Registered Veterinary Nurse

Registered Veterinary Nurse - Maternity Cover - £250 WELCOME BONUS!
Downland Veterinary Group
Salary up to £30,000 depending on experience

Here at Downland Veterinary Group, East Sussex, we are looking for a dedicated Registered Veterinary Nurse to join our fabulous team. The day-to-day duties are rotated between in-patient care, theatre duties, assisting with imaging, lab work and consulting. If you have a drive for clinical excellence, teamwork and clinic care this role is perfect for you.
The rota involves working 38-40 hours per week over 4-5 days, open to discussion, with a favourable 1:7 Saturday mornings. No OOH.

Why Join Our Exceptional Practice?

Downland Vet Group, East Sussex has an excellent reputation from both clients and staff. The ethos and atmosphere is warm, supportive and nurturing. We all work incredibly hard, wanting the best care for our patients & our clients. We are continuously making improvements and developments, wanting to ensure we are providing the highest standards we possibly can. We each have our own CPD journeys, growing as individuals whilst each bringing something different to the team.

Throughout the year we hold in-house CPD events, clinical discussions and staff meetings, to share learning, ideas & opinions. A few members of the team also work ad-hoc at Vets Now for ECC experience and learning is shared with one another from this. Outside of work, we have a fun summer event in which families of staff members are invited, an extravagant Christmas event in which partners are invited, and team outings in Spring and Autumn, whether it be a dog walk, a music gig or a meal. In addition, we frequently share gifts and 'tea parties' to celebrate someone's maternity leave, exam results or big birthday. Being 3 sites, we believe it's important to bring the team together as much as we can.

We are a firm part of the local community as we carry out school visits annually to teach school children about veterinary life, and engaging with many local rescue centres, including donations to Kit Wilson Trust, fundraising for a nominated charity, staff volunteering and a weekly vaccination clinic with Eastbourne Rabbit & Guinea-Pig Rescue.
We are proudly RCVS Practice Standards accredited Small Animal GP at The Goffs and Hailsham surgeries, and Core Standards at Stone Cross surgery. In addition, we are a registered Training Practice for student Veterinary Nurses and have 2 VetGDP Advisers for graduate vets. We are also excitingly working towards becoming an ISFM Cat Friendly Clinic and as a team would love to work towards further RCVS Awards.
At The Goffs and Hailsham surgeries, we have consulting rooms, nurse clinics, full dentistry facilities including dental x-rays, theatre and prep rooms, multiparameter anaesthetic monitoring, in-house laboratory and diagnostics, and a mobile ultrasound machine. At Stone Cross surgery, the busiest of all, we have two consulting rooms and a non-stop waiting area, feeding procedures to either The Goffs or Hailsham. All 3 surgeries have free parking nearby and are surrounded by local amenities. Hailsham and Stone Cross are recently renovated, and as we are continuously looking to improve, our future plans include renovating The Goffs surgery and investing in more advanced equipment.

About the Team and Culture

We are a very kind, friendly and fun team that offers our clients and patients the highest standard of care. Between the commitment to our roles and dedication to our patients, we make time to praise, support and take care of one another. In between the seriousness of the job, we do spend much of our time laughing and getting each other through. Within our team, we have 7 Vets, 12 Nurses (including 3 students) and 9 support staff, working across the three surgeries sharing the same vision for growth within our practice. Our clinical team each bring something different to the table, each having their own areas of interest in which we strongly encourage - one of our Vets is keen on feline medicine, one is focused on medicine and imaging, and another has recently undertaken a FCert in ECC - similarly, one RVN is working on the practice IPC plan, one is offering behavioural appointments (being qualified in dog & cat behaviour), and another works also as a college lecturer at Plumpton. Meanwhile, we have a regular Visiting Vet at Hailsham for orthopaedic surgery, as well as other Visiting Vets for endoscopy, advanced ultrasonography, and ophthalmology.

More About You

We are looking for a progressive and friendly team member who has already obtained a degree of general clinical experience. A drive for clinical excellence, teamwork and clinic care are essential qualities.

Because our employees matter

We recognise that our people are fundamental to the success of our business. Investing in our people, premises and processes is at the heart of what we do. In addition to a competitive base salary, you will benefit from –

Work-life balance

• 6.6 weeks annual leave
• Increasing holiday allowance based on length of service
• Your birthday as a paid day off

Wellbeing

• Enhanced family-friendly policies, including maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental and surrogacy pay
• Private Medical Insurance
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Initiatives focused on employee wellbeing, including discounted gym membership
• Non-accidental injury support

Development

• £550 CPD allowance with 24 hours paid pro rata
• Certificate support
• Learning and development opportunities via the IVC Evidensia Academy
• Access to Vetlexicon – our online encyclopaedia provider
• All our Vets & Nurses can apply for research funding
• Infection Prevention and Control Programme
• Quality Improvement Programme

Professional Memberships

• VDS cover
• RCVS fees

Additional

• Pawsome Benefits – reward gateway giving discounts and cashback with 100’s of retailers
• Pension 5% Employee/3% Employer
• Discounted staff pet care

Any questions before applying?

Speak to Nicola Grant from our recruitment team who would be happy to help you with any questions you have before applying for this role.