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Form of work A well-established, growing, friendly practice in the Hunter Valley region is seeking a new/recent graduate to join their mixed practice!
After-hours are optional, but those who wish to participate are well remunerated (currently 1:5 - 1:7 weeknights & 1:5 - 1:7 weekends on average).
The start date is flexible.
The dynamic team currently consists of 9.5 full-time vets and 16 nurses and reception staff. There is always another vet available for a second opinion.
The practice prides itself on the support of recent graduates. They have extensive experience in student placement programs and have received awards related to this with Sydney University. The practice provides 24/7 support to all of its vets. In particular, they encourage recent graduates to undertake challenging medical and surgical cases with full support and assistance.
The practice sees a great surgical caseload, providing the opportunity to develop and hone your surgical skills, with the option to undertake and learn orthopaedics if desired.
Recent graduates who are keen to advance their skills rapidly in a supportive environment are encouraged to apply!
The practice is happy to put applicants in touch with current employees for practice feedback.
The caseload consists of 80% small animals and 20% large animals, including beef, dairy and equine work. There is the option for the position to be tailored slightly depending on your interests. Vets who have a keen interest in large animals will be provided with training in this area.
Vets work four days a week, plus a share of on-call work. A new graduate wouldn't be expected to do after-hours work on their own until comfortable, and there will always be backup available from the practice owners. Vets are very well remunerated for after-hours work.
The successful applicant will enjoy working in a purpose-built facility with the latest equipment, including state-of-the-art My Lab US, digital radiography, Idexx lab, orthopaedic equipment etc.
Feedback from a 2019 graduate working at the practice: I started as a new graduate here around three years ago, and it has been amazing. As a new/recent graduate, you can choose how quickly you want to progress. I was doing surgery and seeing medical cases on day one! Some vets prefer to ease into it, starting with vaccinations, etc., and that is absolutely fine as well.
The practice owners are amazingly supportive. There has never been a situation where I haven't been able to approach them; there is never any question too silly. Even now, the owners are always available for support. They are really lovely.
The surrounding areas are really nice. Newcastle and Sydney are an easy drive away. There are a lot of nice wineries in the area where I have been able to take family when they have come to visit. There are plenty of opportunities to play sport in town; we had a social work netball team going for a while there, and it was a lot of fun.
Overall, the clients are really great. They take our advice, and most are willing to do workups and procedures we recommend. Our large animal clients are fantastic; the cattle farmers and hobby farm owners are really appreciative. Our large animal caseload is growing. We see a lot of cattle, and more recently, have been seeing goats and alpacas. The caseload is incredibly varied; you might be out pregnancy testing, see a uterine prolapse, then come back to the practice and do an ultrasound or spey a dog. The surgical caseload is huge, as is the medicine.
Equipment-wise, we have all of the toys necessary for diagnostics and good workups. We have a fancy new x-ray machine, dental x-rays, full IDEXX lab, good ultrasound, and tonometer.
The nurses are fantastic. They insert IV catheters, take bloods, set up patients on fluids, clip for ultrasounds, give cartrophen injections, do nail trims, etc. Usually, there are 2-3 vets on surgery and 2-3 vets doing consults/medicine each day. It is a very close-knit team, and we all get along really well.
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The practice is located in a large riverside town in the Hunter Valley. There are all the amenities you need, along with wine tasting, heritage walks and much more! The area is approximately 2 hours from Sydney and just over an hour from the Newcastle coastline.
