Job Description

Job Title: Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN)

Reporting to: Lead Nurse

Area: Nursing

Company Profile

Linnaeus is a forward-thinking partnership of highly respected primary care and referral veterinary practices across the UK and Ireland, comprising some of the best clinicians in the profession.

We are all individual but two important things bring us together; a commitment to excellence in everything we do and our passion to make A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

At Linnaeus we carefully select the practices we partner with to ensure the highest levels of patient care across our group. Together we provide a growing community of like-minded veterinary professionals who are passionate about what they do. We work with different types of practices, in every field of veterinary medicine, including small animal, farm and equine.

We also have our Five Principles which form the foundation of how we do business today and every day and we put these at the centre of every decision we make. This means:

• We are committed to Quality of work and contributions to society.
• We embrace our Responsibility (as individuals and a company) to act now.
• We base decisions on Mutuality of benefit to our stakeholders.
• We harness the power of Efficiency to use our resources to maximum effect.
• We have the financial Freedom to make our own decisions, unrestricted by motivations of others.

The role of the veterinary nurse is critical to the provision of high standards of client and patient care.

In this role you will be a key member of the nursing team, working collaboratively with the Nursing leadership team and clinical teams, to passionately deliver quality patient care, and an unrivalled client experience through teamwork, clear communication and utilisation of your knowledge and skills.

You will embrace our culture with a growth mindset and have a passion for self-development to support yourself and others.

Main purpose & goals

• To deliver high quality patient care, utilising your experience, skills and delegating where appropriate.
• Work and communicate effectively with colleagues and clients. Demonstrate the ability to be reliable, adaptable, understanding, and empathetic.
• Maintain accurate client and patient records.
• Contribute to an outstanding client experience.
• Always provide an efficient, courteous, and helpful service to all clients, suppliers, and external contacts.
• Promote a culture of respect, collaboration, and engagement in the practice team to support well-being, quality, and productivity.
• Uphold and engage in Clinical Standards & Quality Improvement and demonstrate a commitment to continued professional development.
• Understand and implement practice and group policies and comply with regulatory requirements.
• Contribute to the financial health of the business by understanding and controlling costs in the areas that nurses can impact.

Key responsibilities

Deliver high quality patient care.

• Undertake all general nursing duties within the practice, utilising your nursing skills to maximise provision of nursing care within the remit of your qualification and the RCVS/VCI code of professional conduct.
• Ensure accurate clinical record keeping, including anaesthetic sheets, hospitalisation forms and clinical notes.
• Uphold the premises and patient areas to a high a high clinical standard, adhering to stringent infection control protocols and maintenance of equipment, reporting faults or damages.
• Work alongside the veterinary and nursing teams to deliver an efficient quality service. Be accountable for any specific tasks or responsibilities delegated.
• Responsibility for improving quality patient care by engaging with feedback from site level and group level audits, contributing to incident reporting and reviewing.
• Engage with and deliver high-quality patient care initiatives.
• Participate in relevant continual professional development (CPD) appropriate to your role, engage in Linnaeus and in-house training opportunities. Actively share learnings with team members, contributing ideas to improve patient care.

Contribute to an outstanding client experience.

• Always provide an efficient, courteous, and helpful service to all clients.
• Build strong positive relationships with clients, demonstrate empathy, and offer an excellent level of service with clear and appropriate communication.
• Obtain informed consent, accurate and documented estimates and support the understanding of treatment recommendations.
• Provide nursing and patient care updates according to practice protocols.
• Have an awareness and understanding of how you can influence the practice’s Net Promotor Score (NPS), applying this knowledge to encourage positive client feedback.

Promote a culture of respect, collaboration, and engagement in the practice team to support wellbeing, quality, and productivity.

• Communicate clearly and respectfully within your practice teams to create a positive, friendly, and engaged team environment.
• Actively engage in performance conversations and informal meetings with your line manager.
• Own the completion of your business and development objectives, utilising your line manager and peers for feedback, support and direction.

• Champion self-awareness and use coaching and mentoring to support civility within the workplace.
• Adopt and lead a ‘Just Culture’ to help create an environment where individuals feel free to report errors and learn from mistakes. Being able to raise suggestions or concerns through appropriate channels.
• Ensure that emails, information, protocols, and general communications are read and adopted promptly. Access the Linnaeus intranet (The Link) regularly to keep up to date on business news.
• Embrace the Five Principles and Linnaeus behaviours, displaying enthusiasm and purpose for creating a better world for pets.
• Engage with Associate surveys as requested to support your practice, Linnaeus, and the wider business and contribute to the survey impact plans.
• Welcome and support any new Associates, locums, or visitors to nurture a positive relationship that promotes our values.
• Support wellbeing activities. Seek advice from your line manager if your wellbeing or you observe your peer's wellbeing deteriorate.

Uphold and engage in Clinical Standards & Quality Improvement and demonstrate a commitment to continued professional development.

• Maintain clinical standards and engage in quality initiatives e.g., RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, VCI premises accreditation, International Society Feline Medicine (ISFM) cat friendly clinic.
• Contribute to incident reporting and reviewing.
• Understand health and safety (H&S) risks and read all information supplied to enable you to comply with all H&S policies on clinical activities e.g. Controlled Drugs and Radiation Safety policies.
• Participate in relevant CPD to ensure compliance with the RCVS/VCI registration requirements.
• Contribute to clinical audits in compliance with current professional standards that support the review of standard operating procedures (SOP).

Understand and implement practice and group policies and comply with regulatory requirements.

• Comply with all relevant statutory and other regulations including HR policies, GDPR and H&S.
• Complete all safety learning modules as directed by the business.

Contribute to the financial health of the business by understanding and controlling costs in the areas that nurses can impact.

• Ensure correct charging to include services, medicines, and consumables.
• Work in a responsible manner that focusses on reduction of unnecessary waste, reducing the financial and environmental impact.
• Support practice stock management.
• Engage with marketing initiatives.

About us

Cinque Ports is an RCVS-Accredited Practice with extensive surgical, diagnostic, and medical facilities across 6 sites in the Kent/ East Sussex area. Kingsnorth is an RCVS-Accredited Hospital with Gold ISFM Accreditation and provides emergency care 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with Vets Now onsite providing continuity in cases and patient care. Our branches are more than satellite clinics: each one has its individual specialisms while offering the facilities required to work up cases and perform surgeries, and you will be supported by a full,  experienced team of Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVN), that carry out both nurse consults and vaccinations. 

We are excellently equipped including in-house laboratories, ECG, Endoscopy, ultrasound, dentistry x-ray, client care areas, digital radiography, doppler ultrasonography, and video endoscope and bronchoscope. 

We are proud that Cinque Ports are working towards their Bronze accreditation from Investors in the Environment (iiE). 

Role details

This role is based on an average of 33 hours per week, calculated across a 9-week rota cycle. The standard working pattern consists of 32 hours over four weekdays.

The role includes participation in a 2 in 9 weekend rota. One weekend shift per cycle is incorporated into contracted hours to achieve the 33-hour weekly average. The second weekend is paid as additional hours in accordance with practice policy.

What we offer 

• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays and Birthday Leave  

• RCVS and VDS fees paid  

• External CPD funded  

• Extensive free online Linnaeus CPD program  

• Career progression opportunities  

• Staff discount schemes  

• Life Assurance  

• Enhanced sickness pay  

• Enhanced equal family leave  

• E-car salary sacrifice scheme  

• Employer contribution pension scheme   

• Recruitment referral reward scheme  

• Wellness program including:   

• Employee assistance program  

• Eyecare voucher scheme  

• Free annual Flu jab  

• Cycle to work scheme  

Cinque Ports Vets is part of Linnaeus and Mars Veterinary Health, the largest family-owned veterinary company in the world. Being privately owned, we can truly be driven by our purpose, to create a better world, and think long-term as opposed to being focused solely on short-term profits.