Senior/experienced Surgical RVN

Calder Vets Ltd; Dewsbury; On-site; GBP 27,000 - GBP 32,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading veterinary hospital in Dewsbury is seeking a Senior/Experienced Surgical Registered Veterinary Nurse to join their progressive team. This role emphasizes anaesthesia and theatre nursing for delivering gold-standard patient care. Candidates should possess a qualified RVN status and ideally have over 5 years of experience. The position offers opportunities for professional growth, competitive salary, and a supportive environment with various benefits including extensive CPD and a pension scheme.

Benefits

5 weeks holiday + bank holidays + Birthday Leave

RCVS & VDS fees paid

Funded external CPD

Life assurance

Pension scheme

Qualifications

• Qualified RVN (RCVS registered) with at least 5 years of post-registration experience.
• Confident in anaesthesia and theatre nursing.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills.

Responsibilities

• Prepare theatre suites, equipment, and surgical kits for procedures.
• Assist as both circulating and anaesthesia nurse.
• Maintain accurate clinical records including anaesthetic sheets.

Skills

anaesthesia and theatre nursing

communication skills

organisational skills

teamwork

proactive attitude

patient care

Education

Qualified RVN (RCVS registered)

5+ years post-registration experience

Job description

Senior / Experienced Surgical RVN

Location: Calder Vets, Dewsbury
Salary: Up to £32,000 DOE
Job Type: Permanent
Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week

About the Role

We are seeking a Senior/Experienced Surgical Registered Veterinary Nurse to join our busy and progressive hospital at Calder Vets Dewsbury. This is an exciting opportunity for a motivated RVN who is passionate about surgical and anaesthesia nursing and is looking to further develop their skills within a theatre-focused role.

You will play a key role in delivering gold-standard patient care across all aspects of theatre nursing, including patient preparation, anaesthesia, imaging and recovery. Working closely with our Lead Surgical Nurse, clinicians and wider nursing team, you will help ensure the smooth, safe and efficient flow of patients through our theatre suites.

Key Responsibilities

• Prepare theatre suites, equipment and surgical kits for daily procedures
• Assist as both circulating and anaesthesia nurse
• Prepare and monitor patients throughout anaesthesia and recovery
• Maintain accurate and thorough clinical records (anaesthetic sheets, kennel sheets, hospitalisation records)
• Ensure all safety and anaesthetic machine checks are completed
• Maintain surgical kits, tray lists and storage; support training of new team members
• Complete equipment maintenance checks and report faults
• Uphold high standards of hygiene and infection control
• Participate in daily huddles, team briefings and patient handovers
• Liaise with the Lead Surgical Nurse to ensure owners are appropriately updated
• Support clinical audits, research and development projects
• Engage with practice initiatives (PSS, CFC, DFC, RFC, IIE Silver, etc.)
• Support induction and ongoing development of new nursing team members
• Attend internal and external CPD and cascade learning to the wider team
• Maintain compliance with Health & Safety and GDPR policies
• Promote and engage with Halo and other practice systems

About You

• Qualified RVN (RCVS registered)
• Ideally 5+ years post-registration experience
• Confident and experienced in anaesthesia and theatre nursing
• A strong team player with excellent communication and organisational skills
• Proactive, enthusiastic and self-motivated
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced hospital environment
• Passionate about delivering exceptional patient and client care
• Experience in a hospital or referral setting is desirable but not essential

Clinical Exposure & Development

You will gain hands-on experience with a wide range of anaesthesia and analgesia techniques, including:

• CRIs
• Nerve blocks
• Epidurals

You will also be trained in advanced monitoring techniques using state-of-the-art equipment, including:

• Blood pressure monitoring
• Capnography
• ECG
• Arterial blood gas analysis

This role offers exposure to a diverse first-opinion, referral and emergency caseload, providing excellent opportunities for professional growth and career progression.

Our Team

Our surgical team includes dedicated surgical nurses, rotating nurses, student veterinary nurses and patient care assistants. We work collaboratively across all hospital departments to deliver outstanding care to our patients.

Benefits

• 5 weeks holiday + bank holidays + Birthday Leave
• RCVS & VDS fees paid
• Funded external CPD
• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD programme
• Clear career progression opportunities
• Staff discount schemes
• Life assurance
• Enhanced sickness pay
• Enhanced equal family leave
• E-car salary sacrifice scheme
• Employer contribution pension scheme

Wellbeing & Support

• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders across the business
• Eyecare voucher scheme
• Free annual flu jab
• Cycle to work scheme
• Recruitment referral reward scheme

About Linnaeus

At Linnaeus, we are committed to supporting the physical and mental wellbeing of our Associates. Alongside our confidential Employee Assistance Programme, we have a dedicated network of Mental Health First Aiders across our practices and central support teams.