New or Recent Graduate Veterinary Surgeon for Internship in Independent Hospital

New or Recent graduate veterinary surgeon wanted for a small animal / equine mixed role or small animal only position. Excellent support and mentorship. Accommodation & Vehicle available with visa sponsorship on offer, where required.

To apply, or for more information, please send your CV to scott@redsector.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you!

• Protected clinical role based within the hospital with an experienced team of vets to learn from
• Total Salary package up to £44,000
• Accommodation and vehicle available
• Internship can be mixed small animal and equine or small animal only 
• Huge focus on staff well being and work/life balance
• Well equipped hospital with the chance to advance cases with support. 

Our client is a well-established, independent RCVS Accredited practice with Hospital status, based in a picturesque hamlet in the Essex countryside, with two small animal Pet Clinics nearby.

Offering the latest in diagnostic technology, supported by spacious kennels and cattery, a hydrotherapy unit, as well as an extensive equine facility, and in-house laboratory, our client is proud to champion non-corporate practices and aims to encourage vets to choose careers in forward-thinking supportive, modern practices. We strongly believe that this business model will create a long-term, flourishing veterinary profession.

With a large and dedicated team of experienced nurses and vets, we have been running a mixed internship for more than 20 years, supporting recent graduates, both clinically and emotionally, on their first steps into practice. Our independence allows us to be adaptable, and flexible, whilst demonstrating high ethics and embracing diversity. As a registered training practice for veterinary nurses, our high pass rate supports our nurturing ethos.

Our core values are to be caring, nurturing, honest, fair, trustworthy, responsible, respectful, professional, up-to-date and efficient. Our team members come first, and we are proud that they are the main asset of our hospital. We want everyone who works for us to feel supported, with particular awareness for mental health & wellness at work, and mindfulness of a work/life balance.

The practice location, within a rural setting, is also close to busy town life. The city of Chelmsford is a 10-minute drive away, and provides good shopping, entertainment and rail links to the heart of London in just 30 minutes. Stansted and Southend airports are within 30 minutes, with Dover only an hour away and there are excellent road links to easily reach most of the UK and continent.

Combined Small Animal and Equine Graduate Program

Our graduates form an important part of our clinical team. Graduates will carry out a protected clinical role in the hospital including being introduced to primary responsibility for cases. They also provide clinical assistance to senior vets on the team.

Aims: Graduates will attain a sound foundation in the key skill areas of Small Animal and Equine medicine and surgery, whilst in return providing the practice with continuity of patient care. The position is a challenging and very rewarding foundation to a veterinary career, for those wishing to pursue a career in equine or companion animal practice. The team will provide training in clinical skills, client care and communication.

Supervision: The Practice Manager and her team are responsible for the day to day running of the business and are the Graduate’s supervisors for non-veterinary issues. For clinical issues, the Graduate will defer to the supervising senior clinician. A Mentor will help with practical issues and be a constant point of guidance and advice. Our Vet GDP advisors will conduct regular reviews of progress, both informally in day-to-day contact and at formal reviews. The senior nursing team will provide guidance and supervision for hospital cases.

Rota and work schedule: Our client aims to employ three Graduates at any one time, and they will therefore work on a 1 in 3 rota system with one week spent in Small Animal, one week spent in Equine and one week spent on out-of-hours, covering each other’s absences for holidays and courses. Most of the Graduate’s out-of-hours cover will involve providing back up for the other vets, including veterinary care for in-patients and involvement in surgical procedures and clinical investigations. New Small Animal cases are unlikely to be brought in to the hospital as our overnight emergency care has been diverted. Hospitalised cases will still be treated at our hospital. The normal working day starts at 8.00am. The daily duties and commitments will vary day by day, as detailed in the rota.

Contracts, salary and holiday: The job is offered on a fixed term contract. Many Graduates have chosen to continue working for our client by applying for a permanent position as an SA or Equine clinician. Remuneration is a package worth around £44,000, including a well-appointed apartment (including service charges and utility bills), a practice vehicle (with locally purchased fuel supplied), CPD allowance of £1500 per annum, company mobile phone, RCVS and VDS membership, and a basic salary of £25,000. Graduates are entitled to 28 days annual leave (including bank holidays, subject to rota requirements), and 5 days CPD.

Specific Tasks for Graduates: The following is a summary of some of the daily tasks we will expect our Graduates to undertake. The list is not exclusive. The normal working day starts at 8am and will involve ward rounds, hospital treatment and some primary consultations slots. The 1 in 3 out-of-hours week will present opportunity to deal with veterinary procedures for hospitalised cases overnight.

Daily Tasks

Consulting for Small Animals:

• At our Hospital, or at one of the two pet clinics Pet Clinics

In-patients:

• The Graduate will work closely with the nursing team, and provide a link between clinicians, nurses, grooms and owners.
• Daily treatments, patient monitoring and clinic rounds
• Keep patient records up-to-date and ensure client billing is on the computer system
• Monitor progress of patients and liaise with senior vets for all in-patients
• Have primary responsibility for own in-patient cases, with senior clinician supervision as experience dictates
• Ensure owners are kept informed of their animal’s progress
• Oversee the admission and discharge of in-patients

Operations:

• Help, when necessary, as surgical assistant
• Undertake routine procedures as experience levels permit, including neutering, wound repair, dental extractions, lump removals and other soft tissue surgery as experience dictates

Clinic Appointments:

• Assist senior clinicians with appointments
• Routine procedures and consultations.

Out of hours:

• Help with monitoring in-patients on weekday evenings and on weekends when on call
• Graduates provide back up for the senior SA clinicians (on call for in-patients) and the senior Equine clinician on call for Equine inpatients and emergencies.

Expected Clinical Standards and Proficiency:

• To become proficient in clinical examination, diagnosis and routine treatment of patients
• To deal with clients in an efficient, courteous manner, ensuring that their perception of their animal's problem is always given consideration, but providing competent and professional guidance on diagnosis and treatment.

Equine Clinical Tasks:

Initially, we expect our Graduates to be involved in:

• In-patient monitoring and drug administration
• Initial colic exam including rectal examination, naso-gastric intubation and abdominocentesis
• Bladder catheterisation
• I.V. catheterisation
• Radiography: standard projections of limbs, head, neck and back
• Nerve blocks and lameness assessment, including perineural anaesthesia of the distal limb and synoviocentesis of the most easily accessible structures
• Shoe removal and foot preparation for radiography, pre-operating or for examinations
• Consultation: basic skills
• Assistance with fertility work, including routine scanning, inseminations and uterine and genital swabbing and irrigation
• Anaesthesia for all surgical procedures.

Later procedures may include:

• Endoscopy: General examinations, including respiratory (guttural pouches, tracheal washes), uterine and gastric
• Nerve blocks, including all joint blocks and administering intra-articular medication
• Ultrasonography: examine musculo-skeletal, thoracic, abdominal structures
• Fertility work: more advanced techniques
• Farriery Supervision and support

Small Animal Clinical Tasks:

Initially, Graduates will be expected to:

• Work up medical cases, logically, with assistance from senior vets where necessary
• X-ray common structures, carry out the procedures, and interpret the images
• Dental examinations and treatments
• Routine neutering of animals, including male cats and dogs, and female cats
• Minor surgical procedures: skin suturing, small mass removals

Later tasks are likely to include, but not limited to:

• Ultrasound the abdomen
• Neutering bitches, pyometra operations and caesarean sections
• Exploratory laparotomy and other surgical soft tissue procedures
• Be involved in more complicated orthopaedic cases and operations
• Work up more complex medical cases

To apply, or for more information, please send your CV to scott@redsector.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you! 

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