Groom - Glasgow, United Kingdom - University of Glasgow

University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
Verified Company
Glasgow, United Kingdom

3 weeks ago

Tom O´Connor

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Tom O´Connor

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Description

Job Purpose

Contribute to the activities of Glasgow Equine Hospital by undertaking all stable duties concerned with patients and teaching horses at the Hospital.

Assisting nursing staff, veterinary surgeons and undergraduate students within the hospital.


Main Duties and Responsibilities

  • Day to day husbandry and care of animals using best practice for techniques and standards of care. This includes feeding, grooming and mucking out, prioritising the tasks that need done each day, organising themselves and problem solving issues as and when they arise.
  • Ensuring all areas of the stables, examination/treatment rooms, outside areas and isolation unit are kept clean and tidy, adhering to biosecurity protocols.
  • Identification of any change in demeanour of the patients and reporting this to the appropriate clinician.
  • Ensure that feeding plans advised by clinicians for post-operative patients, or others requiring a specialised diet are adhered to, making sure that overnight rations are prepared so that out of hours staff can feed accordingly.
  • Daily husbandry of the University of Glasgow undergraduate teaching horses including recording weights and reporting any health issues to clinical staff.
  • Supervise, instruct and assess animal husbandry practical classes for undergraduate students, monitoring the teaching horses throughout. Restraining horses for examinations.
  • Restraining animals for clinical and nursing staff when performing clinical procedures. Preparing patients for surgical procedures, assisting with sample/data collection and restraining animals for farriery.
  • Restraining animals for advanced medical imaging.
  • Communicate with clients when they are visiting their horses.
  • Lunging, long reining and trotting up animals for lameness assessment.
  • Ensuring that all animals are appropriately identified and labelled on admission, including their belongings so they can be returned to clients on discharge.
  • Supervising students while they are handling patients to ensure Health and Safety protocols are being adhered to.
  • Ad hoc provision of back up cover for the Hospital reception.

Knowledge / Qualifications

Essential
A1. Standard grades/National 5s or equivalent vocational qualification (VQ2/3) or equivalent e.g. City and Guilds plus typically 2 years relevant work experience.
A2.

Extensive experience of all aspects of caring for and handling stabled horses to enable a wide range of clinical and diagnostic procedures to be carried out.


Desirable
B1. Full, valid UK driving licence would be advantageous but not essential
B2. IT skills
B3. Knowledge of equine behaviour and learning.


Skills

Essential
C1. Excellent animal handling skills to ensure safety of clients, staff and students.
C2. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
C3. Ability to recognise changes in an animal's demeanour and behaviour.
C4. Excellent ability to work independently, assess priorities and manage workload with mínimal supervision
C5. Excellent time management
C6. Ability to use own initiative
C7. Ability to be discreet and maintain confidentiality
C8. Self-motivated with the ability to work independently and as part of a team
C9. Use of initiative and judgement to resolve routine work problems independently, referring complex problems as appropriate
C10. Physically fit with the ability to run while trotting horses up for lameness examinations


Experience

Essential
E1. Extensive experience of working in professional yards with at least 10 horses, which has included sole charge of yard.
E2. Experience working with fit competition horses, youngstock and stallions
E3. Evidence of experience of lunging and long reining a wide variety of equines
E4. Evidence of ability to perform well in a team, under pressure
E5. Evidence of flexibility regarding working patterns.


Desirable
F1. Experience of working in an equine clinical environment
F2. Experience in teaching equine husbandry to groups.
F3. Experience of transporting horses.


Dimensions
The hospital has 20 inpatient stables and 3 isolation stables. There are five academic years of veterinary students, and each year has approximately 140 veterinary students.


Planning and Organising

Many of the grooms' duties are part of a daily husbandry routine but grooms need to plan their day and adapt the plan depending on events that might arise during the working day.

As in patient levels can change daily and emergency situations can arise, grooms still need to plan their day accordingly to make sure the daily husbandry routine is still achieved.


Decision Making
Grooms need to make decisions regarding stock levels and things needing fixed. They need to be able to adapt plans and decide when to escalate more complicated problems.


Internal/External Relationships
Internal - On a daily/weekly basis there will be liaison with other grooms, nurses, vets, researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate stud
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