Veterinary Nursing with Small Animal Rehabilitation
Veterinary nursing is a regulated healthcare profession concerned with the care and treatment of animals under veterinary direction. Registered Veterinary Nurses work as an integral part of the veterinary team, performing a wide range of clinical tasks including anaesthesia, diagnostic imaging, laboratory procedures, surgical nursing, and the nursing care of hospitalised patients. The addition of a specialisation in small animal rehabilitation broadens this further, adding expertise in physiotherapy techniques, hydrotherapy, pain management, and the rehabilitation of animals recovering from orthopaedic surgery or neurological conditions, a growing area of veterinary practice.
At Harper Adams University this four-year full-time programme develops your clinical skills across veterinary nursing and small animal rehabilitation, combining the core competencies of registered veterinary nursing practice with specialist rehabilitation knowledge and techniques. You will undertake substantial clinical placements in veterinary practices and specialist settings, gaining the supervised patient contact that professional competence requires. On completion and successful assessment, graduates are eligible to apply to enter the register of veterinary nurses held by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, which is the regulatory body for the profession.
Registered Veterinary Nurses with small animal rehabilitation expertise work in general veterinary practices, specialist referral hospitals, rehabilitation centres, and university veterinary teaching hospitals. The rehabilitation specialisation opens additional opportunities in practices and clinics dedicated to physiotherapy and recovery support for animals following surgery or injury. The profession offers clear progression routes into senior nursing, clinical management, education, and specialist roles.
Some graduates pursue further professional development or postgraduate study to advance their clinical expertise or move into veterinary nurse education.