Full time 4-day week position

From the owners:
Glenn and I became firm friends whilst studying at the Dick Vet and decided to set up Apex Vets from the ground up in 2010. We did this because we wanted a really great place to work to take us through to retirement, and we wanted to be able to treat and diagnose patients to the absolute best of our ability. We started with 1 in 2 on call, one RVN (the “Head Nurse”!) and two receptionists. The practice has organically grown since, and we now have a team of 30.

We are a determinedly independent practice, we focus on keeping our team happy, and we highly value everyone’s work life balance. We all enjoy our jobs and get home on time after a day’s work. The whole team has a patient first ethos, we enjoy pushing our already high clinical standards and don't work to any targets or KPIs, instead our target is healthy patients and happy clients.

We have 5* online reviews, and extremely low staff turnover for this sought after position. As a nurse training practice, we believe in growing our own talented nurses and supporting your career progression. Chloe started with us as a student and is now our Head Nurse, leading our team of 8 highly skilled nurses and 6 animal care assistants. We fully support continued development, Fiona and Milena have an ISFM Feline Nursing certificate and Gemma has her ECC certificate. Jack is currently doing his Exotic certificate, Annie is doing her surgical nursing certificate and Gemma is doing her anaesthesia certificate.

Job satisfaction is a huge priority of ours and we like our nurses to use their skills to their full potential. The owners also embrace flexible working and we get home on time wherever possible.  You will have regular nurse clinics, lead our anaesthetic inductions and maintenance, perform radiography, dental scale and polish, and undertake schedule 3 procedures.

Although we have our own OOHs, we have taken on 5 ACAs to fill our nightshift role, providing in-patient care and being on hand to help the vets when needed. This means that as an RVN you will only be called in when your nursing skills are really required. We also offer an enhanced pay rate from the minute you leave your house until you return, plus a bonus of £40 for each call out. This change in structure has meant that our RVNs are normally only called in for the exciting cases, and on average this is only one call a month, amongst the whole nursing team. Our RVN on call rota is 1:8 and these include your normal Saturdays.

We have a very supportive vet and nurse team who are always available for case discussions and backup. We have monthly nurse meetings, along with clinical meetings for case discussions and we regularly provide in-house CPD. We have a forward-thinking attitude and are always looking for ways to develop and evolve. We would love you to get involved in the focus groups we have set up to look at key areas of practice development; our current focus groups are clinical standards, Fear Free, arthritis, Staff Wellbeing and our digital journey.

We enjoy whole practice (and usually partners) team building events throughout the year.
Last year we all enjoyed a team building event, spending a day at Blair-Drummond Safari Park (together with 6 young kids who came with various team members).
Each year since we opened, we have run a very successful community fun day and open day. We usually get 800-1000 people attending and always raise in excess of £1000 for charities handpicked by the team. The open day after party is renowned amongst the team and all the family and friends who help us on the day are welcomed for some food, the bar, and Doug being the DJ for the night.

The practice is in a Central Scotland location with Ochils nearby, yet with easy access to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Benefits include:
• 6 weeks holiday (including one week over the festive season)
• Salary range £27k - £29k
• Vitality Healthcare insurance which comes with many additional benefits including 50% off gym membership and mental wellbeing support, providing Talking Therapy sessions and free use of the Headspace mindfulness app
• Generous CPD, we will support you to certificate level if you wish
• Professional fees for RCVS, Veterinary Defence Society and one other paid
• Company pension with 4% matched employer contribution
• £40 bonus for each out of hours call out
• Cycle to work scheme
• Team building days
• Bi-annual development reviews
• Monthly nurse, clinical and full practice meetings
• Social events
• Annual pay reviews
If you would like to know more about our longstanding supportive team and our forward-thinking attitude, then please call us now for an informal chat or just apply now!