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To apply for some of the courses at the RVC, you need to have completed a certain amount of work experience: find out more about the requirements on the course pages.

For example, for the Veterinary Medicine course you will need to complete 70 hours of clinical, and 70 hours of non-clinical experience. You do not need to do more hours than the required amount, or work in lots of different places - though it's a great idea to experience a variety of jobs if you can. Check your course's page for the full details (e.g. BVetMed here).

• Clinical = Work experience (paid or voluntary) in one or more vet practices
• Non-clinical = Farm placements, kennels/catteries, shelters, zoos, riding schools, pet shop – anywhere you can get experience working with live animals (except for home/family businesses or pet ownership).

If you are unsure whether a certain placement would count, or be clinical or not, feel free to contact admissions@rvc.ac.uk

Our top tips for work experience placements

• Be proactive: Take responsibility for finding your placements. Start by doing an internet search of local vets, farms, and pet shops, and ask friends and family with animals which they use. Email the placement directly: introduce yourself and your aspirations, your previous experience, why you would like to work with them, and flexible dates you would be available. You may need to call the placement to follow up, as many animal professionals are very busy: wait a week or two, then give them a polite phone call.
  
  
• Plan ahead: Plan your placements in advance as some may fill up a few months before. Put the date in your calendar and a reminder the week before on your phone. A few days beforehand, confirm with the placement that you are coming, and ask if you need particular clothes, or a packed lunch. Check the route/ public transport you will be taking, so on the day you can arrive early.
  
  
• Be flexible: Understand that you might not finish the placement at a set time (animals often don't follow a schedule!), and know the bus timetables you need. Bring a change of clothes and be prepared for the weather (e.g. wellies, waterproof, sun cream, gloves). Get involved in lots of different tasks, but make sure you ask for help if you need it.
  
  
• Professional attitude: Show enthusiasm and look interested, even if you have done a task many times, or it isn’t the main thing you were hoping to do! Stay off your phone, except during lunch breaks, as it can be a good way to spread dirt and disease, and may make you seem disinterested. Be friendly with everyone you meet; they are all doing an important job.  Never discuss clients, practices or staff outside of the placement with friends or on social media.
  
  
• Ask questions: “How can I help?”, “Why is that being done?”, “What would you do now for the patient?”. This shows you are interested, but it will also help you learn more about working with animals. Take a notepad and pen that fits in a pocket, and write down new words (even ones you need to google later), experiences or procedures you see (you will forget the details later!). This will help you prepare for interviews and writing your personal statement.
  
  

• Reflect on what you have learnt: After each placement, think about what you learnt and enjoyed, what was hard, what was different to what you expected, and which environment you liked the most. Reflect on what you have learnt about the profession, how does this reinforce your decision to be a vet, what skills and characteristics did you realise a vet needs, and how can you demonstrate you have them? Make notes of this as you might forget!
  
  
  

  
  
  Finding Placements

  You need to take responsibility of finding your work experience placements, and they can be competitive so it's best to book in advance!
  The below are suggestions of how you can go about finding work experience, not endorsements by the RVC, or a guarantee that we will accept them as clinical or non clinical work experience hours.

  
  Finding a vet: Use these tools to find vets in your area, and look up their contact details

   
   
  
   
  
  
  
  
  

  Finding a farm / stables

   - Sign up to this service to find lambing placements
  
  
   - check out local city farms to see if they house animals
  - look for local farm shops, then see which farm supplies them
  
  
  

  Other places to look:  Use these tools to find zoo's, aquariums, wildlife parks and rehab centres, and animal charities.
  
    
    
   
   
  
  
  
   
  
  

  Develop your skills at home

  Work experience gives you an idea of what a job really looks like, what people in that career do on a daily basis (find out about jobs working with animals here), and the skills they use. While you may not be able to go to a work experience placement, check out these videos and activities to learn some of the skills you'll need as an animal professional: