Assessor Resource

ACMVET508A
Support veterinary practice communication and professional development

Assessment tool

Version 1.0
Issue Date: April 2024


This Unit is applicable to veterinary nurses with extensive vocational experience.

In addition to legal and ethical responsibilities, all Units of Competency in the ACM10 Animal Care and Management Training Package have the requirement for animals to be handled gently and calmly. The individual is required to exhibit appropriate care for animals so that stress and discomfort is minimised.

This Unit of Competency covers the process of extending the skills and knowledge required to communicate at an advanced clinical level with veterinarians, other allied health professionals, clinic staff and clients as well as providing opportunities to contribute to the knowledge base and professional development of the veterinary practice.

You may want to include more information here about the target group and the purpose of the assessments (eg formative, summative, recognition)

Prerequisites

Nil

Employability Skills

Not applicable.



Evidence Required

List the assessment methods to be used and the context and resources required for assessment. Copy and paste the relevant sections from the evidence guide below and then re-write these in plain English.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

The evidence required to demonstrate competence in this Unit must be relevant to workplace operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge and the range statement of this Unit. Assessors should ensure that candidates can:

comply with relevant veterinary clinic guidelines, policies and procedures including hierarchy and regime protocols

organise, monitor and document referral requests, procedures and follow-up processes

use appropriate veterinary terminology, aligned to specific veterinary case needs, when relaying oral and written communications to a range of stakeholders

communicate effectively with in-house vets, consulting health care professionals, other service providers, clients and staff to manage the treatment and care of animals.

gather and critically evaluate information related to relevant clinical settings

apply research skills to increase own knowledge of practice relevant terminology, procedures and new developments related to workplace responsibilities

identify opportunities to contribute to the veterinary practice knowledge base and improve existing practices and procedures within scope of job responsibilities

prepare and present case studies and/or literature reviews to others.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment of this Unit is to be practical in nature and must be assessed in an appropriate specialist veterinary clinical setting.

There must be access to a range of appropriate documentation, resources and specific veterinary case loads to enable one to demonstrate competence.

Method of assessment

To ensure consistency of performance, competency should be demonstrated, to industry defined standards, on more than two occasions over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances, patients, cases and responsibilities and over a number of assessment activities.

The assessment strategy must include practical skills assessment. Suggested strategies for this Unit are:

written and/or oral assessment of candidate's required knowledge

observed, documented and first-hand testimonial evidence of candidate's application of practical tasks

simulation exercises that reproduce normal work conditions

case study analysis

third-party evidence

workplace documentation

portfolio.

This Unit may be assessed in a holistic way with other Units of Competency relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role.

Guidance information for assessment

Assessment methods should reflect workplace demands (e.g. literacy and numeracy demands) and the needs of particular target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a language background other than English, youth and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds).

Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assingnment, checklist) and due date here

Assessment task 1: [title]      Due date:

(add new lines for each of the assessment tasks)

Assessment Tasks

Copy and paste from the following data to produce each assessment task. Write these in plain English and spell out how, when and where the task is to be carried out, under what conditions, and what resources are needed. Include guidelines about how well the candidate has to perform a task for it to be judged satisfactory.

Required skills Include:

Ability to:

apply problems solving skills to deal with client enquiries or complaints and deal with complex or non-routine difficulties

apply research skills to increase own knowledge of practice relevant terminology, procedures and new developments

communicate effectively with veterinarian, other professionals, staff and clients using appropriate communication strategies and terminology whilst complying with practice protocols

correctly spell and pronounce veterinary health and treatment terminology

employ selfmanagement skills to:

comply with policies and procedures

consistently evaluate and monitor own performance

seek learning opportunities

follow oral and written sequenced instructions

maintain confidentiality, security and privacy of information

understand and apply industry standard health terminology in work activities

use interpersonal skills to relate to people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and with a range or physical and mental abilities

use literacy skills to:

complete relevant workplace documentation

edit and proofread texts to ensure clarity of meaning, accuracy of grammar and terminology

prepare general information, reports and papers according to target audience

read and understand a variety of texts

use strategies to clarify, verify and confirm information and instructions.

Required knowledge includes:

Knowledge of:

principles of animal welfare and ethics

relevant information and research sources

relevant practice specific health, treatment, equipment and surgical procedure terminology

relevant state or territory legislation and regulations relating to the practice of veterinary science, workplace health and safety and animal welfare

relevant state or territory legislation covering the use of therapeutic and controlled substances

relevant workplace guidelines, protocols and procedures including:

clinic hierarchy when confirming or verifying information or instructions

patient health, history investigation and diagnostic, treatment and surgical procedures within scope of veterinary nurse responsibilities

gathering, relaying and storing information

clinic regimes related to admitting and discharging patients, preparing for treatment, preparing for surgery and post treatment management of patient

post surgery clean-up and treatment of patients

the type of information and method of relaying information to clients

research strategies and methodologies

the historical, theoretical and philosophical aspects of fields of practice.

The range statement relates to the Unit of Competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Admission and discharge procedures

Admission and discharge procedures may include:

case history and contact information

identifying stakeholders

information regarding billing procedures for referral consultation

reporting case outcomes to the referring veterinarian, as per referral veterinarian directions

information on post treatment management by owner.

Relevant parties

Relevant parties may include:

animal owner

animal trainer or carer

veterinary nursing staff with responsibilities to care for patient and manage clinic billing procedures.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders may include:

in-house veterinarian and other staff

referring veterinarian

consulting health care professionals

animal insurance company representative

medication or specialist surgical or equipment industry representatives.

Clinic policies

Clinic policies may cover:

accessing and updating files

admission and discharge of patients

admittance of visitors

client privacy

compliance with relevant legislative requirements

guidelines for the sale of medicines and animal treatments (prescription and non-prescription)

information specific to the practice

recording information

security, confidentiality and privacy

type of information and advice that can be provided by staff.

Health care professionals and services

Health care professionals and services may include:

behavioural specialist

chemo and radiation specialists

complementary therapy practitioners

acupuncturist

chiropractor

massage therapist

naturopath

physiotherapist

veterinary dentist

farrier

medication manufacturer consultant

nutritionist

ophthalmologist

orthopaedic surgeon

plastic surgeon

trauma specialist.

Veterinary terminology

Veterinary terminology understanding is required for but not limited to:

case taking and case notes

describing health conditions and disease processes

describing surgical procedures, equipment and instruments

labelling specimens

reading and interpreting labels

interpreting prescriptions.

Oral and written communications

Oral and written communications may include:

appointments

case reports

client history questionnaires

client notes and records

correspondence to a range of health care professionals

diary entries

emails

forms

instructions for:

post-treatment care

post-surgical care

home care

operating theatre procedures

labels, symbols, signs and tables

memoranda\letters

minutes

notices

oral instructions

prescriptions

referrals

telephone calls/messages

test results

two-way radios and intercoms.

Data

Data may include:

Australian Veterinary Association guidelines

clinic specific texts

clinic guidelines

dictionary of medical and/or other health care terminology

drug and prescription information

industry networks and journals

manufacturers' specifications, material safety data sheets (MSDS)

organisational policies and procedures

patient vital signs and other information collected from a specific patient

profiles of patients (including sex, age, breed)

safe operating procedures

statistics from research papers

trends in patient statistics

veterinary staff using clinic protocols.

Professional development opportunities

Professional development opportunities may include:

attending conferences and seminars

completing additional relevant training

conducting research and presenting results

participating in forums

presenting information to staff and or others

reading research papers

visiting other practices.

Copy and paste from the following performance criteria to create an observation checklist for each task. When you have finished writing your assessment tool every one of these must have been addressed, preferably several times in a variety of contexts. To ensure this occurs download the assessment matrix for the unit; enter each assessment task as a column header and place check marks against each performance criteria that task addresses.

Observation Checklist

Tasks to be observed according to workplace/college/TAFE policy and procedures, relevant legislation and Codes of Practice Yes No Comments/feedback
Admission and discharge procedures are explained to relevant parties and completed for referral patients. 
Patient case history, diagnostics and treatments information are documented and relayed to stakeholders in accordance with clinic policies. 
Clinic policies, including information security and privacy requirements, are complied with. 
Specific nursing requirements are explained to stakeholders and follow-up appointments made as per veterinary instructions. 
Full details of patient’s treatment and required after care is forwarded to the referring veterinarian in accordance with the referral veterinarian directions 
Range of health care professionals and services available for veterinary practice needs are identified. 
Health care professionals and support services are aligned to specific veterinary case needs. 
Effective communication strategies are employed when liaising with consulting health care professionals 
Appropriate veterinary terminology is used to provide oral and written communications with fellow workers, veterinarians and other health professionals. 
Veterinary terminology is explained to clients. 
Effective communications strategies are employed to verify and/or clarify instructions from veterinarians or other health care professionals. 
Veterinary terminology used in workplace relevant contexts is spelled and pronounced correctly. 
Abbreviations used in workplace specific contexts are interpreted and used in recording information 
Data is collected and critically evaluated using a variety of methods and sources that are relevant to the clinical setting. 
Knowledge of the historical, theoretical and philosophical aspects of the field of practice are used to improve existing practices and procedures within the scope of job responsibility. 
New treatments, protocols and procedures are evaluated within the scope of work role and reported to supervisor. 
Research strategies and methodologies are evaluated for relevance, reliability and quality of evidence. 
Specific research information is critically evaluated. 
Links with veterinary nurses and other relevant allied healthcare professionals are established. 
Personal professional development opportunities are identified and used to plan skills and knowledge enhancement. 
Changes in veterinary nursing procedures and techniques are monitored and reported to others. 
Case presentations and/or literature reviews are presented to others in a public/peer setting. 
Skills and knowledge are transferred to new contexts 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

ACMVET508A - Support veterinary practice communication and professional development
Assessment task 1: [title]

Student name:

Student ID:

I declare that the assessment tasks submitted for this unit are my own work.

Student signature:

Result: Competent Not yet competent

Feedback to student

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Assessment Record Sheet

ACMVET508A - Support veterinary practice communication and professional development

Student name:

Student ID:

Assessment task 1: [title] Result: Competent Not yet competent

(add lines for each task)

Feedback to student:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall assessment result: Competent Not yet competent

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Student signature:

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