Interested in this role?
This is an exciting opportunity to work in our state-of-the-art hospital and theatre, working alongside renowned orthopaedic, soft tissue, neurology and cardiology specialists. As a theatre nurse you will be actively encouraged to utilise your skills, such as scrubbing into surgical procedures and assisting the surgeons. Successful candidates will also be given training in Schedule 3 procedures such as suturing and interoperative radiography for a range of complex cases.
The ideal candidate will have a passion for theatre work, especially in emergency surgery. We are looking for a nurse with at least 1 year experience as a qualified veterinary nurse ideally in a referral environment, with previous exposure to working out of hours/nights. Student teaching plays a large part of our nursing roles at Langford and therefore teaching and supervision would also be a key responsibility.
Role summary: 31 hrs/week on average, working 7 nights on, 7 nights off.
Monday-Friday 8 hr twilight shifts plus a 30-minute lunch break, Saturday and Sunday 11 hr night shifts + 1 hour lunch break.
Please note this role includes working bank holidays which fall on a normal working day and also includes an element of on-call work.
We would like to share a quote from one of our Theatre Nurses, Lydia Jarvis as she talks about what she enjoys most about being a Theatre Nurse: “I like being a Theatre Nurse at Langford Vets because of the wide variety of surgical cases we can get involved with. I enjoy working with a very close-knit team made up of RVNs, theatre assistants and surgeons. As a theatre nurse I get the opportunity to scrub in and assist the surgeons with orthopaedic, soft tissue and neurology surgeries which I find very interesting!.”
Benefits and wellbeing
Our people are at the heart of what we do and as your employer we want to ensure we offer flexibility, support and staff development, where possible, through:
Time off
- 5 weeks holiday per year (plus bank holidays)
- Additional holiday entitlement for Long Service
Wellbeing
- On site Mental Health Champions
- EDI committee
- Employee Forum – to ensure all employees voices can be heard
- Menopause Café
- Wellbeing talks and events
- Cycle to work scheme
- Family friendly policies, including enhanced maternity and paternity pay (after 2 years’ service)
Health
- SimplyHealth Cashplan membership
- Free annual flu vaccination
- Free Specsavers eye test voucher
General
- Free onsite parking
- U2 bus service link to Bristol
- Annual CPD allowance
- Employee discount
- Generous pension scheme – we match up to 8% pension contributions
- Reimbursement of one professional membership fee per year
How to apply
If this role sounds like the right fit for you, don’t delay, click ‘Apply’ and begin your career with Langford Vets.
Langford Vets is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Job Description
Responsibilities
Job purpose
Reports To: Head Theatre Nurse
Job Purpose:
The main purpose of the post is to provide out of hours theatre support within the Small Animal Referral Hospital. You will be responsible for assisting with surgical procedures, administering nursing care to animals, promoting client communication and working within the Terms of the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct for Nurses.
Principal Accountabilities:
- To provide specialist nursing support for all surgical activities to include Soft Tissue, Neurology, Orthopaedics, and Cardiology as both a circulating and scrubbed nurse.
- To prepare for and assist with the delivery of anaesthesia – to include anaesthetic machine checks, selecting and safety checking breathing systems and endotracheal tubes, assisting with patient restraint and placement of intravenous catheters.
- To prepare patients for surgical procedures according to surgeons’ requests and hospital protocols.
- To prepare theatres and surgical trolleys for use during surgery – to include preparing the theatre such as damp dusting, selecting appropriate surgical instruments and consumables, liaison with clinician in charge regarding requirements, ensuring surgical equipment within theatre (diathermy/suction) functioning and set up, ensuring pre-operative x-rays are available as required.
- Sterilising and maintenance of surgical instruments and equipment. Use of instrument disinfector, autoclave and ethylene oxide sterilizing units – to include cleaning, lubricating and checking function of instruments and equipment, wrapping of single instruments/kits and consumables to ensure effective sterilisation.
- To provide nursing care to patients in the immediate post-operative recovery period.
- Assisting veterinary surgeons, students and other staff with in-patient care throughout the referral hospital to include restraint and support for clinical procedures and emergency cases.
- Maintaining accurate patient records with regards to all clinical notes, treatment, diagnoses, client communication and client /patient information.
- Ensuring that all procedures and consumables are accurately entered onto the patients’ computer records to always keep the invoice up to date during their stay.
- Maintaining cleanliness of the theatre environment and following current cleaning SOP’s and processes.
- Be able to work independently within a theatre environment.
- Flexibility is key to this role, to provide support to the OOH service and caseload.
- Maintaining a good working relationship with team members.
- Communicating in an effective and pleasant manner with clients and colleagues.
- Proactively identify and act upon opportunities for business improvement. Openly identify and discuss problems in order to implement and sustain improvements that increase the value we deliver to our, clients, employees, and students.
- Responsible for keeping themselves and others safe, reporting accidents, near misses and hazards and adhering to health and safety requirements and policies as required by the business/their line manager.
- Carry out all other reasonable duties as requested by the line manager.
Person Specification
Person Specification
The skills, abilities, experience and knowledge outlined below provide a summary of what is required to carry out this job effectively.
Essential |
Desirable |
One year in veterinary practice or ability to prove similar levels of knowledge and experience |
Previous work in OOH or night shift |
Able to carry out veterinary nursing duties as listed in principal accountabilities |
Advanced diploma |
Confidence and experience in effective handling and restraint of animals |
Clinical coach or similar |
RCVS listed Veterinary Nurse |
Interest in advancing own qualifications |
Communicating effectively with clients |
|
Ability to work within a team |
|
Ability to act independently |
|
Flexible approach to work |
|
Eligibility to work in the UK |