Full-Time Experienced Veterinary Nurse

Independent Practice; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Independent Practice is seeking an experienced veterinary nurse who loves the challenge of complex cases in a busy hospital. You will work closely with vets to deliver treatment plans, manage hospital patients, and help raise nursing standards across the team.

We require a minimum of two years of hands-on veterinary nursing experience in a small animal setting. A Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing is highly regarded but not essential. This is not an entry-level role.

Qualifications

• Proven veterinary nursing experience in a small animal practice or hospital.
• Ability to think ahead and manage multiple tasks in a busy hospital.

Responsibilities

• Assist with surgical lists and foster smooth patient flow.
• Manage hospital patients and support complex cases alongside veterinarians.
• Support and guide junior nurses to raise nursing standards across the hospital.
• Contribute to efficient clinic operations and high clinical care standards.

Skills

Communication

Prioritisation

Teamwork

Organisation

Calm under pressure

Education

Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing

Job description

We’re looking for the nurse who sees two steps ahead

Full-Time Experienced Veterinary Nurse

We’re looking for an experienced veterinary nurse who still genuinely loves veterinary nursing.

Someone who enjoys being in the middle of a busy hospital, gets excited by complex cases and takes pride in making the whole clinical team better.

You’re the nurse who can look around, see what needs to happen next and get moving without waiting to be managed through your day.

Why this role exists

We’re a small animal veterinary hospital, not a vaccination clinic.

We enjoy complex cases. We explore the diagnostics and treatment options available to us and aim to practise at a high clinical standard. We refer when we’ve exhausted what we can appropriately offer as a high-end GP hospital.

And we want to keep getting better, particularly in our medicine, surgery and nursing standards.

That takes experienced nurses who want to contribute, not simply turn up and complete a task list.

What that looks like in real life

A great nurse here works closely with our vets to help them deliver their treatment plans.

You might be helping keep a surgical list moving, managing hospital patients, assisting with a complex case or working alongside a vet in the consulting space.

You’re thinking ahead.

What does this patient need next? What can I organise now? Where is the bottleneck? Which vet needs help? Does a junior nurse need some direction?

You’re not trying to tell the vet how to be a vet. You’re using your experience to help the veterinary team deliver excellent patient care efficiently.

We want the nurse who makes a good vet better and a busy hospital run better.

The kind of person who will thrive here

You’re proactive, self-motivated and organised.

You communicate well. You know how to prioritise when five things need attention at once, stay composed under pressure and manage yourself without someone constantly directing you.

You’re also a genuine team player. Your job isn’t finished just because your own list is finished.

You help other nurses. You share what you know. You can guide junior nurses without simply taking over, and you want to help raise nursing standards across the hospital.

Most importantly, you still want to develop yourself. Experience hasn’t made you resistant to feedback.

The reality of the role

This is a busy hospital.

Plans change. Emergencies walk through the door. Several people can need something at once.

We need someone who doesn’t roll their eyes when that happens.

You stay calm, communicate, reprioritise and get the job done. When things become pressured, you help calm the team rather than adding to the pressure.

And when it’s quiet, you don’t stand around waiting for someone to find you something to do.

We have fun too. We just need someone who knows when it’s time to have a laugh and when a patient needs everyone completely switched on.

If being busy frustrates you, you need to be constantly directed, or you only want to do the parts of nursing you enjoy most, this probably isn’t your hospital.

Why you might choose us

Because you still want to nurse.

You want complex cases. You want to be involved. You want to help junior nurses improve and work closely with vets who are trying to achieve excellent outcomes.

And you want your experience to add value rather than simply represent how many years you’ve been doing the job.

We also care about giving pet owners a 10 out of 10 experience. So liking animals is essential, but liking people matters here too.

Money

Pay reflects your experience, contribution and development.

Before you apply

Previous veterinary nursing experience is mandatory for this role.

You must have a minimum of two years’ experience working as a veterinary nurse in a small animal practice or hospital.

A Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing is highly regarded but not essential.

This is not an entry‑level position, a veterinary graduate role or a role for someone without hands‑on veterinary nursing experience. If you have worked as a veterinarian overseas but have not worked as a veterinary nurse, this role is not suitable.

Please only apply if you meet the minimum veterinary nursing experience requirement.