This qualification is intended for people who are aware of the importance of rural animals in society, and who have the technical knowledge and skills to work in clinical veterinary/animal healthcare settings such as rural animal or mixed-animal veterinary clinics, or alongside veterinarians providing rural animal healthcare services in a variety of settings.

Graduates will have a high level of responsibility and discretion within their scope of practice, in a wide range of dynamic and often unpredictable situations while following protocols in all aspects of clinical veterinary practice or animal healthcare settings.

Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration on the New Zealand Register of Rural Animal Veterinary Technicians.

Graduates of this qualification will be able to:

- Apply principles of clinical governance to lead and support the safe, effective, and sustainable care of rural animal patients in an animal healthcare setting.
- Evaluate professionalism, professional development, and future-focused animal healthcare industries to lead and support the safe and effective care of rural animal patients in an animal healthcare setting.
- Apply knowledge of animal functional anatomy and physiology to rural animal management.
- Apply knowledge of veterinary microbiology and infection control to provide effective sterilisation, sanitisation, disinfection, hygiene, and isolation procedures to rural animal patients.
- Apply knowledge of animal learning and communication, and factors that influence behaviour and welfare to manage the safe and effective care of rural animal patients.
- Apply knowledge of pharmacology to provide and support clinical pharmacological interventions to rural animal patients and manage clinic pharmacy processes.
- Apply knowledge of rural animals to manage animal husbandry.
- Apply knowledge of animal behaviour to manage effective rural animal handling techniques that minimise stress to the rural animal patient.
- Apply first aid, and emergency processes for rural animal patients requiring basic and advanced life support in emergency or simulated emergency situations.
- Apply knowledge of animal endemic, exotic and emerging diseases; parasitology, and immunology to support the provision of rural animal patient healthcare and disease prevention.
- Apply knowledge of animal nutrition to provide support to clients and rural animal patients.
- Apply the nursing process and care planning to manage a range of medical and surgical interventions for rural animal patients of different life stages and health status.
- Apply knowledge of physiological fluid and electrolyte balance to provide fluid replacement therapy, and blood transfusions to rural animal patients.
- Apply knowledge of wound physiology and bandaging to apply and maintain bandages for rural animal patients.
- Apply knowledge of anaesthesia and analgesia to support the provision of anaesthesia and pain management to rural animal patients.
- Apply surgical nursing skills to carry out preoperative, intraoperative, post-operative procedures and management of rural animal patients undergoing surgery.
- Apply knowledge of rural animal reproduction to support reproductive interventions and manage neonatal patient care.
- Apply knowledge of veterinary diagnostic procedures to collect and process a range of diagnostic samples, maintain diagnostic sample integrity, and support effective diagnostic laboratory quality control measures for rural animal patients.
- Apply knowledge of modes of diagnostic imaging to produce diagnostic quality imaging for rural animal patients.
- Apply knowledge of dental pathology, oral anatomy, preventative and therapeutic dental treatments, including the maintenance of dental equipment to support rural animal patients undergoing oral health assessments, and preventative dental treatments.

This qualification may build on the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Healthcare Assisting (Level 4) with strands in Companion Animal Healthcare, Equine Healthcare, and Rural Animal Healthcare [Ref: 4388]; or the New Zealand Certificate in Animal Management (Level 4) with strands in Canine Behaviour and Training; Companion Animals; Fish, Amphibians and Reptiles; and Zookeeping [Ref: 2489].

This qualification may lead to higher-level rural animal veterinary technology qualifications.

TEOs offering programmes leading to this qualification must:

Ensure currency with amendments to, and replacements of, relevant legislation, regulations, and codes of practice which may include some or all of the following: Veterinarian's Act 2005; Animal Welfare Act 1999; Biosecurity Act 1993, Health and Safety at Work Act 2015; Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996; Resource Management Act 1991; Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997, Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, Privacy Act 2020.

Abide by Animal Welfare Act 1999 Part 6 legislating ethics surrounding use of animals in learning and teaching, including seeking Animal Ethics Committee Approval where applicable.

Providers must ensure learners complete Health declaration and declaration of any criminal convictions to ensure fitness to practice.

A Programme Guidance document is available on request from Muka Tangata Workforce Development Council - qualifications@mukatangata.nz.

The Graduate Outcomes of this qualification align with the Allied Veterinary Professional Regulatory Council (AVPRC) Graduate Competencies available from: https://www.avprc.org.nz/.