Join the Maes Glas Vets team!

New Graduate Veterinary Surgeon – Maes Glas Vets - Bridgend, South Wales. Salary - £35,000

Calling all new graduates. Wanting to work in a modern hospital, working up your own cases from start to finish, with the support of our incredible team?

My name is Bleddyn Hobbs, I am a clinical Director here at Maes Glas Vets and I have been given the challenging task of writing this job advert. I must admit, that in the hope of inspiration I sat down and searched current job adverts, finding them to be vague, the roles seeming daunting and full of the usual wording – you would swear digital radiography was a recent introduction, given that every advert seems to go on about it! I then realised, we have a fantastic team of Vets, Nurses, and admin staff and so, rather than do what everyone else seems to have done, I have written this advert along with the help of our amazing team.

The Team

We are an energetic, social group of people from all walks of life. Surfers, hikers, footballers, rugby players, ice hockey supporters, kayakers, and sour dough afficionados to name a few. We celebrate diversity and are proud sponsors of our local Pride Festival.

Our practice includes a 24-vet team, including Advanced Practitioners in both small animal medicine and surgery, allowing us to not only diagnose and treat the majority of our cases in-house, without the need for referral, but also provide support to other team members in their career progression. Further studies are actively encouraged with many of our vets currently undertaking certificates in medicine, cardiology, surgery and emergency and critical care.

The practice is headed by five young Clinical Directors – an Irishman, an Englishwoman, Two Welsh women, and a Welsh man – all the makings for the start of a cheesy joke if we walked into a bar. We pride ourselves on being friendly and approachable and aim to nurture all members of the team.

The Practice and Ethos

Alongside our main hospital in Bridgend, we have five branches across South Wales. We remain committed to excellent clinical care and extremely high standards, with a silver level cat friendly status from the ISFM and five separate “outstanding” RCVS awards.

Bridgend is a large town nestled between the bright lights of Cardiff to the east and Swansea to the West, the rugged Brecon Beacons to the north and the award-winning beaches to the South. This area offers an abundance for you to do in your downtime away from work.

We are experienced in the nurturing and retention of new-graduate vets. 2022 graduate Aiden Pang has written the below with regards to his experience at Maes Glas since graduating:

“I graduated from the University of Surrey in July 2022 and started at Maes Glas in August. Originally from Newcastle, the move was a leap, especially since I had never done any EMS here before. The personal growth I notice in myself since starting is colossal. The variety of consultations each day has accelerated my exposure and understanding of different conditions, helping me become confident taking responsibility of my own cases. Despite having a range of complexities, I've always been reassured I can get second opinions and guidance towards diagnostics and management. This support also extends on a personal level too, noticing all members of the team go out their way to ensure I'm managing okay and helping out where they can. I look forward to my regular surgical days, initially I was quickly helped to be confident with routine procedures, although now I am actively encouraged to further my skillset.”

Yourself and The Role

I remember what it was like to leave University, it feels like yesterday, and I still recognise that although I graduated with day one competencies, it took time for me to develop the confidence in these abilities.

At Maes Glas we can structure your learning to include developing consulting, diagnostic and surgical skills with the correct support network, including your own VetGDP adviser and a buddy (a recent graduate for day-to-day support). You will also be enrolled on the VetPartners new graduate program:  https://vetpartners.co.uk/graduates/

You will be primarily based at the Bridgend hospital. Branch work would only be carried out once both yourselves and ourselves were happy for this to take place, and this would be alongside a more senior vet.

All that we ask of our colleagues is that they come to work and leave each day knowing that they have done their absolute best.

Rota

All our full-time veterinary surgeons currently work a 1:12 out of hours rolling rota which includes 2-part weekends, 2 Saturday mornings and 1 week of nights. The remaining 11 weeks are an average 4-day week, and on call free. There is always an experienced second on call vet to provide backup during your week of nights.

We understand that taking a job which requires working on an out of hours rota can be a daunting proposition, but our excellent nursing staff will help you get settled in and you will find that working out of hours will quickly become routine.

Package

The package includes 28 days holiday per year which is inclusive of bank holidays, option to buy/sell holiday, 2 weeks full sick pay and 4 weeks half sick pay, Royal College fees, a professional subscription of your choice, Health Shield membership and an out of hours bonus for cases seen. Salary £35,000. Salary reviews will take place every 6 months for the first two years and then annually.

How to get in touch

Applicants are very welcome to have a friendly chat to one of the vets, myself, or one of the other clinical directors before applying. Applicants wanting to visit the practice are welcome to come and spend the day with us to ensure that you get a feel for our culture, aiding you in making the right decision.

I can be contacted via email: directors@maesglasvets.co.uk.

What is the worst that can happen? Best case scenario we both realise that we will be the perfect fit for each other, or worst-case scenario we have a good catch up and we wish each other the best with our career paths.

Small Animal Vet – Maes Glas Vets – Bridgend, South Wales

Here at Maes Glas, we are looking for an awesome experienced full- or part-time Small Animal Vet to join our team of superstars at our small animal Veterinary Hospital Based in Bridgend, South Wales!

Do you wake up on a Monday morning and have that horrible feeling of dread when you head into work?

I think we can all agree these last few years have been strange, to say the least. Preparing for this ‘new normal’ has been tough for all of us within the profession. We hear stories of Vets becoming tired of the profession and considering leaving. If you’re reading this and thinking the same, then please stop and consider a change, instead.

About Us:

We are a friendly and supportive team of incredible people, working out of a purpose-built hospital withall the mod-cons, for a company that imposes no commercial targets on any of our employees. We are a diverse group of people from all walks of life - surfers, hikers, footballers, rugby players, ice hockey supporters, kayakers, and dancers, to name a few. Unfortunately, those dancers failed to coach?the likes of myself when it came to our “viral” Jerusalema dance (see our Facebook page if you fancy a laugh). This distinct lack of rhythm especially applies to Rob, who has been given the opportunity to follow his dream and pursue a career in ophthalmology. This has resulted in an opening, which we need you to fill.

Our main hospital is situated in Bridgend, which is nestled between the bright lights of Cardiff to the East, and Swansea to the West; the rugged Brecon Beacons to the North, and the award-winning beaches to the South. This area offers an abundance for you to do in your downtime away from work.

Our practice includes a busy hospital, along with five branches. We are committed to excellent clinical care and extremely high standards, with a silver level cat friendly status from the ISFM, and five separate “outstanding” RCVS awards.

We have Advanced Practitioners in both small animal medicine and surgery, allowing us to not only diagnose and treat the majority of our cases in-house, but also provide support to other team members in their career progression. Further studies are actively encouraged with many of our Vets currently undertaking certificates in medicine, cardiology and emergency, and critical care.

The practice is headed by 5 young clinical directors– an Irishman, Englishwoman, two Welsh women, and a Welshman – all the makings for a terrible joke. We pride ourselves on being friendly and approachable, and aim to nurture all members of the team. You will not find us locked away in our office doing paperwork, you will find us working alongside you in the consult rooms,the operating theatres, and doing all of those dreaded TPRs. We are a team and believe that no one member is more important than another.

About You:

At Maes Glas, we actively encourage you to follow your cases through from consultation to diagnosis and treatment. You will undertake a varied mixture of consulting, medical investigations, and surgical cases.

All we ask of you is that you come to work and leave each day knowing that you have done your absolute best.

We are proud of our in-house OOH service; we all do our fair share of weekend work (never more frequent then every third weekend). The majority of our Vets take part in either the first-on-call night rota or the second-on-call back up rota.

We understand that many of us Vets have young families and other commitments, and so an applicant seeking a part-time position would be considered, along with flexible job sharing, or no OOH. We will tailor a role to suit the right individual. A relocation package can also be offered.

The Benefits:

· 28 days (6.6 weeks) holiday per year, which is inclusive of Bank Holidays

· 2 weeks full sick pay and 2 weeks half sick pay

· Royal College fees, and another professional subscription of your choice paid for

· Health Shield membership

· And more!

Salary £38,000-£60,000, commensurate with experience.

Applicants are very welcome to have a friendly chat with one of the Vets, myself, or one of the other clinical directors before applying or coming for an interview to verify all of the truths (and more) written here.

I can be contacted via: Bleddyn.hobbs@maesglasvets.co.uk

What’s the worst that can happen. Best case scenario, you are the awesome Vet we have been waiting for, or worst-case scenario you get to experience one of my legendary “Zoom tours” of the building, have a good catch up, and we wish each other the best with our career paths

Registered Veterinary Nurse – Maes Glas Vets – Bridgend, South Wales

Calling all RVNs! Are you fed up of scrolling through masses of job adverts out there that seem to have used the exact same, boring old template for making a job advert? Are you wanting to develop your skills, work to your full potential, and perform schedule 3 tasks in a safe and supportive environment? If so, then please read on.

My name is Amy Wilkinson, and I am the head nurse at Maes Glas Vets in beautiful South Wales (yes, I may be a little biased with me being Welsh!). I have been looking through job adverts out there in the hope of gaining some motivation, only to feel that they all seem to follow the same standard template. The adverts themselves look to have been written by a robot! In the hope of inspiration, I have written this advert to include all the details that I would want to know when applying for a job, using my knowledge of being at Maes Glas for over 13 years.

The Team

We are a diverse, social, and enthusiastic team of nurses, vets, and support employees (including the practice cat, Basil). We have surfers, hikers, tarot card readers, rugby players, house plant enthusiasts, and Dungeon and Dragons players, to name but a few. We even have a few dancers who, bless them, tried very hard to teach the likes of myself and other colleagues the Jerusalema dance, which we carried out to mark the first anniversary of the covid pandemic (check it out on Facebook if you fancy a laugh or want to put a smile on your face).

Many of us come from different walks of life, but it is this diversity that makes working at Maes Glas such a pleasure.

Our team is made up of 24 RVNs, and a team of SVNs and ACAs. We all have different areas of interest, and at Maes Glas we encourage our RVNs to do as much as possible, and you will be heavily involved in a huge variety of medical and surgical cases.

The Practice and Ethos

Alongside our main hospital in Bridgend, we have five branches across South Wales. We remain committed to excellent clinical care and extremely high standards, with a silver level cat friendly status from the ISFM and five separate “outstanding” RCVS awards.

Bridgend is a large town nestled between the bright lights of Cardiff to the East and Swansea to the West, the rugged Brecon Beacons to the North and the award-winning beaches to the South. This area offers an abundance for you to do in your downtime away from work.

We at Maes Glas pride ourselves on being a friendly and supportive team of incredible people, working out of a purpose-built hospital with all the mod-cons, for a company that imposes no commercial targets on any of our employees.

You and The Role

· Team player. You will constantly hear of people referring to their colleagues in the veterinary profession as family, and that may sound cliché, but it’s true.

· The ability and need to be able to work independently.

· We do not use our nurses as receptionists.

· Be a proactive individual.

· Must hold a UK driving licence as some branch work may be necessary.

All that we ask of our team is that they come to work and leave each day knowing that they have done their absolute best.

Rota

There is a weekly rota that will give you amble opportunity to spend time in wards, laboratory, dispensary, theatre, on nurse consults, etc.

You will be on a 4.5-day week (second year students, 4 day week plus a paid college day), and the weekend rota involves only 4 weekend days in 14 weeks, with time back in lieu.

You may want to consider taking part in our night rota, which involves 7 nights with the following 4 days off for recovery. You would be in charge of the inpatients overnight alongside the duty vet (also on site), as well as any emergency cases that are admitted overnight. You will also have an auxiliary nurse to support you until 10pm.

The Package

· Holidays are 6 weeks, inclusive of Bank Holidays. Additional holiday will be accrued after 3 years’ service.

· We have a generous CPD allowance of £600 per annum and 3 days fully paid.

· RCVS fees are paid for, as well as a yearly subscription to an organisation of your choice.

· Health Shield Cover

· And more!

Salary £24,700-34,000 DOE

How to get in touch?

Applicants are very welcome to have a friendly chat to one of the nurses or myself before applying or coming for an interview. Applicants are also welcome to visit the practice and spend some time out of their day to get a feel for our culture, aiding you in making the right decision. I can be contacted via – amy.wilkinson@maesglasvets.co.uk

What’s the worst that can happen? Best case scenario, we both realise that we’ll be the perfect fit for each other; worst-case scenario, we have a good catch up and we wish each other the best with our career paths.