Deputy Head Nurse - Small Animal in Woking

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced Deputy Head Nurse to join our friendly team. The role is full-time, working 40 hours per week. We are flexible on hours and can offer either four long days or five shorter days, with a 1:5 Saturday rota (8:00am-2:00pm), which will be compensated as TOIL.

Our exceptional practice Kingswood Vets is a well-established local practice in Woking, we moved to a new purpose-built hospital premises in 2018. We have 4 consult rooms, 2 theatres, dental and imaging rooms, separate dog and cat wards. We have high-end equipment to assist your nursing; including multiparameter monitors, separate dental suit with digital dental radiography, hot air warming devices, syringe drivers and multiparameter monitors. We have a really good mix of well-insured clients wanting gold standards plus RSPCA and other charity work.

As work-life balance is important to us, Woking is full of things to do. We are surrounded by many leisure activities including golf courses, National Trust sites, RHS Garden Wisley, unspoiled scenic walks including the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, theatres, galleries, and much more. We have great transport links, you can be in London Waterloo in 30 minutes, the M3 and M25 are close by and both Heathrow and Gatwick are not far away. You can also be at the beach within an hour.

About the team and culture

We are a supportive team of Veterinary Surgeons, 5 RVNs, 4 Student Veterinary Nurses with an amazing support team as well as our supportive and encouraging CD. We have a surgery certificate holder, a dental vet, an imager, and a vet partway through an ophthalmology certificate plus a visiting cardiologist and orthopaedic surgeon to learn from.

Key duties include:

• Assisting the Head Nurse in the management of the nursing team and supporting when necessary with general nursing duties, ensuring efficient running of all surgical areas at all times.
• Demonstrating an excellent work protocol in all nursing duties including theatre practice, lab techniques, assisting veterinary surgeons with anaesthesia, with a high level of hygiene and the ability to recognise and undertake relevant actions with regards to infection control.
• Dispensing drugs safely and managing pharmaceuticals in accordance with legislation, able to calculate drug doses and dispense and prepare drugs as prescribed by the veterinary surgeon whilst maintaining appropriate drug records.
• Daily running of Clinical procedures, and oversee that all surgical cases are dealt with in a timely manner, and that unnecessary delays are prevented at all times.
• Work closely with the Head Nurse, vets and non-surgical team including attending regular meetings to ensure all areas are working together effectively and efficiently.
• Ensure that patient records are being completed accurately and that all patient care instructions are followed by the nursing team.
• Ensure all members of the nursing team are aware of their roles and job descriptions and are clear on the objectives they are working towards.
• Provide the support and training necessary to achieve the standards required of them at all times.
• Become a Clinical Coach and support with the planning of student tutorials and training where necessary.
• Demonstrate an understanding of staff motivation, team working, different learning styles and different methods of assessing an employee's performance.
• Assist the Head Nurse in carrying out regular performance reviews and update training documents or competency checklists as appropriate to ensure all of the nursing team are competent in the performance of their duties.
• Promote the practice and group policies and guidelines that apply to all employees and effectively manage any performance issues.

Because our people 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, inclusive of bank holidays
• Increasing holiday allowance based on length of service
• Your birthday as a paid day off
• Wellbeing
• Private Medical Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programme: 24/7 confidential helpline
• Enhanced family-friendly policies, including maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental and surrogacy pay
• Initiatives focused on employee wellbeing
• Development
• £550 CPD allowance with 24 hours paid CPD leave 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
• Colleague Benefits
• Company pension scheme. IVC Evidensia will make a contribution as well
• Supporting a greener commute to work with a Cycle to Work scheme and Green Cars Scheme, subject to eligibility criteria
• Voluntary benefits: we give you the flexibility to choose from a range of voluntary benefits to suit you
• Access to discounts/cashback with hundreds of participating retailers
• Discounted treatment for your own pets at an IVC Evidensia practice

Up to £37,000 per annum DOE