PRESS
RELEASE
25 June 2007
ACOVENE accredits first veterinary Nursing Programmes
The first seven European schools of veterinary
nursing have been accredited by ACOVENE (the European
Accreditation Committee for Veterinary Nurse Education)
following a successful pilot project to develop
a system for quality assuring veterinary nurse
education in Europe. The project was funded with
the support of the European Commission through
the Leonardo da Vinci Programme.
The accredited schools include institutions from
Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Sweden
and the United Kingdom. All were visited by panels
appointed by the pilot ACOVENE Board using accreditation
criteria developed in association with the American
Veterinary Medical Association. The newly accredited
schools cover a wide range of courses in veterinary
nursing, from the vocation level to higher education,
and from a relatively small private college to
university veterinary schools.
Following the pilot project, ACOVENE is now being
established as a foundation with the support of
the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary
Associations (FECAVA) and the Veterinary European
Transnational Network for Nursing Education and
Training (VETNNET). The long-term aims of the Foundation
are to extend accreditation to schools of veterinary
nursing in all European countries and to encourage
the development of training courses in countries
where these are currently weak or absent. ACOVENE
accreditation should therefore help to build the
confidence of veterinary employers in the professional
education and skills training of veterinary nurses.
Alida Moene, the pilot project co-ordinator, said: “The
achievements of both the ACOVENE pilot board and
the schools that have successfully achieved accreditation
are fantastic; we now look to the future and the
establishment of a Europe-wide network of accredited
schools producing quality veterinary nurses for
practice.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Lizzie Lockett (020 7202 0725) l.lockett@rcvs.org.uk
Communications Department
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (acting as
secretariat for ACOVENE)
Or
Alida Moene (+31) 342 455540 alida.moene@groenhorstcollege.nl
Groenhorst College Barneveld (project co-ordinator)
The Netherlands
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. The ACOVENE Board includes members from:
the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary
Associations (FECAVA)
the Veterinary European Transnational Network for
Nursing Education and Training (VETNNET).
Aequor (the knowledge and communication centre
for the agricultural sectors in Holland)
CEU Kolding (Center for Erhverv og Uddannelse),
Denmark
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, United Kingdom
Danish Veterinary Association Special Committee
for Veterinary Nursing
2. ACOVENE accreditation criteria and the associated
procedures can be found at www.acovene.com
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