Veterinary Surgeon

Job content

About Us

STAR Vets is a family-run independent practice dedicated to caring for animals and their owners by providing a complete veterinary health & wellbeing service.

Emma qualified in 2005 and soon developed a passion for pain management and rehabilitation, undertaking extensive further training in canine rehabilitation and sports medicine, and she now holds GP certificates in both chronic pain management and acupuncture.

“There is so much we can do now to help our pets recover from illness or injury. With a little bit of extra knowledge and understanding of biomechanics, pain management and alternative/ complementary therapies, a whole new world of treatment options opens up for our pets.” Emma MRCVS

Deciding to follow her passion by opening her own practice in 2015. Emma worked closely with her mum, Nicky, to develop the STAR Vet Clinic initially just offering rehabilitation services.

"During the first year many of our clients wanted us to offer GP vet services so we decided to expand and began offering first opinion veterinary care in 2016. Since then, we have continued to grow and now have a team of 21!" Emma

The STAR Vet Clinic is purpose built and has amazing facilities including the cat friendly separate cat waiting area and cat ward, full range of dental equipment including dental x-ray, DR x-ray, ultrasound with doppler and in house laboratory, and the next investment will be an endoscope. Our GP and rehab services are now fully integrated allowing for internal referral for acupuncture, hydrotherapy, laser therapy, physiotherapy and therapeutic ultrasound. Canine Sports Medicine & Conditioning services are also offered.

About the STAR family

The STAR family has a supportive and experienced team of four vets, six RVNs, two physiotherapists and six receptionists, along with the Practice Manger Rachel, who has worked in vet practices for over 30 years first as an RVN, before moving into management.

Caroline graduated in 2003 and enjoys all aspects of small animal work but is particularly interested in feline medicine and preventative health care. Caroline originally joined the STAR team in 2016 before leaving to work elsewhere. She came back to us in March 2021:

"Having originally left to work closer to home, I returned to STAR in 2021 as the practice offered me a great work life balance and the flexibility to work hours that suited my young family. Prior to my return I was disillusioned with the veterinary profession but am now fully engaged and enjoying my job again as part of a great team (even recently asking to increase my working hours!)."

Kamil holds a Polish postgraduate surgery certificate and has a passion for diagnostic imaging. He graduated in 2013 and worked in a busy 24/7 veterinary clinic in Poland, gaining experience in emergency cases, surgery, and internal medicine, before moving to the UK and joining us in 2020.

Rebecca qualified in 2006 from the RVC and has been with us for 3 years. She has a particular interest in surgery, although she enjoys all aspects of veterinary work.

Zoe graduated as a veterinary Physiotherapist in 2021 and has a keen interest in orthopaedic and neurological rehabilitation. Sam is a qualified veterinary Physiotherapist and has a level 3 qualification in small animal hydrotherapy. Sam is passionate about dog agility and had the pleasure of travelling with and supporting Team England as the Veterinary Physiotherapist at the World Agility Open in the Netherlands.

About the role

We are ideally looking for a vet with some experience to work a 4-day week. However, we are flexible with the rota, so if you’re looking for a part time role we would be happy to chat about the options available as we are open to taking on 2 part time vets. Our Saturday rota is just 1:4 mornings only (9am to 1pm) and there are no out of hours or in patient on call as this is outsourced locally to MiNightVet East Midlands.

Our days are structured so you will start the day either consulting or operating. We manage the diary to make sure there is time to catch up on admin and make phone calls throughout the day and with the lovely countryside literally on the practice doorstep, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to get some fresh air and clear your head at lunch time before starting afternoon consults.

We currently use peripatetic orthopaedic specialists or refer on, but we would really love to offer orthopaedic surgeries in house and are happy to invest in the necessary kit to get this up and running. So, if you are passionate about surgery and have experience in orthopaedics, we would love to chat and hear your ideas about developing this service.

Our social scene

Whether it’s a catch up and takeaway on occasional Fat Fridays at the practice, our annual Christmas party or an event like last year’s summer BBQ - where everyone was welcomed at Emma’s abode including partners and kids, we’re always happy to socialise and have some fun; like when we held our own Tortilla slap challenge – now when else would you get to slap the boss around the face with a soggy Tortilla wrap?!

The local area

The practice is situated in Derbyshire in the heart of The National Forest, on the border of Staffordshire and Leicestershire. There are so many parks, woodlands and local walks to enjoy including the stunning Peak District National Park just 30 minutes away, and Twycross Zoo is just down the road. Birmingham in just 30 minutes away and there is easy access to the motorway network for travel all over the UK. There are also three international airports nearby: East Midlands, Birmingham and Manchester airports.

What we are offering

• Salary up to £70,000 + depending on experience
• Six weeks holidays plus bank holidays
• The 1: 4 Saturdays mornings are paid on top of your salary or time off in lieu is given
• Your birthday off (or nearest convenient day)
• Generous CPD allowance, with certificates supported and funded
• Professional fees paid for RCVS and Veterinary Defence Society
• Enhanced sick pay
• Potential short term accommodation and some assistance with relocation costs if necessary

If you would like to know more about our wonderful team then please call us for an informal chat or just apply now!