Leading the way in veterinary nursing

9 weeksVeterinary NursingPersonal Development11 CPD hours

This course has been designed specifically for veterinary nurses who are currently in leadership positions or who aspire to be leaders. Developed to ensure that VN leaders are empowered with all the skills they require to successfully lead, manage, and motivate their teams; this course offers a practical approach to some of the challenges that might be faced in the role. This course offers the opportunity for veterinary nurses to develop as leaders, understand practice culture, communicate confidently and courageously and develop techniques to thrive as leaders.

The course is underpinned by a real-time discussion forum where you can ask any questions as you work your way through the lessons and where you can chat with our speaker and other course delegates about the content or those challenging situations 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 (11 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.

Course Content

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Lesson 1: An introduction to leadership 1 Quiz Available on 17/03/2025 8:00 am 17/03/2025
learning outcomes
  • To define leadership and the skills required for successful leadership.
  • To explore leadership through a Human Factors lens.
  • To consider the veterinary practices as complex, ultra-dynamic systems and be familiar with the roles of the team.
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Lesson 2: Understanding yourself as a leader 1 Quiz Available on 31/03/2025 8:00 am 31/03/2025
learning outcomes
  • To understand the concept of self-leadership.
  • To explore the qualities of emotional intelligence and self-leadership.
  • To identify personal core values and strengths and weaknesses.
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Lesson 3: Being human 1 Quiz Available on 24/03/2025 8:00 am 24/03/2025
learning outcomes
  • To understand human needs and core emotional concerns.
  • To consider compassionate leadership.
  • To create psychological safety in the teams we lead, build trust and develop relationships.
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Lesson 4: Culture 1 Quiz Available on 07/04/2025 8:00 am 07/04/2025
learning outcomes
  • To discuss what culture is and how it is nurtured.
  • To consider the types of culture applicable to healthcare.
  • To consider the role of delegation and empowerment in establishing culture.
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Lesson 5: Leading civility in practice 1 Quiz Available on 14/04/2025 8:00 am 14/04/2025
learning outcomes
  • To define incivility.
  • To understand the impact of incivility.
  • To consider how we can promote civility and understand what we can do when faced with incivility.
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Lesson 6: Communicating as a leader 1 Quiz Available on 21/04/2025 8:00 am 21/04/2025
learning outcomes
  • To understand why good communication is so important.
  • To explore the concepts of transactional analysis and non-violent communication.
  • To consider how and when we can use appropriate assertiveness.
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Lesson 7: Leading resilience 1 Quiz Available on 28/04/2025 8:00 am 28/04/2025
learning outcomes
  • To understand what resilience is and why it is important.
  • To consider how we can recognise stress in ourselves and others.
  • To develop strategies to build resilience.
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Lesson 8: Priority management and leadership logistics 1 Quiz Available on 05/05/2025 8:00 am 05/05/2025
learning outcomes
  • To understand how we make decisions.
  • To discover priority management techniques.
  • To learn how to delegate effectively.
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Lesson 9: Creating teams and putting good ideas in practice 1 Quiz Available on 12/05/2025 8:00 am 12/05/2025
learning outcomes
  • To understand the characteristics of consistently high performing teams.
  • To consider how to implement ideas.
  • To explore how to empower and motivate team members.
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Meet the speakers

Helen Silver-MacMahon

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

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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.

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