Twilight Veterinary Surgeon

Twilight Veterinary Surgeon

Location: Village Vet Milton, Cambridge

Hours: Part-time | 5pm–1am | 7 nights on, 14 nights off (average 18.67 hours per week)

Practice: Village Vet Milton – Vet24 OOH Hospital

Salary: £42,500 per annum (pro-rota)

Not quite days. Not quite nights. Something a little different.

If you enjoy emergency and critical care but don't want to work through the small hours, this could be exactly what you've been looking for.

We're looking for a Twilight Veterinary Surgeon to join our exceptional Vet24 team, working 5pm–1am on a 7 nights on, 14 nights off rota. You'll sit right at the heart of our hospital's busiest transition period, working alongside our experienced daytime team before seamlessly handing over to our dedicated overnight team.

And this isn't a role where you'll simply stabilise patients and pass them on. We believe in proper work-ups, meaningful treatment and continuity of care. Our patients can stay with us for ongoing investigation and treatment, allowing you to see cases through rather than simply getting them through the night.

It's an unusual opportunity to build your ECC experience, work alongside some of the region's most experienced emergency clinicians and enjoy an exceptional work-life balance.

Why join us?

• Work alongside 3 Advanced Practitioners in ECC, alongside multiple certificate holders across the wider team.
• Join one of the few RCVS Tier 3 Hospitals in Cambridgeshire.
• Spend the majority of your shift in emergency consultations and directing initial stabilization, with the opportunity to follow cases through their diagnostic work-up, hospitalisation and, where appropriate, surgery.
• Work with a large and varied emergency caseload generated by our five Village Vet practices and around 20 surrounding veterinary practices.
• Be supported by 4–5 vets, 4–7 RVNs and 1–2 PCAs from the daytime team, before handing over to an experienced night team.
• Work alongside a dedicated overnight team of another vet, 2 RVNs, a late PCA and a CCA.
• Benefit from twilight CCA support, helping manage appointments and allowing vets and nurses to concentrate on clinical care.
• Work in a genuinely integrated day, twilight and night team. There are no separate "day" and "night" camps – we work together, communicate well and share responsibility for our patients.
• Take advantage of excellent clinical equipment, including digital radiography, advanced ultrasound, a handheld Clarius ultrasound system, endoscopy and an extensive range of in-house blood analysers.
• Enjoy strong links with the ECC team at Dick White Referrals, just down the road, providing an additional source of clinical expertise and support.
• Join a team that won the 2023 Linnaeus Quality Award, recognising its commitment to high standards of patient care.

The team and practice

Village Vet Milton is a thriving 24-hour hospital just north of Cambridge and one of only a handful of RCVS Tier 3 accredited hospitals in Cambridgeshire.

Vet24 provides emergency and critical care for our five-site Village Vet group, as well as around 20 surrounding veterinary practices. As a result, the caseload is both high and varied, giving you exposure to a broad range of emergency presentations rather than the more predictable caseload you might find in a typical first opinion practice.

During your twilight shift, you'll work closely with the daytime team of 4–5 vets and 4–7 RVNs, before handing over to a dedicated overnight team consisting of another vet, 2 RVNs and additional support staff.

Our approach to OOH care is something we're particularly proud of. We don't operate on a "stabilise and ship out at dawn" model. Where appropriate, patients are admitted for proper investigation, treatment and ongoing hospitalisation, giving our clinicians the opportunity to provide genuine continuity of care.

You'll have the opportunity to follow cases beyond their initial emergency consultation, becoming involved in diagnostic work-ups, ongoing hospitalisation and surgery where appropriate. This means you'll be able to see the impact of your clinical decisions and work alongside the wider hospital team throughout the patient's journey.

The team also works closely with the ECC clinicians at Dick White Referrals, building a strong local clinical network when additional advice or expertise is needed.

You’ll have access to an impressive range of equipment, including digital X-ray, advanced ultrasound, handheld Clarius ultrasound, endoscopy and extensive in-house diagnostics. Our blood analysis capability goes well beyond a standard profile, with equipment supporting blood gases, coagulation, cortisol, phenobarbital monitoring and more.

Perhaps most importantly, this is a team that genuinely enjoys working together. We have twice-daily rounds, strong communication between day and night teams and a culture where people support one another. There isn't a divide between the day and night teams – we're one hospital team, working together to give patients the best possible care.

What we're looking for

• At least two years' UK, small animal experience, with confidence managing emergency presentations.
• A genuine interest in emergency and critical care and a desire to develop your ECC skills further.
• The ability to assess, stabilise and prioritise emergency cases confidently.
• Good clinical judgement and a calm approach when presented with challenging cases.
• Excellent communication skills and a collaborative approach to working within a multidisciplinary hospital team.
• Someone who enjoys learning, asking questions and sharing knowledge with colleagues.
• A vet who values proper case work-ups, continuity of care and doing the very best for every patient.

A Little More About Us

Village Vet is a progressive, forward-thinking veterinary group with small and medium-sized primary care practices, three large 24-hour hospitals and a referral centre across London, Hertfordshire and Cambridge.

We're committed to supporting and investing in our people, our facilities and the care we provide to our patients and clients. Our teams are encouraged to develop their skills, gain additional qualifications and progress their careers within the wider group.

Our vision is simple:

To be recognized as an exceptional and trusted provider of primary veterinary care to our patients and clients within the communities that we serve. Every patient, every client, every visit.

Benefits:

• 5 weeks holiday + bank holidays and birthday off (pro-rata for part-time)
• No out-of-hours (OOH)
• RCVS and VDS fees paid
• External CPD funded
• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD program
• Career progression opportunities
• Staff discount schemes
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• Wellness program including:
• Employee assistance program
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Free annual flu jab
• Cycle to work scheme
• Recruitment referral reward scheme.

Village Vet is part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health, the largest family-owned veterinary company in the world. Being privately owned, we can truly be driven by our purpose, to create a better world, and think long-term as opposed to being focused solely on short-term profits.

At Linnaeus, A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS starts with a better world for our people. Our Associates are over 6000 strong and empowered to speak up, step up and deliver quality services. You’ll have access to a huge network of specialists, worldwide development opportunities and an easily accessible, comprehensive wellbeing package that prioritises your physical and mental health, allowing you to focus on what you do best – care for pets.

We are committed to fostering a culture that is inclusive and diverse, we care about you and want you to be authentic, with everything you need to perform at your best. We are all individual but two important things bring us together: a commitment to excellence and our passion to achieve our purpose.

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