Work experience during the Covid-19 pandemic

Work experience can be a valuable contribution to the vet school application process, providing prospective students with a real insight to the roles of veterinary professionals, the wider veterinary team and animal carers in the community.

We know that the Covid-19 pandemic means that many budding vet school applicants have experienced disruption to planned work experience placements. Many applicants are also wondering if it’s possible to do work experience safely at all. 

Vets across the UK have been brilliant at adapting the services they provide to make sure they keep their teams, their clients and the animals in their care safe during the outbreak. However, this has meant adherence to strict biosecurity and social distancing measures, and reduced face-to-face contact. 

So, we wanted to reassure the potential vets of the future that the UK’s vet schools are taking this into consideration, and are providing some alternatives to face-to-face work experience. 

Adjustments to requirements

In its recently updated guide to Admissions processes and entry requirements for UK veterinary schools, the Veterinary Schools Council (VSC) reassures all applicants that UK vet schools will take Covid-related disruption into account when considering applications for veterinary courses. In light of the pandemic, the UK’s vet schools have also reviewed their requirements for work experience.

So, to find out how each vet school has adjusted its requirements be sure to:

Virtual work experience

The UK vet schools have also agreed to accept completion of a Virtual Work Experience and Exploring the Veterinary Profession online course in place of in-person work experience. They’ve agreed that this can count for at least two weeks of work experience. 

All of the vet schools have collaborated to develop this online course and all agree it’s a valuable preparation for entry into the world of veterinary medicine.

The aim of the online course is to provide participants with an opportunity to learn about key parts of veterinary life that they might have learnt in a real-life working environment. It will equip you with all the crucial information you need to make an informed decision about whether veterinary medicine is the right degree course for you. 

You’ll learn about and have the opportunity to reflect on the following areas:

  • Introduction to the veterinary profession
  • Where and how vets work
  • Roles of the wider veterinary team in and out of practice
  • Regulation and expectations
  • The benefits and challenges of the vocation
  • Current and future issues for veterinary medicine and science

It’s a brilliant opportunity to learn more about the profession through a new approach to work experience. For more information on how many weeks of experience the online course will count for across the different schools, visit their individual websites or contact their admissions departments.

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