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H.E Technical Services – An established Theatre Lighting specialist to vets Australia wide.

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Our LED150F is ideal for the general theatre workings of most veterinary practices with its high intensity (130K Lux for the FP model) and ease of use. The LED150F comes in either single or twin configurations as does all our lights!

HE Technical Services help with ceiling or wall mounted installations and what to consider that best suits your clinical rooms such as what is the floor to ceiling height?, What will support the light?, Wall isolation switch? Etc.

Doctors worldwide operate, diagnose and treat patients with the aid of medical lights from Dr. Mach. For a very good reason.  No other company offers a detailed portfolio of this kind under one roof. No other company has such a wealth of experience in the production and application of medical lights. And no other company offers doctors such quality and reliability.

Dr. Mach was founded 75 years ago and today is still what it always has been.  A specialised family business with unique know-how. With ultramodern machinery and a well-trained and skilled workforce from various specialist fields, we develop and manufacture at our headquarters on the outskirts of Munich. All of our lights are designed and produced in Germany and dispatched from our headquarters.

Quality in numbers

Quality can be expressed in numbers and dates. In 75 years we have created and accomplished a huge amount. We have held hundreds of thousands of talks and equally as many consultations. We have had tens of thousands of meetings in which customer wishes and product improvements were considered. And we have equipped ten thousand doctors, practices vet clinics and hospitals with modern lights – on all of the earth’s continents, including Antarctica.

A reliable visual examination is often the basis for a sound diagnosis. The accurate recognition of structure and colour during diagnosis is conditional on having perfect illumination. The ability to distinguish the subtlest colour nuances and recognise detailed structures and changes is always a matter of having the correct light. Optimal lighting thus plays a key role as a work tool.

Who would know this better than Dr. Mach? For decades we have dedicated ourselves to providing vets & doctors with the perfect light. To this end, we have developed numerous different lights that meet the most exacting medical demands. Easy to handle, with a wide range of functions and absolutely reliable.

With an examination light from Dr. Mach you are able to concentrate on what is essential using your knowledge to maintain the health of your patients.

At home all over the world. In over 100 countries and on all continents, Dr. Mach OT-lights are synonymous with exceptional quality, reliability and engineering excellence. Together with our partner distribution networks, we sell and maintain Dr. Mach medical lights for doctors from all spheres. For decades our name has stood for. Made in Germany – used all over the world.

Contact us today at H.E Technical Services for more information & details of our Examination and Theatre Lights.

PH: 03 9775 0557

Contact: Manfred or Steele Von Hoff

Email: info@het.com.au

www.het.com.au

26/11/2024 |

VetFamily – More Time. More Savings. More Support. For Your Practice.

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Running an independent veterinary practice comes with unique challenges—from rising costs to limited time for growth. VetFamily membership helps you overcome these pressures by giving you access to exclusive supplier agreements, rebates, and cost-saving opportunities on products and services you already use.

Beyond financial benefits, you’ll gain the support of dedicated practice advisors, practical resources, and a strong network of like-minded peers who share your values. With VetFamily, you can redirect both time and money back into your clinic, focusing on patient care, your team, and building a thriving business.

Our membership is designed to protect your independence while strengthening your practice for long-term success.

Do you spend too much time on non-value adding activities?

Get in touch or schedule a 15-minute call with our friendly team.

06/11/2025 |

GCE M50 5L Oxygen Concentrator

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  • 5 litres per minute of high-purity oxygen
  • Only used for a few days.
  • Perfect condition, medical grade.

Price – $650

Pick up or buyer to arrange delivery.

Location: South Brisbane, QLD

Email: felicia.carne@gmail.com

Phone: Felicia on:  0416 612 431

 

 

12/03/2026 |

Working as a Locum – Part 1

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To work as a locum, vets should have a minimum of 2 years’ experience, and preferably over 3 years for sole charge practices. Not only is locuming a great way to finance travel, it is also a good way to gain additional experience working with different people, in a wide variety of different conditions, and improve your veterinary skills.

photo of vetsIn major cities, although there are more clinics in a smaller geographical area, there is usually more competition for locum work, therefore to be assured of a constant supply of work, locums should be willing to travel – and you can miss out on amazing experiences if you don’t consider travelling to work in more rural and regional areas. Country jobs will usually supply accommodation and maybe a vehicle for work and private use, however, city practices very rarely supply either accommodation or a vehicle.

Locum vacancies can range from a single shift to 5 or 6 months’ work, and include full time and part time hours. Locums help cover for temporary staffing shortages, illness, periods of leave and holidays, and parental leave. Jobs can be advertised up to 4 months in advance, however, they can also be listed at very short notice (next day). On average, locum jobs listed with Kookaburra Vet Employment are to start within 1-2 months.

Work

Most clinics require a locum with a minimum of 2-3 years’ experience who doesn’t require direction for most clinical judgments, but who will ask for help if it’s required or if they get out of their depth. Surgical experience is necessary – you must be able to do at least routine surgery including desexings in a timely manner (ie. not take too long).

It can be important to stick to clinic protocols, within a perceived duty of care. Clinics may see a high proportion of particular types of cases – eg ticks; snake bite; poisonings – ask the regular vet before they go away if there is a clinic protocol or for any tips on these type of cases.

Record keeping is extremely important – the locum may move on, but the clinic owner or regular vet then has to continue with ongoing care. Make sure that your handwriting is legible, and you use any computerised system to keep comprehensive clinical notes. Locums should try to fit in with existing staff and not rock the boat!

Make sure that you stick to practice pricing – please don’t undercharge just because you perceive the practice prices to be excessive.

Try not to put things off until the regular vet gets back.

Conduct

Practices expect a locum to be honest, punctual, friendly, polite, and able to take direction if required without taking offence. Derogatory, sexist, and discriminatory behaviour and comments are absolutely not acceptable.

If a work vehicle, or a vehicle for private use is supplied, it should be kept clean on the inside (if not the outside!), and driven with due care and attention. Establish the protocol for paying for petrol before commencing work.

If accommodation is supplied, it should be left clean and tidy. Talk to the employer about any use of private items or groceries if you are staying in their own house BEFORE you use anything, and establish whether you are expected to replace any items used.

CVs and References:

You should be prepared to send your CV to clinics when you apply for a vacancy. It should contain up to date information and be accurate, particularly with up to date contact information for you including a mobile number preferably with a message bank. Include contact details for recent referees, and email addresses, particularly if your referees are overseas.

Contract

article-contract-signingdesigned-by-freepik-smallerAlthough practices and locums may not decide to formally enter into a contract, it is a good idea to set down terms of employment and working conditions in writing prior to the start of the locum period. Things to consider include:

  • Pay rate;
  • after hours remuneration;
  • days off;
  • overtime;
  • normal hours of work;
  • type of payment arrangement and when the vet is to be paid;
  • type of employment (casual employee, contractor);
  • Superannuation; GST;
  • Travel Costs;
  • Professional registration costs;
  • Responsibility for keys – for the clinic and for scheduled drugs
  • Accommodation and responsibilities of the locum with respect to the accommodation and use of facilities if applicable (eg phone, internet, food in the pantry);
  • provision of vehicle for work – and private use – and fuel costs;
  • any provision for short term cancellation of the locum period by either party.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Contact the AVA HR Hotline for more information – 1300 788977 or email avahrhotline@whr.com.au  (you need to be an AVA member (Australian Veterinary Association).

Author:

Wendy Nathan
Kookaburra Veterinary Employment

This information includes the views and opinions of Kookaburra Veterinary Employment and is of a general nature only. Factual information is believed to be correct at the time of writing, however, should not be relied upon and any person should confirm details with the relevant authorities and through their own research prior to acting on any of the suggestions in this article.

03/11/2021 |

Writing Job Adverts using AI

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Is your clinic seeking “A silver-tongued sailor with the ability to calm even the most frightened parrot“, or just “A vet nurse proficient in handling animals “?

Kookaburra Staff member dressed as a pirate

Giving a ‘write like a pirate’ prompt to AI would give you the first quote – but how do you persuade AI to write the kind of ad that really reflects your vacancy? I’ve spent some time researching the ability of AI to help us create an impactful and informative creative job advert (ok, maybe ‘playing with AI prompts’ and sharing the consequent humour with the Kookaburra office might be more accurate) , and these are my suggestions if you’d like to jump on the AI bandwagon.

The purpose of using AI currently is to give you a draft to work from and edit specifically to your clinic. It won’t be perfect straight off the bat however you can keep editing in more details and adding or removing sections until you’re happy with the end result. It may take a bit longer the first time round as you get used to using AI but it will save you time down the track.

If you do not have a preferred AI already, there is a list of a few free versions you can try out at the bottom of this post.

Creating a Draft

AI works off “prompts” or text inputs to generate a reply. The more specific and clear you are, the higher the quality of the response will be. The field to enter your prompts is usually located at the bottom of the chat window with a message like “Enter a prompt here” or “Ask me anything..”. To submit your prompt, you can either use the Enter key or click the “Submit message” button on the righthand side of the text box.

Information I recommend you consider using in your prompts:

  • Position/Job Title
  • Qualification requirements (if applicable)
  • Location
  • Nature of work
  • Employment type (e.g. casual/full-time/contract)
  • Client base
  • Clinical facilities
  • Clinic culture (e.g., flexible working arrangements, team outings)
  • Employee benefits/perks
  • Holidays
  • Career progression and/or training opportunities
  • Salary range
  • Unique selling points (Identify what really sets your clinic apart from others)

Including pre-written sections – If you have lists or something you would like to include already written up you can include “create a section to insert a list / paragraph” in your prompt (handy to show off your equipment or include testimonials).

Feel like your advert is missing something? You can ask what else might improve the advert from the AI to see if there is something you haven’t considered. Just a reminder to double check what the AI is recommending e.g., Backpacks are the same as parachutes when jumping out of planes, People should eat rocks for vitamins and minerals, gasoline-infused spaghetti recipes – you know, the usual. Google’s AI Overviews recently gave some bizarre recommendations.

Prompt examples

Below are two prompts to show the difference between a basic and detailed input, try editing them to your clinic and see the difference! You can ask the AI to re-write the advert with themes such as Superhero, Fairytale, Travel, Sports etc. This is probably more suitable for writing birthday invitations, but still a fun exercise to see what the AI can come up with – see the ‘rewrite as a Pirate’ prompt

Being polite to the AI never hurts. Who knows, it might help out in the robot uprising in the future.

Google Gemini was used in these examples.

BASIC PROMPT:

Hello, can you please create a job advert for a small animal veterinarian in Brisbane.

See Basic Job Ad created by Gemini
DETAILED PROMPT:

Can you please create a job advert for a small animal veterinarian. The position is full-time with the option for part-time. Our clinic is located in Mount Gravatt, Brisbane QLD. Our team culture is friendly and very supportive. The remuneration is based on experience but will be 75,000-120,000. Our clinic is independently owned. BVSc or equivalent qualification and registration to practice in Queensland required. Leave a section for us to include a list of equipment. Applications will be via email. Include details about Mount Gravatt that are important for people considering moving and don’t know the area. Keep it under 800 words.

See Detailed Job ad created with Gemini
 PIRATE PROMPT:

ok, now rewrite it as a Pirate.

View Pirate Themed Job ad created by Gemini

Editing your advert

To get the text out of the AI, you can copy it into a word document either by highlighting and copying (right click > copy or Ctrl + C) or clicking the copy icon located at the top or bottom of the generated text (this feature is not available on all AI). You can now edit the advert as required to make it suitable for your clinic.

Have Fun!

AI may not have all the answers but Kookaburra can help you a bit further with our blog post “How To Attract Your New Vet” . Using the information provided and editing the advert to make it your own will really help attract great applicants.

Free versions to use

ChatGPT 3.5 current up to January 2022, data is limited and may not be up to date when listing information (e.g., local attractions, shops, highways/roads etc). Unlimited prompts, no sign up required.

Microsoft Copilot current “up to some point in 2021” (the AI’s own words). Copilot has 4 prompts maximum without signing in however you can create an account for more prompts.

Google Gemini current up to December 2023. As it is a Google service, it will try to find reliable information through Google Search for anything more recent. Unlimited prompts, Google/Gmail account required for use. It also has a great feature where you can view alternative drafts generated, giving more options to work from with less inputs.

Author:

John Maude
Kookaburra Veterinary Employment

This information includes the views and opinions of Kookaburra Veterinary Employment and is of a general nature only. Factual information is believed to be correct at the time of writing, however, should not be relied upon and any person should confirm details with the relevant authorities and through their own research prior to acting on any of the suggestions in this article.

14/06/2024 |
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