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Careers

We’re always open to hearing from qualified vets, nurses and support team professionals who are interested in joining our practice. 

Join the Liphook Equine Hospital team

We’re always open to hearing from qualified vets, nurses and support team professionals who are interested in joining our practice.

We’re proud to provide a wide range of hospital, referral, ambulatory and laboratory services to patients and clients across our catchment area of Hampshire, West Sussex, Surrey and Berkshire, as well as equine veterinary practices across the UK.

Our fantastic team is made up of experienced, talented equine veterinary professionals, who are actively encouraged to pursue their clinical passions and areas of interest. 

Being part of the VetPartners group of practices also means that we can offer generous CPD allowances and great training and development opportunities, as well as access to great perks such as the Health Shield cash plan scheme, our Equine Clinical Board and Clinical Interests Groups, a large central support team, personal development plans and much more. 

For a confidential, informal chat about our availability, get in touch. 

We are committed to providing a fair recruitment process with equality of opportunity for all, and our vacancies are open to those from all backgrounds.

Our Career options

Current Vacancies

Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) – 6-Month Fixed-Term Contract

Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) – 6-Month Fixed-Term Contract

We are seeking a motivated and enthusiastic Registered Veterinary Nurse to join our clinical nursing team on a 6-month fixed-term contract at one of the UK’s largest equine referral hospitals.

Working alongside a dedicated team of Registered Veterinary Nurses and Student Veterinary Nurses, this role offers an exciting opportunity to develop and expand your nursing skills within a busy and advanced referral environment.

The Role

This position will primarily involve working within our specialist diagnostic imaging department, including radiography and scintigraphy, as well as our theatre team. The successful candidate will assist with procedures and help produce high-quality diagnostic images across a wide variety of cases.

You will also play an important role in:

Supporting advanced dentistry procedures
Assisting veterinary surgeons with emergency admissions
Supporting routine referral hospital procedures across multiple disciplines
Providing exceptional nursing care to both inpatients and outpatients

This is a full-time position based on a 42.5-hour working week, with staggered shift patterns designed to cover hospital operating hours between 8:00am and 6:30pm.

Following an initial induction and settling-in period, participation in our out-of-hours rota will be required.

Why Join Us?

This is an exceptional opportunity for an RVN looking to develop advanced clinical skills while gaining experience within a leading equine referral hospital.

We place a strong emphasis on nurse utilisation and actively encourage our nursing team to fully apply, develop and advance their professional capabilities. We welcome applicants who are eager to broaden their skill set and grow alongside the needs of our hospital.

About You

We are looking for someone who is:

A Registered Veterinary Nurse (RVN) or holds an equivalent qualification eligible for RCVS registration and practice within the UK
A strong communicator with excellent teamwork skills
Adaptable and confident working within a fast-paced clinical environment
Keen to learn and develop advanced nursing skills
Confident handling a wide range of horses, including mares, foals and stallions
Able to live within a 30-minute radius of the hospital or willing to relocate (accommodation may be available for the right candidate)
In possession of a full driving licence and access to their own transport due to the rural location of the practice

Applications are welcome from nurses currently working within small animal practice who are looking to transition into an equine referral setting.

Student Veterinary Nurses (SVNs) and Patient Care Assistants (PCAs) may also be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that the structure, responsibilities and salary of the role may differ for applicants who are not currently practising as Registered Veterinary Nurses.

Out-of-Hours Commitment

The out-of-hours rota is approximately 1 in 6 and primarily involves providing theatre and diagnostic imaging support. Occasional support in other clinical areas may also be required.

Benefits

Highly competitive salary
Paid overtime (subject to contract)
Opportunity to provide nursing assistance at race day duties
Health cash plan
Generous CPD allowance
Pension scheme (subject to eligibility)
Generous holiday allowance
RCVS, BEVA and VDS memberships paid where applicable
Fixed-term, 6-month contract to cover sabbatical leave

How to Apply

If you are interested in this position, please apply in writing to Rosina Lillywhite ([email protected] ), enclosing a current CV and details of two professional referees.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Visiting vets and vet students

Hospital extern

We offer four-week hospital externships for final year veterinary students, university residents in training and recently qualified vets, which are aimed at those who wish to pursue a career in equine medicine or surgery.  

The hospital extern lives and works in the hospital; onsite accommodation is provided.  

You will work closely with our team of house vets and hospital clinicians (five European specialists in surgery and three European specialists in internal medicine).  

Primary responsibilities include pre-operative preparation of patients and scrubbing into elective and emergency surgeries. 
The hospital extern also helps in the admission of routine and emergency hospital cases and the monitoring and care of hospital in-patients.

Diagnostics extern

We offer two-week externships for visiting veterinary surgeons and veterinary students (in their last two years of clinical training), based in the diagnostics centre at the hospital.  

Please note that accommodation is not provided.  

The diagnostics  extern will be expected to assist house vets and hospital clinicians in the evaluation of lameness cases and poor performance investigations and the work-up of medical cases.  

You can expect to be involved in a wide range of diagnostic modalities used in a referral hospital setting, such as nerve blocks, video endoscopy, ultrasound, gamma scintigraphy, radiography, MRI and CT.  

You will also have the opportunity to help with the monitoring and care of hospital in-patients, including those in the intensive care unit.  
This externship gives students a breadth of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of horses in an exceptional referral hospital setting.

Ambulatory extra-mural studies (EMS) placements

We offer two-week EMS placements for veterinary students in their last two years of clinical training), or visiting veterinary surgeons based with our busy ambulatory team (road vets).  Please note that accommodation is not provided.  

Our road vet team works with a high regard for evidence-based medicine and the majority hold post-graduate qualifications.  

They serve a varied population of clients and horses – from racehorses, high-level competition horses, and top-quality studs, to leisure horses and ponies.  

This placement gives students the opportunity to experience all aspects of first opinion equine veterinary care and there may be chances to follow-up road vet cases when they are examined at the hospital or referred to hospital clinicians.

If you are interested in applying for an externship or ambulatory EMS placement, please email [email protected] for more information.  Early application is advised due to high demand.

Work experience

We accept school pupils (aged 16 years or over) who are interested in a career in equine veterinary nursing or veterinary medicine on work experience placements. 

This may be part of their formal school work experience, or arranged during school/college vacations. 

Students will work alongside the veterinary nursing team on the yard at the hospital, and will get the opportunity to watch surgery from outside theatre and to observe the work of the vets within the hospital. 

Placements are offered on an observational basis, and are available for one week.

As the number of students is limited to one at any one time and these placements are very popular, particularly during school holiday time, early application is recommended. 

If you are interested in arranging a work placement, please click on the following link to fill in an application form below

Once you have completed the form please email it to Anne-Marie Clouting, at [email protected].

Hospital tours
We are happy to arrange hospital tours for local riding groups, pony clubs or other groups in the evening, during the week. 
To organise a tour, please contact [email protected].


Work experience questionaire

Work experience Questionnaire

Please read and complete the following questionnaire as part of your application for a place on work experience at Liphook Equine Hospital. Please ensure all sections are completed accurately.

MM slash DD slash YYYY
Have you had any previous experience of handling horses?
Do you feel confident about handling horses?
Would you be able to correctly place a headcollar and bridle on a horse?
Applying for a house vet position

Liphook Equine Hospital offers 18-month positions for recently qualified veterinary graduates (who we call “house vets”’. 
The housevet programme stands out as an exceptional experience compared with many internship programmes, as it offers:

A clearly defined role within an approachable team of experienced equine clinicians.
An opportunity to work with the largest team of RCVS/European equine medicine and surgery specialists in the UK.
An opportunity to work with a large team of skilled nurses.
An opportunity to develop and expand the skills learned in your first year(s) in practice in a supportive hospital setting.
Hands-on involvement in a wide range of medical and surgical procedures.
Responsibility for client contact and liaison from admission to discharge.
Active participation in lameness investigations – it is part of the house vet’s job to perform nerve blocks and joint blocks not watch someone else doing it!
Responsibility for general anaesthesia of our diverse surgical caseload with support from ECVAA specialists.
Onsite accommodation in a well-equipped flat whilst on call and local village accommodation provided for house vents when not on call.

The comprehensive and practical experience obtained during the house vet programme prepares young vets for a future career in any field of equine veterinary work.

The Giles Summerhays bursary

Giles Summerhays was a partner and surgeon at Liphook Equine Hospital, retiring from the practice in 2014. 

He has always appreciated the support from the house vets who looked after his cases while he was a surgeon, and wanted to reward present and future house vets for their invaluable, hard work and enthusiasm.

He came up with the idea of funding a travel bursary for the house vets, which would go towards a visit abroad to an equine hospital or institution for a month at the end of their tenure.  

This would help to expand their horizons and future career, and also help LEH to foster good relations with other practices around the world.
The bursary is worth £2,000/year and could be taken by one person, or if more than one wanted to take it, could be divided.