Address- Do you have a passion for patient advocacy? Have great nursing skills that you just don’t get to use in your current job?
- Would you like to place IVCs, collect and run bloods and be exposed to nursing a large variety of species
- Do you want to develop special interest skills in animal welfare, private practice, anaesthesia, pocket pets, dentistry, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, and shelter medicine?
- Are you interested in upskilling and having the opportunity to engage in exciting organisation wide learning and development opportunities both clinical and non-clinical?
- Would you like to be a part of a vibrant, fun working culture?
- Do you want to make a move that improved your work-life balance?
Then it’s time to think about joining the team at RSPCA Victoria!
About Us
RSPCA Victoria is a non-government, community-based charity that works to prevent cruelty to animals by actively promoting their care and protection.
Our organisation’s purpose is to work with the community to achieve outstanding animal welfare through education, advocacy, and animal care and protection. RSPCA Victoria is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an environment that is underpinned by our values: respect, consideration, clarity, accountability, expertise, and collaboration.
About the role
We are currently looking for full - time nurses to join us. We are a large Clinic with a rotating staff of approximately 50 nurses and 25 vets, which includes veterinarians with advanced education in internal medicine, orthopaedics, shelter medicine, soft tissue surgery, ophthalmology and emergency and critical care. Accompanying this inspiring group is a varied skill set of nurses who encourage, support and inspire each other to continually improve.
Our facility incorporates five operating theatres, eight consulting rooms, four shelter hospital wards, two private patient hospital wards, a cat specific isolation ward, digital x-ray capability as well as dental x-ray, in-house pathology capability, ultrasound capability and ECG.
This role will provide you with
- Exposure to wide range of routine and non-routine surgical procedures including but not limited to orthopaedic surgeries, soft tissues surgeries and the odd emergency surgery.
- Exposure to a wide case load of hospitalised patients including but not limited to the management of ophthalmic procedures post op, orthopaedic procedures post-op, various zoonotic and infectious disease management, exotic medicine, wound management, management of neglect and cruelty cases and the management of hospitalised patients post external specialty surgery.
- Opportunity to advocate for preventative care through nurse consults providing the community with animal care information on husbandry, nutrition, parasite control and pet behaviour
- Continual CE conducted in house during rostered hours
- Support to further qualify in an area of expertise and become one of our Veterinary Nurse experts in a field of your interest.
- Continued professional development with career progression further than just becoming certified, including recognition and renumeration for continued professional development in special interest areas
- Paid study leave
- Nurse annual CPD allowance
- Nurses come under an enterprise agreement
The successful candidate will want to commit to an environment of continual improvement and continued professional development.This role entails:
- 10 x 9 hours shifts per fortnight on a rotating roster with 1 in four weekends, 1 rostered day off and a long four-day weekend once every 2 months.
- No on call or after hours care
- Working in a collaborative environment where vets, nurses, animal attendants, behaviour teams, customer service officers and foster coordinators work to achieve the best possible outcomes
- A roster that includes a variety of shifts, working in a different area each day. Your week could have any of the following shift types incorporated into it.
- Wards – Private inpatients, shelter cats, shelter dogs, cat iso, including wards support roles assisting your nursing team
- Theatre including ophthalmology, orthopaedics, or minor procedures (dental, x-rays, minor procedures etc)
- Reception, Phones, Consulting
- Support roles such as assisting the vets in consults and managing the shelter and private inpatients. A case load that can extend to over 40
- Opportunities to travel in the role as part of our community outreach programs.
- Responsibilities of:
- Providing a high level of customer service both verbally and written
- Inpatient care: TPR, walking, feeding, cleaning and administration of prescribed medications.
- Communication of treatment plans and liaising with other department (Foster, Adoptions, Shelter)
- Wound management.
- IV catheter placement and management of intravenous fluids and CRI’S
- Admission and discharge of hospitalised and surgery patients as well as triage of emergencies and providing grief support.
- Surgical nursing including preparation of post op instructions and communication of plans and patient recovery.
- Sterilization and preparation of instruments
- Utilisation and use of all in house pathology equipment as well as pathology collection; specifically, but not exclusively blood collection and pathology.
- Safe animal handling.
How are we different?
Here at RSPCA, you will be enabled to follow through the patient’s plan, incorporating shelter medicine into your skill set enabling you to see a patient and follow their journey from surrender or stray to post-op care to adoptions and all the odd bits in-between.
Our nurses are protected by an enterprise agreement, currently under negotiations. This can be located on fair work website.
- Encouraged work-life balance and a broad range of leave entitlements, including annual leave, personal leave, additional leave (6 days per year pro-rata), purchased leave, paid parental leave, study leave and paid family and domestic violence leave.
- Access to our Employee and Volunteer Assistance Program (EVAP)
- Discount on products and services, including Royal Canin pet food, Hush Puppies and RSPCA Victoria retail products.
- Salary packaging and novated lease arrangements on offer with leading provider, Maxxia.
What we are looking for from you
- Well-developed veterinary nursing knowledge and skills.
- Experience working in a veterinary nursing role is desirable, including basic knowledge of animal anatomy, behaviour, disease recognition and safe/calm handling practices.
- Ability to work in a fast paced and challenging work environment, whilst showing great care and compassion to the animals in our care.
- Demonstrated experience working collaboratively in a team environment.
- The ability and commitment to work on a rotating roster, which includes some weekends and some public holidays.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Strong problem solving and organisational skills.
Qualifications and other requirements
- Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing is desirable or equivalent experience is essential.
- Evidence of current tetanus vaccination required.
- Willingness to perform a National Police Check.
How to Apply
To apply, email your covering letter and CV to Gabby ********@rspcavic.org.au for a confidential discussion.
RSPCA Victoria is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and we strongly encourage people from all cultural backgrounds to apply, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Applicants are welcome to access RSPCA Victoria’s Diversity & Inclusion Policy here.
