About me ...
Hello, and welcome to The Rabbit RVN.
This page will share with you a little about who I am, what my background and qualifications are - what has inspired me to develop The Rabbit RVN!
My name is Alison Langridge. I am a registered veterinary nurse (RVN) and clinical educator with a combined twenty six years' experience in clinical practice and in higher education, primarily teaching vet and veterinary nursing students.
What is an RVN?
Being an RVN means that I am a trained and qualified veterinary nurse, and that I am registered to practice with our regulatory body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS).
All registered veterinary surgeons and nurses are required to maintain their registration by undertaking a mandatory number of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours each year. This maintains their skills and professional competence, and ensures that they stay up to date with the latest advances in evidence-led veterinary medicine. Both vets and RVNs must also operate within their respective profession's Code of Professional Conduct at all times.
Currently, the title of 'veterinary nurse' is not protected which means that anyone can say that they are a veterinary nurse without having any formal training or qualifications. Many pet owners are unaware of this or are unsure about what to do, particularly if their pet is undergoing anaesthesia or intensive nursing. However, you are well within your rights to confirm that you pet is going to be cared for by an RVN. You can also check whether somebody is a registered vet or vet nurse by heading to the 'Check The Register' page of the RCVS website. You can search for them using their surname, forename, location or registration PIN. My PIN is 6297299, and you can check my registration here.
Apart from my RVN status, I hold the following qualifications:
- honours degree in Linguistics
- postgraduate certificate and diploma in veterinary education
- master's degree in veterinary education
- three certificates in advanced veterinary nursing of avian, herpetological and small mammal species
- Level 5 Coaching and Mentoring
- Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment
I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
If you have any questions, drop me a line!
Alison Langridge
BA(Hons) PGCert PGDip MScVetEd APVN(Avian, Herp & Small Mammal) RVN FHEA
My story ...
From childhood, I was surrounded by animals. Growing up, we lived in a semi-rural area so apart from hearing farm animals and wildlife all around, we also had dogs, cats, gerbils, fish, rabbits and chickens. Additionally, my uncle had horses - as well a German Shepherd dog and cats, and I enjoyed horse-riding and learning about nature, so it was almost inevitable that I pursued animal care for a career.
As a student veterinary nurse, I developed a strong interest in the clinical care of rabbits, and found it frustrating that so many rabbit patients that we saw had diseases or illnesses which could have been prevented.
At this time, which was between 1999 and 2003, I was working in an amazingly progressive and supportive practice who encouraged my interest. Once I was qualified and registered, I was lucky enough to be able to start up rabbit healthcare clinics, which were a huge success and whilst the number of registered rabbits skyrocketed, the number of rabbits presenting with preventable diseases fell, and instead of coming in for the first time with critically or terminally ill rabbits and requesting euthanasia, more and more owners started coming in regularly for vaccinations, neutering and dental checks and requesting information about nutrition, husbandry and bonding.
This was definitely one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. It showed all of us that rabbit owners, just like dog and cat owners, were absolutely prepared to invest in the health and welfare of their rabbits if they were encouraged to and given the opportunity to.
Veterinary education
After just over eleven years working in small animal practice, mixed practice (small animal, farm and equine) and charity practice, I was fortunate enough to be offered my first teaching role, and moved to London from Lancashire to start my new career at the Royal Veterinary College.
During my years teaching vet and vet nursing students, rabbit welfare and evidence-led standards of care continued to be a special interest, and I was able to not only integrate rabbit care into my clinical skills teaching, but also into the final year practical examinations for both vet and vet nursing students.
I was also a project and dissertation supervisor, and over the years, have supervised many evidence-led assignments from students who focussed their topic on both clinical and non-clinical aspects of rabbit health and welfare - which has been great to see.
I have also enjoyed lecturing and facilitating CPD workshops for qualified vets and vet nurses over the years, and have focussed mainly on effective triage, critical care and anaesthesia of rabbits.
My rabbit journey
I have adopted and fostered several rabbits over the years, and have always been heavily involved with rabbit rescue.
All of my rabbits have taught me new things and brought different challenges, all of which have helped me learn and grow, not only as an owner but also as a veterinary nurse and as an educator.
Despite all of the online resources about rabbit care, we are still seeing huge numbers of rabbits presenting with preventable illnesses, or being dumped or returned to rescues when they have become ill or when the novelty of them has worn off.
I have also sadly seen many, many examples of where anxious owners have turned to well-intentioned but misinformed people on the internet for advice, and been provided with wrong or dangerous advice which has inevitably led to unnecessary and prolonged suffering or loss of life.
These are many of the experiences which have inspired me to create these owner-centric courses.