foundation of high performing teams
  • To proactively consider and recognise stress in ourselves and others
  • To develop a self-care toolkit including strategies to build resilience
Live Q&A Session (Thurs, 31/08/23 @ 8pm BST)
learning outcomes
  • This is your chance to chat with the course speaker and ask any questions that you may have about any of the content that we have covered during the course.

Meet the speakers

Helen Silver-MacMahon

MSc PSCHF, Cert VNECC, DipAVN (surg), Cert SAN, RVN

show
Helen qualified as an RVN in 2000 and has worked in both first opinion and referral hospitals. Since qualifying, she has gained certificates in ECC and Small Animal Nutrition and the Advanced Diploma in Veterinary Nursing (surgical).  In 2021, Helen completed a MSc in Patient Safety and Clinical Human Factors at the University of Edinburgh and is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Lincoln exploring the non-technical skills that veterinary nurses require when monitoring and maintaining anaesthesia. She is also working towards chartered ergonomist status. Helen is an RCVS Knowledge Champion for her role in the sustained training and use of a surgical safety checklist within the small animal theatre at the former Animal Health Trust. Helen is passionate about developing the veterinary profession's understanding of Human Factors as a powerful aid in improving patient safety, enhancing performance, and supporting the wellbeing of the veterinary team. She enjoys lecturing internationally and has written articles and co-authored several book chapters on both clinical and non-clinical aspects practice. Helen is also collaborating with the University of Aberdeen to research Incivility in veterinary practice.

check out all our other courses

courses