Job Title: Student Veterinary Nurse (SVN)
Band: 2
Reporting to: Clinical Nursing Manager/Lead Nurse
Area: Nursing
This means:
· We are committed to Quality of work and contributions to society.
· We embrace our Responsibility (as individuals and a company) to act now.
· We base decisions on Mutuality of benefit to our stakeholders.
· We harness the power of Efficiency to use our resources to maximum effect.
· We have the financial Freedom to make our own decisions, unrestricted by motivations of others.
Overview
Student Veterinary Nurses (SVN) work under supervision to deliver quality patient care, an unrivalled client experience through teamwork, clear communication and utilisation of knowledge and skills.
The Student Veterinary Nurse (SVN) role is for a fixed period whilst training to become a Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN).
You will embrace our culture with a growth mindset, have a passion for self-development whilst working towards achieving competency in the RCVS Day One Skills for Veterinary Nurses.
Main purpose & goals
· Participate fully and engage in your training to develop your skills and knowledge of veterinary nursing to gain your qualification to become a Registered Veterinary Nurse.
· Work closely with your Clinical Supervisor to ensure you maximise your training opportunities and take responsibility for your progress within your qualification which includes your work-based assessment.
· Always work within the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct.
· Deliver high quality patient care, utilising your developing experience and skills.
· Work and communicate effectively with colleagues and clients. Demonstrate the ability to be reliable, adaptable, understanding, and empathetic.
· Maintain accurate client and patient records.
· Contribute to an outstanding client experience.
· Always provide an efficient, courteous, and helpful service to all clients, suppliers, and external contacts.
· Promote a culture of respect, collaboration, and engagement in the practice team to support well being, quality, and productivity.
· Understand and adhere to practice and group policies.
· Build awareness of the financial health of the business by understanding and controlling costs in the areas that nurses can impact.
Key responsibilities
Working under the direction of a Vet or Registered Veterinary Nurse, you will be involved in all nursing skills. Where treatment of the patient includes minor surgery (not involving entry into a body cavity) this direction will be direct, continuous, and personal.
1. Deliver high quality patient care.
· Undertake general nursing duties across all areas of the practice, including clinical and non-clinical areas, developing your nursing skills to maximise provision of nursing care aligned to your formalised training programme.
· Ensure accurate clinical record keeping, including anaesthetic sheets, hospitalisation forms and clinical notes.
· Uphold premises and patient areas to a high a high clinical standard, adhering to stringent infection control protocols and maintenance of equipment, reporting faults or damage.
· Work alongside the veterinary, nursing, patient care assistants, and client care teams to deliver an efficient quality service.
· Contribute to improving quality patient care by engaging with feedback from site level and group level audits to include incident reporting and reviewing.
· Engage with and deliver high quality patient care initiatives.
· Engage with Linnaeus student support and networking opportunities.
2. Contribute to an outstanding client experience.
· Always provide an efficient, courteous, and helpful service to all clients.
· Build strong positive relationships with clients, demonstrate empathy, and offer an excellent level of service with clear and appropriate communication.
· Obtain informed consent, accurate and documented estimates and support the understanding of treatment recommendations.
· Provide nursing and patient care updates according to practice protocols.
· Have an awareness and understanding of how you can influence the practice’s Net Promotor Score (NPS), applying this knowledge to encourage positive client feedback.
3. Promote a culture of respect, collaboration, and engagement in the practice team to support well-being, quality, and productivity.
· Communicate clearly and respectfully within your practice teams to create a positive, friendly, and engaged team environment.
· Actively engage with performance conversations and informal meetings with your line manager.
· Own the completion of your business and development objectives, utilising your line manager and peers for feedback, support, and direction.
· Champion self-awareness to support civility within the workplace.
· Adopt a ‘Just Culture’ to help create an environment where individuals feel free to report errors and learn from mistakes. Being able to raise suggestions or concerns through appropriate channels.
· Ensure that emails, information, protocols, and general communications are read and adopted promptly. Access the Linnaeus intranet (The Link) regularly to keep up to date on business news.
· Embrace the Five Principles and Linnaeus behaviours, displaying enthusiasm and purpose for creating a better world for pets. Engage with annual Associate surveys as requested to support your practice, Linnaeus, and the wider business and contribute to the survey impact plans.
· Welcome and support any new Associates, locums, or visitors to nurture a positive relationship that promotes our values.
· Support wellbeing activities. Seek advice from your line manager if your wellbeing or you observe your peer's wellbeing deteriorate.
4. Uphold and engage in Clinical Standards & Quality Improvement and demonstrate a commitment to continued professional development.
· Engage in quality initiatives e.g., RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, International Society Feline Medicine (ISFM) cat friendly clinic to support and maintain clinical standards.
· Contribute to incident reporting and reviewing.
· Understand health and safety (H&S) risks and read all information supplied to enable to comply with all H&S policies pertaining to clinical activities e.g., controlled drugs and radiation safety policies.
· Participate fully and engage in your training to develop your skills and knowledge of veterinary nursing. Proactively seek additional support if needed.
· Contribute to clinical audits in compliance with current professional standards that support the review of standard operating procedures (SOP).
5. Understand and implement practice and group policies and comply with regulatory requirements.
· Comply with all relevant statutory and other regulations including HR policies, GDPR and H&S.
· Complete all safety learning modules as directed by the business.
6. Build awareness of the financial health of the business by understanding and controlling costs in the areas that nurses can impact.
· Ensure correct charging to include services, medicines, and consumables.
· Work in a responsible manner that focuses on reduction of unnecessary waste, reducing financial and environmental impact.
· Support practice stock management.
· Engage with marketing initiatives.
Person specification
Specification Essential Desirable
Experience At least 12 months experience working with animals. Previous experience of working within a veterinary practice.
Knowledge Good understanding of animal welfare and handling.
Qualifications
Entry requirements for level 3 veterinary nursing qualification.
Evidence of completion of previous training (internal or external) e.g.
Patient Care Assistant training or L2 animal care qualification
Skills & abilities
Excellent listening and communication skills.
Good numeracy skills. Team player.
Highly organised with the ability to multitask.
Proactive and well organised.
Confident in the use of IT packages, email, practice management system (PMS) and online internet browsers.
Basic administration skills. Dealing with the clients/customers.
The ability to work under pressure.
Other qualities Reliable and hard working.
The ability to take instruction and feedback.
About us:
Linnaeus is a forward-thinking partnership of highly respected primary care and referral veterinary practices across the UK and Ireland, comprising some of the best clinicians in the profession.
We are all individual but two important things bring us together; a commitment to excellence in everything we do and our passion to make A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.
At Linnaeus we carefully select the practices we partner with to ensure the highest levels of patient care across our group. Together we provide a growing community of like-minded veterinary professionals who are passionate about what they do. We work with different types of practices, in every field of veterinary medicine, including small animal, farm and equine.
We also have our Five Principles which form the foundation of how we do business today and every day and we put these at the centre of every decision we make.
Boundary Vets has been serving the local community for over 40 years. Our experienced team of vets and nurses work together to provide high-quality, compassionate care. Many of our team have been with us for years, creating a supportive and welcoming environment.
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 well-being 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.
All applications with the relevant skills and qualifications will be carefully considered. If you need any support in completing your application or simply want to find out more about Boundary Vets. Linnaeus or the role please contact our Talent Acquisition team at careers@linnaeusgroup.co.uk.
How to Apply
To apply, click "Apply Now" or contact Purvi Kataria at purvi.kataria@linnaeusgroup.co.uk for more information or a confidential discussion.
We look forward to hearing from you.
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All applications with the relevant skills and qualifications will be carefully considered.