Want A VET CAREER at Abbey Veterinary Centre, Grimsby?

We will undertake to give you a wide range of surgical and medical competencies with extensive support and training.

Until both we and, very importantly, you feel that you are competent in a surgical procedure, you will be accompanied in theatre by an experienced surgeon who will take you through the procedure and guide and advise you, gradually becoming more ‘hands-off’ as you gain confidence.

When you are consulting, you will be able to discuss with an experienced colleague any case you are about to see. A provisional approach and plan can be proposed, and we find that this preparation gives a new face credibility in the consulting room and goes a long way to gaining the confidence of the client. The sooner clients are asking to see you again rather than anyone else, the happier we shall be. It means that they like you and trust you.

What we do ask of you is that you are prepared to try new things, to move out of your comfort zone, to really want to be as good as and even better than everyone else at procedures you may never even have seen before. Remember, you will have massive support all around you, but you still have to take your personal steps into the unknown.  

Finally, you will not have to fulfil sales targets. You won’t have the embarrassment of trying to sell products or services to people who don’t want them and can’t afford them.

After two years, you will be competent in all the standard elective surgeries as well as bowel and bladder surgery, GDV, caesareans, aural resection and complex wound repair involving tissue mobilisation. You will be competent to interpret all standard laboratory findings and will be doing high-quality medical workups. You will be able to accurately interpret radiographs of all parts of the body and carry out basic ultrasound.

At this point, it is likely that you would be offered any job you applied for, including referral internships. However, if we are all getting on and are happy with each other, we would like to sit down and discuss with you where you see your career developing and how the Abbey Veterinary Centre can help you to achieve your professional goals.

When you come to work for us, or if you have joined us as a new grad and have hit your year two targets, the big question is ‘quo vadis?’ - Where do I go from here?

If you have come from another practice, we would sit down with you and work out firstly where your general skill set may need strengthening. For example, you may have come from a practice where all the dermatology, ultrasound or cardiology cases were passed on to a colleague who had a special interest in the field. That’s quite common and no reflection on you, but you’ll need a certain level of competence in these skills to be a good GP. We would then make sure that through mentoring and CPD we provided what you need.

Some people are happy to remain as excellent GPs all their lives and feel no need to specialise, and as the GP is the backbone of any practice, there will always be a place for the generalist.  However, we have found that the modern graduate almost always wants more, and so we have geared the practice to provide what they want.

If you are interested in imaging, we would start by increasing your ultrasound case-load and introduce you to endoscopy and our MRI scanner.  If you are interested in orthopaedics, we already do complex joint and spinal surgery and would be happy for you to get involved. Whatever studies you think would improve your workplace quality of life, whether it's dermatology, neurology, cardiology, ophthalmology, oncology, or something else, if it will benefit the practice and our clients, we would be very happy to put the practice facilities at your disposal and to fund your CPD.

If you wish to study for a certificate, the practice will give you all the support it can. Additional CPD time is available for veterinary surgeons who wish to study for a certificate providing they are willing to commit to remaining working with us for the period of study.

It doesn’t often happen that experienced colleagues change jobs, but now and again life turns out differently to how you planned it and you have to move on.

As with less experienced colleagues in 2) above, we would look very carefully at what you could offer us and what we could offer you. For example, someone who could walk straight into complex surgery without supervision would be a great asset to us, but what would you want from us? Hopefully, less stress than you may have had before!

Interested? Excellent. To find out more, may we suggest that you return to the Home Page and then go to, firstly, About Us, then Vet Services, and finally Our Veterinary Staff.

Still interested?  Even better. Please send us your CV and contact details. Jacqueline will contact you and you will be able to chat to her about the job and ask any questions you may have.  If you are both happy, we look forward to meeting you at interview.

Click here for a list of frequently asked questions about the practice and your pets