Real emergency cases
Gain exposure to genuine emergency and critical care caseloads.
Experience real emergencies
Emergency cases can feel daunting when you first encounter them. An EMS placement with Vets Now gives you the opportunity to experience emergency and critical care in a supported clinical environment.
Across our nationwide network of clinics and hospitals, our teams see more than 204,000 emergency and critical care cases each year — creating valuable opportunities for veterinary students to learn from real emergencies.
You'll spend time alongside experienced ECC teams, observing genuine cases and gaining insight into the clinical reasoning, teamwork and communication involved in emergency care. Placements are available throughout the year covering evenings between 7PM – 2AM and weekends.
One or two weeks
Choose a placement duration that supports your EMS requirements.
One-to-one support
Learn with guidance from an experienced clinician throughout your placement.
UK wide opportunities
Explore placement opportunities across our nationwide clinic network.
Plan your EMS placement.
Our clinical EMS placements are designed for fourth and fifth year veterinary students looking to build their experience outside the lecture theatre.
Gain real experience
Spend one or two weeks in one of our out-of-hours clinics, learning alongside an experienced ECC team.
Placements take place during evenings and weekends, so exact working patterns will depend on the location and dates selected.
Placements are reserved for veterinary students' university clinical EMS and are not available for school work experience or general animal care placements.
You'll gain insight into:
The assessment and triage of emergency cases
Clinical decision making and stabilisation
Communication with pet owners
Teamwork in a fast paced environment
The realities of nights, weekends and bank holiday care
Help with the cost of your placement
Financial circumstances shouldn't prevent students from accessing valuable clinical experience. The Inspiring Vet Care EMS Student Bursary can provide financial support for eligible UK veterinary students undertaking clinical EMS at a Vets Now or Inspiring Vet Care practice.
Applications are open to students who have arranged or are in the process of arranging an eligible placement. Priority is given to applicants experiencing financial hardship, with opportunities released throughout the year. The IVC EMS bursaries will be released in four stages throughout the year; October, January, April and July. This will allow for multiple application deadlines and ensure students have every opportunity to apply.
Work while you study
Gain valuable work experience
An EMS placement isn't the only way to experience life at Vets Now. We also recruit students into animal care assistant and receptionist roles, with opportunities often available during evenings, weekends and busy holiday periods.
It's a chance to earn alongside your studies, become part of an out-of-hours team and develop experience that can support your future veterinary career.
Roles and availability vary by clinic. Check our current vacancies for opportunities in your area.
Hear from our EMS students
Discover what other veterinary students learned from their time with Vets Now — and what it's really like to experience emergency care first hand.
