The following applies to all students visiting to see practice, should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the office.
- Starting times: Please arrive at the hospital for 8.30am on your first morning. If you will be arriving at another time please contact the office to arrange. Start times for subsequent mornings will be arranged on a day to day basis depending on workload.
- Finishing times: These vary considerably but we aim to be done by 5.30pm most days. At busy times this may be considerably later! If you need to leave at a particular time, please let us know so we can be sure to accommodate this, especially if you are travelling with one of the road vets!
- Lunch times: This can vary considerably, we advise bringing a packed lunch.
- If you are going to be late or are unable to attend for any reason, please call the hospital during office hours to inform us. Please let us know if you need to make up the lost time for college and we will do our best to facilitate you.
- Footwear: Please be sure to wear sensible footwear suitable for working with horses, boots only and ideally with steel-toe caps. NO RUNNERS please.
- Clothing: Please dress professionally in clothes suitable for working outdoors and with horses. Please ensure you look neat and tidy, no loose fitting cloths or jewellery. A warm jacket is advisable.
- Safety: Our primary concern is the safety or you, our colleagues, clients and patients. It is important to always remember that horses can act unpredictably, particularly when nervous or stressed. Please inform us if you are nervous or inexperienced with horses, it is no problem- you are here to learn! If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe in any situation please inform a member of staff immediately. Remember to never stand directly in front or behind any horse. We also remind students to be mindful of hygiene and biosecurity, both between cases and for your own benefit.
- Confidentiality: We take client confidentiality extremely seriously and we ask you to never discuss names of clients, patients or the details of any case in front of other clients or with anyone outside the hospital. If you need to use any cases you have seen for reports/college work we will try our best to facilitate you, again we stress that no owner/animal details should be included. You must never take photos in the hospital or at any clients premises without the express permission of the vet in charge.
- Questions: We always welcome interested students and are happy to answer any questions you might have about a case. We appreciate it, however, if you wait for an appropriate moment to do so once the vet has finished dealing with the client. We also ask you not to answer any questions relating to cases that a client may ask you unless you have been expressly told to do so- please politely refer them to the vet in charge of the case for any discussion.
- Student paperwork: We are happy to complete any forms or paperwork you have in relation to your placement. Please be sure to provide them to us in good time so we can complete them before the end of your visit- 5pm on a Friday can be very hectic and may not be a suitable time to ask! If you have any learning objectives or clinical skills to complete, please be sure to inform an appropriate member of staff early in your placement.
- We are delighted to offer you the opportunity to visit and learn from our team here. We want you to enjoy your placement and learn as much as possible. We can provide exposure to a range of medical and surgical cases, radiography, ultrasonography, lameness assessments and much more. Most students will have the opportunity to administer basic treatments and develop clinical skills under supervision. All we ask in return is that you are enthusiastic and willing to participate occasionally in some of the more mundane aspects of work at the hospital. Students who help the staff and offer to clean up are always the most welcome. There is always stocking up, cleaning, mucking out and general admin to be done around the hospital, if you can help us in these tasks, we will have more free time to use for teaching.
- Finally- we cannot teach you anything if you do not know what is normal. Please do not attend your placement without knowing your normal vital signs (temperature, pulse, respiration) you WILL be asked.
If you should have any questions which are not answered above, please do not hesitate to contact a member of staff, we look forward to working with you! :)
