clinical mentors
Clinical Mentors are a vital component of the way we deliver our outstanding veterinary nursing courses and are an integral part of our quality. Learn more about becoming a Clinical Mentor.
Clinical Mentors are more than supervisors — they’re the guiding hands that shape the next generation of veterinary nurses. By sharing their knowledge, skills, and experience, mentors help students turn classroom learning into real-world confidence.
A Clinical Mentor may be a veterinarian, registered veterinary nurse or technician, or a qualified veterinary nurse or technician, volunteering their time to support ACVN students during placement at a Registered Training Clinic.
Mentoring is both a responsibility and a privilege. It also benefits your own career — strengthening leadership, teaching, and communication skills, and enhancing your professional development.
With the right qualifications and experience, Clinical Mentors help ensure students develop practical skills, critical thinking, and professionalism — the qualities that set them up for long and successful careers in veterinary nursing.
REGISTER ONLINE NOW
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
― Benjamin Franklin
The Clinical Mentor’s Role
Clinical Mentors are the student’s main guide and point of support during placement, helping them bridge the gap between coursework and real-world practice.
Your role is to support the student in developing the skills required by the course. This may involve demonstrating and explaining tasks, observing the student as they practice, and giving constructive feedback on their progress.
Mentors also verify workplace skills. Most practical assessment is completed through video or live Zoom sessions with an ACVN Educator, so you will not need to be involved in most assessments. Some subjects do have students complete “Key Skills” records — short forms where they log the tasks they have performed. You sign these off once you are confident the student can complete the task to the standard you would expect from an employee, and that their record is accurate.
If a student has not yet reached proficiency, or you did not observe them perform the task, it is perfectly acceptable not to sign it off. In these cases, the student will need to arrange further experience to achieve the required level.
Students are also required to write up case studies from their placement. These must accurately reflect their involvement in the case, and mentors are asked to sign a declaration to confirm this.
REGISTER ONLINE NOW
“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.”
― Phil Collins
Who Can Be a Clinical Mentor?
Both veterinarians and veterinary nurses/technicians are eligible to become Clinical Mentors.
-
Veterinarians must be registered with their local Veterinary Surgeon’s Board.
-
Veterinary Nurses or Technicians must meet one of the following:
-
Registered under AVNAT (or an equivalent overseas registration board).
-
Hold at least an ACM40410 Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing (or equivalent overseas qualification).
-
Hold a bachelor degree in veterinary nursing or technology.
-
If a qualified veterinary nurse holds an earlier qualification, they can still mentor students by providing evidence of ongoing professional development (such as CPD courses, seminars, or workshops attended). This requirement exists because older qualifications do not fully align with the current training package, and veterinary nursing practices continue to evolve.
Ensuring mentors remain current is an important part of our quality process, helping us produce graduates who are confident, capable, and up to date with best practice.
REGISTER ONLINE NOW
Register as a Clinical Mentor
To register as a Clinical Mentor, your clinic must first be approved as a Registered Training Clinic.
Once the clinic is registered, any eligible team member can apply by completing the online Clinical Mentor Registration form and providing either their registration number or a copy of their qualification to show eligibility.
After we process your registration, we’ll email your access details for this website so you can get started.
Not sure if your clinic is currently registered with us? Both registration forms will look it up for you as the first step.
MENTOR FAQ
Do I have to proof read assessments?
It is not a requirement that Clinical Mentors must proof read a student’s work. Anyone can proof read assessments for the student to check spelling, grammar and general structure.
Students do however appreciate a veterinary professional reviewing their work to help ensure they are on track clinically.
Of course, before signing a Clinical Mentor Declaration, you’ll need to at least speed read the case study to verify it is indeed an accurate reflection of the student’s involvement.
How much work is being a Clinical Mentor?
We won’t lie – there is work involved, but if you have a passion for teaching, and are open to learning then you will get much more out of mentoring that you put into it.
Most mentors will spend several hours a week working with and supervising new skills, but then the student can work under indirect supervision.
We’ve structured our video/live assessments to not need too much other staff involvement, and our Key Skills are just signatures and dates for Mentors.
What if I can't always be around for the student?
Sometimes your workplace roster, or an individual Clinical Mentor’s skill set, may require more than one person to fulfil this role. This is perfectly fine as long as each mentor is registered with us. Students often have 2 or 3 mentors registered, which helps to share the work load.
Of course, other staff may also be involved in training, after all, it’s a team environment, but only approved mentors can sign off Key Skills and Case Study Declarations.
Our clinic does not want students to interact with clients, is this a problem?
No! It is fine to run role play/scenarios instead of allowing students to interact directly with your clients.
Once you have access to this website, you’ll find guidance on alternatives for many of the tasks.
It’s important to us that we help you protect your clinic’s reputation at all times, ensure privacy laws are not broken and that training can be adaptable to your specific policies and procedures whilst still meeting course objectives.
What if the student isn't right for us?
If at any time during the placement you feel our student is not an appropriate match for your clinic or is disrupting your staff, you’re entitled to cancel the placement.
If this is necessary, please call our office to discuss the issues on 03 9040 3600.
