Student Attainment in the First Year of a Master’s Degree in Veterinary Nursing: Do Entry Qualifications Matter?

Fontaine, S. , Davies, A. and Bennet, E. (2023) Student Attainment in the First Year of a Master’s Degree in Veterinary Nursing: Do Entry Qualifications Matter? VetEd Symposium 2023, Edinburgh, UK, 6-7 July 2023. (Unpublished)

Abstract

Background: Entry to the VN profession is achieved through a parallel pathway of degree and diploma-level qualification. Post-registration, VNs are encouraged by the RCVS to participate in lifelong learning and gain higher levels of specialised skills, and since 2019 they have accredited a selection of postgraduate (PG) programmes. These programmes typically recruit students from varied academic backgrounds, however it is unclear if this impacts their attainment. Summary of work: This study aimed to describe student attainment and retention in the first year (PG certificate) of a three-year master’s degree in Advanced Practice in Veterinary Nursing. All 68 student admissions records were reviewed and anonymised demographic and academic data collected, including route of qualification and grade point average (GPA) following completion of 60-credits. The majority resided in the UK (63.2%), were female (95.6%), with a median age of 34 years. Most held a VN qualification that was below degree-level (73.5%), though 8.8% had also ‘topped-up’ to a degree. The median length of qualification was 7 years. Of the 41 students who had thus far completed 60-credits, all had achieved a passing GPA, with 51.2% classified as a merit, and 7.3% with a distinction. Students in the latter group all held VN qualifications below degree-level. The overall attrition rate was 14.7%, where 10.3% withdrew at the outset. Of the non-completers, 70% were below degree-level, 20% were degree-level, and 10% held both qualifications. No academic factors were associated with attainment at the 95% level of statistical significance. Take home message: Levels of student attainment on this PG programme were high and showed that VNs from all academic backgrounds can succeed at masters-level study. VNs who have qualified through non-degree routes should not be excluded from PG study but may require additional support at the start to prevent withdrawal.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Status: Unpublished
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Bennet, Dr Euan and Davies, Miss Angharad and Fontaine, Ms Samantha
• Authors: Fontaine, S., Davies, A., and Bennet, E.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences; College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with the permission of the authors

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