At Pets1st we want to support young people and help them prepare for working life. If you live locally and are interested in pursuing a career as a Veterinary Surgeon or Veterinary Nurse then we would like to help you.

Due to the high demand for work experience at Pets1st we do get booked up quickly, with many placements being booked months in advance.

Our work experience students will...

• Assisting with the care of the patients, including feeding, cleaning kennels and grooming
• Observing surgical procedures
• Observing consultations and procedures with the vets and veterinary nurses
• Assisting the nursing team with daily tasks 
• Assisting with stock control and paperwork
• Assisting with the cleaning of various areas in the surgery

Students are advised that working in a veterinary environment is very demanding and at times very emotional. There are always things to be done (i.e. plenty of cleaning!) and you will be on your feet for most of the day. We will make sure that you get an hour for your lunch, but this may not be at the same time every day.

We will ensure that you see as much as possible during your week with us including surgery, consultations, treatment and hospital care. Work experience students will also be expected to be able to help out at the practice using their own initiative and will need to be confident enough to do so in a busy and demanding environment.

Students will be expected to look smart while they are working at the practice (no jeans, hoodies or trainers). We also do not allow dangling jewellery (e.g. hoop earrings, long chains, bracelets) or nail varnish to be worn by students for health and safety reasons.

How To Apply

Please appreciate that Pets1st is a very busy practice and at all times our patients come before anything else. We do answer all work experience requests and we try to do so as quickly as possible, however, we have a very high volume of enquiries to deal with.

Pets1st respectfully request that all contact regarding work experience comes from the student and not their parents or guardians. If we have a placement available on your preferred dates we will contact you to let you know. Please make sure you apply well ahead of your preferred placement dates because places get taken up very quickly. You must be a minimum of 17 years.

To apply for work experience at Pets1st, please contact Kelly on: kelly@runnymedevets.co.uk. In your email, please indicate the following:

• Your full name, age, email address, contact number and home address
• The name of your school or college
• Tell us about you! Hobbies, interests etc.
• Your preferred start date (please give 2 or 3 choices)
• Your ideal career path or job role and the GCSE grades you'll need
• What you hope to gain from a work placement with us
• What you're particularly interested in seeing
• Your main interest within the veterinary field
• Any potential concerns about working with animals
• Why you'd like to do work experience with Pets1st
• Any questions