Registered Veterinary Nurse

Are you passionate about surgery and anaesthesia and looking to take your skills to the next level with a supportive, dynamic team and amazing facilities? If so, read on...

Park House Veterinary Centre is an independent small animal practice in Stafford. We are committed to making our team happy and want everyone to enjoy coming to work. We’re a young and enthusiastic team that enjoys working up cases to a very high standard, so we continually invest in our team’s development and our facilities to support this. Here, you can flex your skills with a diverse and interesting caseload, ranging from thoracic and spinal surgery to complex medical cases and everything in between.

About us

Ben founded Park House Vets in 2001 with his wife Kath, an RVN, who took on the role of Practice Manager. We quickly gained a reputation for providing outstanding care, which led to the need to expand our team. Katie joined us in 2016, followed by Nick the next year, and they both took on Director roles. We now have an experienced 9-vet team, including Advanced Practitioners in surgery, medicine and cardiology, which enables us to take referrals from local practices. We also benefit from a visiting CT and MRI scanner, which enables non-invasive, advanced imaging and allows us to keep all the exciting cases in-house.

We moved into our newly refurbished, purpose-built premises in 2020. We now have excellent facilities in beautiful green surroundings, allowing us to work to a very high standard. We have a separate cat waiting room, a sunny cat ward, two state-of-the-art theatres with cutting-edge equipment to enable us to perform advanced surgical procedures, including orthopaedics and laparoscopy, and a separate imaging room with ultrasonography, echocardiography, endoscopy, rhinoscopy, bronchoscopy, and digital and dental radiography.

Our nursing team

Our Head Nurse, Lauren, leads our fabulous nursing team of 14 RVNs and SVNs. Lauren and Cassie have both completed the Diploma in Advanced Veterinary Nursing. Our RVNs have various interests, including anaesthesia, physiotherapy, cardiology, medical nursing and ECC. Lauren has just completed her anaesthesia Diploma, and Elyse has completed her physiotherapy qualification. We are supported by our fantastic team of 8 VCAs and our team of 6 Client Care Advisors.

“I started at Park House Vets in 2013 as an SVN. I have since qualified as an RVN, completed an Advanced Diploma and am currently studying towards an NCert in Anaesthesia, all fully supported by Park House. I was recently given the opportunity to run an in-house CPD evening focusing on an area that I am very passionate about, and I was able to deliver it in our fully equipped meeting room.

Working at Park House Vets has helped me to achieve my initial career goals and set new aspirations for the future. Park House Vets is a constantly evolving practice where new ideas are strongly encouraged by the whole team. I returned from maternity leave in March 2023 and did not hesitate to return full time knowing the support from the whole team I’d be returning to.

The opportunities that have arisen from Park House Vets have been incredible, from the varied caseload to the introduction of new techniques and procedures. The patients at Park House receive the utmost care from many different aspects of the practice, including every member of the team.” Lauren RVN DipAVN, Head Nurse

“I’m proud to work at Park House, knowing that our patients receive the very best care. I work alongside an extremely experienced and knowledgeable team, who are all caring, helpful and willing to teach. Everyone, including the partners, will pitch in to help where needed.

I have received multiple promotions over my 14 years of employment with the practice because hard work is genuinely recognised and rewarded. I have multiple additional qualifications because the practice has fully funded and supported my desire for additional knowledge.

We have a genuinely lovely client base that is a joy to interact with and lovely patients, too.

There is a focus on work-life balance, and the partners host fun team-building events such as easter egg hunts and quiz nights. There is a warm and friendly feel within the team, with plenty of laughter. The perks and friendship, coupled with the support you receive, make it a great place to work, which is why so many of us have worked here for several years.”  Danielle, AVR, Client Care Manager

Career development  

As a nurse training practice, we believe in growing our own talented nurses and prioritise the development of our team. We are always looking for ways to improve and expand the services we can offer, and if you have a particular area of interest that you would like to develop, we’d love you to bring your enthusiasm and ideas. We absolutely encourage career progression, so if you want to take on a certificate or further study, this will be fully supported. There is also scope to take on Clinical Coach responsibilities and mentor our student nurses if this is something that interests you.

The rota

Our RVNs work a 40-hour week with a variety of 7.5-hour shifts; this allows them to get involved in all aspects of nursing duties, including theatre, prep, wards and pharmacy. There are no routine reception duties for our RVNs, as our team of Client Care Advisors and VCAs supports clients. Our earliest shift is 7.45 am to 3.45 pm, and our latest is the duty shift, finishing at 8 pm. The practice has evening cleaners to cover both the clinical and domestic areas of the practice, which leaves our RVNs free to use their nursing skills to their full potential.

We do provide our own vet-led out-of-hours service. Our RVNs work 1:7 weeknights and 1:10 weekends, which includes your Saturday morning shift (7.45 am to 12.45 pm). After this, you can be on call from home for the remainder of the weekend. The vets take the phones and lead the inpatient care, so you are only called in when needed. You will receive a retainer for being on-call, and overtime is paid for any time spent attending the practice. We also schedule an early finish at 12.45 pm on the Monday following your weekend and a 2.45 pm finish following your weeknight on-call, but it can be earlier if things are quiet. Additionally, we have a duty room available if you prefer to stay on-site.

Outside of work

We’re a sociable bunch who often get together outside of work, whether a night on the town, a pub quiz, a film night or heading to the rugby to support Stafford RUFC Club, whom we have sponsored for many years. We also have keen mountain bikers on the team who like to make the most of the beautiful surrounding countryside, with Cannock Chase on our doorstep and the Peak District not too far afield. We recently went climbing together, often enjoy dog walks in the local area and are planning for a team Tough Mudder.

Stafford is a lovely market town with plenty of bars and restaurants, a new shopping centre and a cinema. The central location and easy access to the motorway means nowhere is ever too far away. There are direct train links to London, Manchester and Birmingham, and for travel further afield, Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands Airports are just an hour away.

We are offering:

• Salary starting from £28,000 depending on experience, plus OOH retainer and overtime if called in
• Clinical coaching bonus paid monthly if you choose to support student nurse training
• 5.6 weeks holiday, including bank holidays
• CPD actively encouraged, with certificates supported and funded
• AXA private healthcare, including comprehensive cancer, mental health & outpatient cover
• AXA dental and optician cashback scheme
• Professional fees paid for RCVS and VDS
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Regular team social events

If you’d like to know more about us, please call us for an informal chat or apply now!