Courses for Front of House Roles

The BVRA’s Accredited Veterinary Receptionist (AVR) Award is a qualification that trains veterinary receptionists in the skills, knowledge and mindsets required to contribute to the practice’s overall goals of clinical resolution, client satisfaction, financial resolution and colleague satisfaction.

The AVR Award is completed over Bronze, Silver and Gold levels and is available in two versions; Companion Animal and Equine.

On completion of the AVR award you will receive a personalised BVRA Accredited Veterinary Receptionist name badge and a Lantra Certificate of Completion. The AVR Award is accredited by Lantra.

Further information about each level of our AVR Award and other courses for front of house roles can be found using the relevant links below.

All our courses are aligned with the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme in terms of helping practices to meet the standards.

All Courses

Companion Animal Courses

Equine Courses

Improves customer service
Receptionists are the first and last impression new and existing clients will have of your business. Knowing how to make that all important first impression, as well as providing “prompt, polite and purposeful progress” with their queries, is all covered in the bronze level of the Accredited Veterinary Receptionist Award (AVR).
Improves confidence when recommending appointments Veterinary businesses need to ‘capture’ new clients and new cases. This means converting “contact to consults”. Many receptionists are hesitant to proactively recommend appointments when clients ask them about symptoms as they feel ‘surely clients will ask for one if they need one’. Not so. Many clients expect the receptionist to guide them in their need for an appointment and respect the receptionist’s opinion. The AVR will help receptionists develop the confidence and the feeling that they have the ‘right’ to recommend appointments.
Helps ensure follow-up appointments
Approximately 40% of the appointments on a veterinary diary will be follow-up appointments initiated by the vets and nurses once a client has already been seen. For cases to be seen through to completion it is important that these follow-up cases are actually booked as opposed to drifting out the door. The AVR helps practices recognise and deal with the Bermuda Triangle problem whereby clients and follow-up disappear without trace once they leave the consultation room.
Helps improve the quality of information and direction that clients receive
Veterinary receptionists are expected to field queries relating to many routine issues, such as preventative healthcare. Receptionists who feel confident in their practice’s preferred recommendations will give more purposeful information and come across as much more credible. The Silver level of the AVR was designed to ensure receptionists know what your practice protocol is across all stages of the customer journey.
Decreases client complaints
Clients can complain about many aspects of practice services but many complaints centre around expectations about costs. The AVR helps practices recognise and deal with surprises about costs via the £75 rule, which states that if a bill is more than £75, a client should have been informed of the balance BEFORE they reach reception. The BVRA believes that receptionists should not be expected to resolve complaints over bills that they did not create. Adopting this system as a practice habit means everyone needs to work together in order to significantly reduce unpaid bills and the angst associated with them.
Develops communication between colleagues
We all know teamwork is essential to success but often communication in practice is not as proactive as it could or should be. That does not mean we are at loggerheads with each other. Instead it means if vet or nurse colleagues fail to take the initiative to ensure that receptionists know what is going on with the logistics of a case, this can cause multiple moments of uncertainty. This then increases the chances something will not be arranged as required or, someone will do or say the ‘wrong’ thing because they didn’t know. The AVR helps practices identify these essential moments of hand over and connection.
Develops consistency between colleagues and between sub-teams
Clients feel more reassured when they hear the same message from multiple sources. Whilst there are often various products and ways to resolve medical issues, clients need and prefer a consistent message from their veterinary practice in order to minimize anxiety about whether they are doing the ‘right thing’. The silver level of the AVR helps practices clarify – and create – what their internal polices and protocols are, not only so that receptionists know them, but in order to communicate them consistently to their clients.
Improves working relationship with all staff members
The net effect of navigating the Bermuda Triangle and adopting the £75 rule is that receptionists feel less stressed! If you ask non-receptionist colleagues “Do you look out for your receptionists?” they usually say “Yes! Of course!” but often they aren’t proactive in doing so by avoiding the potential for exposure to dealing with entirely avoidable issues. Being proactive to make sure your colleagues are in the loop isn’t just an act of professional respect, it’s good for morale and the long-term health of the business.
Cutting edge CPD in an affordable and social manner
Receptionists tell us that they often feel left out of the practice’s development plans. Receptionists see vets and nurses going on CPD, and doing lunch ’n’ learns and often wonder who supports them. The AVR award is conveniently available online but if you want a little more social, the BVRA Annual congress as well as the BVRA roadshows are fun and informative ways to help your team develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes they need to thrive.
Better time management
Stress occurs when we feel uncertainty and urgency. In other words, poor time management creates a sense of urgency that exaggerates the urgency already inherent in veterinary medical practice. The AVR award explains the 8 Principles of diary management that can help minimise and even avoid much of the sense of urgency we get working in practice.

What our clients say

I found the BVRA Bronze award extremely comprehensive in the physical, emotional and practical challenges that a Receptionist/Front of house person faces every day at their veterinary surgery. Although I am pleasantly surprised to ascertain how much I have already learned within this role at my surgery, this course has given me valuable insights and extensive knowledge that have both increased my confidence and encouraged me to move on to the Silver award. I look forward to continue growing in, what I feel to be , a very respected and important role within this industry.

Julia

Veterinary Receptionist

I’d just like to say how helpful the BVRA training has been – I’ve been a receptionist for 4 years now and I am one of the most senior on our team but have learned so much – although much of it is ‘common sense’, it’s amazing how much I have learned to make everyday interactions and procedures more simplified, efficient and professional by just changing or altering little things here and there.
We also gained a lot of new staff during covid and I think the BVRA training will be amazing to get everyone up to speed and ‘on the same page’. In the past I have felt that reception has been quite overlooked as an important part of the practice but the BVRA courseS highlight just what a huge contribution and integral part of a veterinary surgery we really are. Thank you for developing this for us!

Portia

Veterinary Receptionist

The Gold level of the Accredited Veterinary Receptionist award was really cathartic and offered me the opportunity to reflect on what I do every day and value myself and my profession. Years of working at a veterinary clinic can cause you to become engrossed in your role and forget what you truly accomplish on a daily basis. I found the health and well-being section to be the most difficult but also the most beneficial, since it forced me to consider how I felt and how my co-workers feel.
I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the AVR Award and I am sad that it has now concluded. I’ve taken numerous courses over the years, but this one has been the most beneficial to me, and I’ve learned a lot about myself and how knowledgeable I am. I’d like to express my gratitude to the BVRA for assisting me in valuing myself and my colleagues even higher than I had previously!

Louise

Veterinary Receptionist

I have been a receptionist in the veterinary industry for nearly 20 years and after a while, things become second nature and it is easy to get stuck in the way you do things. The BVRA’s Accredited Veterinary Receptionist award has helped me see things from different perspectives and I feel since doing this course I have grown within my role. When I am in tricky situations or have an upset client I take a beat and think of the course. Thank you BVRA.

Tara

Veterinary Receptionist

The Silver level of the Accredited Veterinary Receptionist award has given me a good insight into how much a receptionist has to deal with. Sometimes we feel unimportant, however our workload is varied and needs to be done properly to ensure the smooth running of the practice. It’s not until the course has been completed do you realise how many things we do as receptionists and how much we need to know. I have enjoyed the course, and I am really grateful to have had such an amazing coach who has given her time up to mark my work.

Janine

Veterinary Receptionist

I think that the Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of the Accredited Veterinary Receptionist award cover pretty much everything, along with the additional pharmacy training. I have really enjoyed all of these courses and it has added an element of achievement to my job. I hope that the qualification becomes more widely recognised within the profession as I feel it definitely deserves it after all the hard work of the students and the BRVA creating it.

Nadia RVR

Registered Veterinary Receptionist

I was a big fan of the colourful consultation course for vets and feel the Bronze award is excellent for receptionists at all levels. Clear instructions for new Receptionists to cover all aspects of reception. Giving clarity to the many tasks they have to learn which is often overwhelming. But also for the more experienced receptionist to create clear protocols so we all sing from the same hymn sheet.

Helen CVPM

Practice Manager & RVN

I have been a veterinary receptionist for 16 years and the Bronze award has been so very helpful to refresh my memory and also extend my knowledge of how to run a smooth, happy and organised reception for both staff members and clients!

Natasha

Veterinary Receptionist

I thoroughly enjoyed the Equine Bronze award. I found it to be clear and concise whilst covering the broad spectrum of situations we can encounter on a daily basis. It was encouraging to note that, moving through the different sections, we already practice a lot of what it is being advocated, particularly from the customer service point of view. I look forward to expanding my knowledge more with the Silver Award.

Annabel

Equine Veterinary Receptionist

The Bronze course was excellent as this is my first position in a veterinarian practice. Very well laid out, excellent and easy to understand. A great base to get the first understanding and core knowledge. Certainly helpful along side the day to day running of the practice.

Chrissie

Veterinary Receptionist

BVRA courses and membership are administered by ColourfulCPD

Courses for Front of House Roles

What our clients say

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