Head Veterinary Nurse (HVN)

Job Description

Introduction
Our Client is a corporately owned practice seeking a Head Registered Veterinary Nurse to lead a dedicated nursing team within a well-established, community-focused environment. This role offers the opportunity to combine hands-on clinical work with leadership responsibilities in a supportive setting.

Working Hours / Rota
This is a full-time position working 40 hours per week, including some weekend work.

Role Description
The Head Registered Veterinary Nurse will take responsibility for the clinical leadership of the nursing team, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and operational compliance are consistently achieved. This includes supporting veterinary surgeons during procedures, delivering nurse-led appointments, and overseeing patient care from admission through to discharge.

The role involves monitoring patients, managing medications, maintaining accurate clinical records, and ensuring all pre- and post-operative procedures are completed to a high standard. The successful candidate will also coordinate daily team briefings, ensuring effective communication and smooth day-to-day practice operations.

A key aspect of this position is leadership and development, including mentoring and coaching the nursing team, promoting nurse-led clinics and Schedule 3 procedures, and supporting a progressive clinical culture. The Head Nurse will also play a central role in team organisation, ensuring clarity of responsibilities and fostering a collaborative working environment.

Additional duties include overseeing stock management, supporting laboratory processes, and ensuring the clinical areas are fully prepared for procedures.

Team Size
The role sits within a small, close-knit team of veterinary surgeons, registered veterinary nurses, and support staff.

Practice Details
The practice is a well-established first opinion small animal clinic with a strong reputation and loyal client base. It is equipped with modern diagnostic facilities and benefits from access to a nearby 24-hour hospital, providing advanced imaging and out-of-hours support.

The practice offers a collaborative and supportive environment, with a focus on continuous improvement and high clinical standards.

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will be an RCVS registered Veterinary Nurse with proven leadership experience and the ability to confidently manage and develop a clinical team. Strong communication skills, a proactive approach, and a commitment to delivering exceptional patient and client care are essential.

Experience in coaching, mentoring, and implementing nurse-led initiatives will be highly beneficial, along with the ability to maintain high clinical and operational standards.

This is just some of the information about the job and company, but there will be more questions. Tempus Veterinary Recruitment is happy to get those questions answered for you during the recruiting process. Tempus Veterinary Recruitment is here to make the recruiting process simple and stress free.
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