Free Veterinarian Job Description Templates
Free veterinarian job description templates: general, associate, small animal, large animal, and relief. Download as DOCX and customize.
Veterinarian Job Description Templates
5 free templates by role. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
For a small clinic, hiring a veterinarian is a high-stakes decision, usually made by the practice owner, often between appointments. Below are five free veterinarian job description templates: fill in the bracketed fields, adjust to match your practice, and post. My advice to any owner in that seat: treat the posting as your first screening step and give it real care.
The job description you write sets the role, screens for the right licenses and experience, and becomes the foundation for the offer and onboarding once you hire. It deserves that care because a veterinarian is the clinical and medical heart of any animal hospital or practice: examining and diagnosing patients, performing surgery, advising owners, and carrying real responsibility from day one.
At FirstHR, we build for small clinics and practices where the owner handles hiring directly. The templates cover the most common versions of the role: general, associate, small animal, large animal or equine, and relief or locum. Each is ready to use. For the fundamentals behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description covers the basics.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template that matches your practice and the role you are hiring for. The core structure is the same across all five, but each one emphasizes the duties, licensing, and employment terms that fit a specific kind of veterinary role. Use this guide to choose.
5 Free Veterinarian Job Description Templates
Download all five as separate Word files in one ZIP, or copy individual templates. Each one covers the job summary, key responsibilities, licensing and qualifications, pay or engagement terms, and how to apply, and the General template adds a clinic overview. Fill in the brackets before you post.
Template 1: General Veterinarian
The universal, all-purpose version for any companion-animal clinic hiring a primary veterinarian. Exams, surgery, vaccinations, and client care, with full licensing requirements. Start here for a standard clinic role.
Template 2: Associate Veterinarian
For a hired DVM working under a practice owner or medical director. Adds collaboration, mentorship, a base plus production-based bonus, and a clear career path. New graduates welcome with mentorship.
Template 3: Small Animal Veterinarian
For companion-animal practices. Focuses on wellness, spay and neuter, in-clinic surgery, dental, and preventive care for dogs, cats, and small pets. Use this for a dedicated small animal role.
Template 4: Large Animal / Equine Veterinarian
For livestock and equine practices. Adds farm travel, mobile work, herd health, lameness and colic, and outdoor, physical conditions. Use this for field-based large animal or equine care.
Template 5: Relief / Locum Veterinarian
For temporary coverage during leave or busy periods. Adds 1099 or W-2 status, a per-shift or daily rate, independence from day one, and 2+ years of experience. Use this for short-term coverage.
What Does a Veterinarian Do?
A veterinarian cares for the health of animals and helps protect public health. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) describes veterinarians as diagnosing, treating, and researching medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and other animals. In a clinic, that means examining animals, performing surgery and dental procedures, administering vaccinations, prescribing medications, educating owners, and maintaining medical records, while guiding the technicians and assistants on the team.
The role varies sharply by practice. A small animal veterinarian focuses on companion-animal surgery and preventive care; a large animal or equine vet travels to farms for herd health and field treatment; and a relief vet provides flexible, temporary coverage. That is why the job description should describe the role for your specific practice.
Veterinarian Duties and Responsibilities
Veterinarian duties fall into four broad areas. A strong job description selects the specific responsibilities from each area that apply to your practice rather than listing every possible task. These are the responsibilities most often expected of the role.
For a large animal role, the duties shift toward field work and herd health; for a relief role, toward fast, independent coverage.
What to Include in a Veterinarian Job Description
Every strong veterinarian job description includes the same core sections: an overview of your clinic, a short job summary, the key responsibilities, licensing and qualifications, compensation, and how to apply. The templates above are built around them. In the responsibilities section, write concrete duties rather than generic ones; the table below shows the difference between vague and specific wording.
| Weak bullet | Strong bullet |
|---|---|
| Treat animals | Examine, diagnose, and treat patients and perform surgery |
| Do procedures | Perform spay, neuter, dental, and routine surgery |
| Give shots | Administer vaccinations and preventive care |
| Talk to owners | Educate and counsel owners on treatment and prevention |
| Keep records | Maintain accurate, complete medical records |
Specific, concrete duties attract candidates who understand the role and signal a serious employer. Keep the language neutral and inclusive too, since the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prohibits job advertisements that show a preference based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, sex, or disability.
For a fuller framework, the job description guide from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends one standard structure with components like the job title, salary, and job functions.
Licensing and Qualifications
A veterinarian is a licensed medical professional, so the qualifications section carries more weight than in most job descriptions. State the hard requirements clearly so only qualified candidates apply.
Beyond credentials, look for compassion, sound judgment, manual dexterity for surgery, and strong communication for client education. Veterinarians are typically salaried and exempt, while relief vets are often paid per shift, so review the Department of Labor professional exemption rules when you set pay and classify the role.
Veterinarian by Role
The veterinarian role changes meaningfully by practice type and employment structure. Picking the right template keeps your posting accurate and helps the right candidates recognize themselves in it.
| Role | Focus | Distinct elements |
|---|---|---|
| General | Primary clinic veterinarian | Full medical and surgical care |
| Associate | Hired DVM under a lead | Mentorship, production bonus, career path |
| Small Animal | Dogs, cats, companions | Spay/neuter, in-clinic surgery, preventive |
| Large Animal / Equine | Livestock and horses | Farm travel, herd health, field work |
| Relief / Locum | Temporary coverage | 1099 or W-2, per-shift rate, independent |
A small clinic usually starts with a general or associate veterinarian and brings in relief help for coverage gaps. Match the template to the role you need now rather than to a larger structure you do not yet have.
Veterinarian Salary
Veterinarians are well-paid medical professionals, with pay varying by practice type, location, experience, and specialization. Set your range using government data as a baseline, then adjust for your setting.
Remember that relief vets are usually paid a per-shift or daily rate rather than a salary. Always publish a range, and consider listing benefits like a continuing education allowance and license or DEA fee coverage, which matter to veterinary candidates. With veterinarian jobs projected to grow much faster than average, transparent, competitive pay helps a small clinic compete for hires.
How to Write a Veterinarian Job Description
A strong veterinarian job description is quick to write if you follow a clear structure. Here is the process the templates are built around.
Hiring a Veterinarian for a Small Clinic
A large hospital hires veterinarians through a dedicated recruiting team with defined processes. A small clinic or animal hospital does not. The owner writes the posting, screens applicants, verifies licenses, and onboards the new hire, often while seeing patients. Here is how to write the posting for that reality.
From Hiring to Onboarding
The job description is step one. Once a candidate accepts, the same document becomes the basis for the offer and onboarding. Because a veterinarian carries clinical responsibility from day one, verifying credentials and running a thorough onboarding matters more than for most roles.
A thorough onboarding gets a new veterinarian confident with your protocols and systems quickly. When you are ready to make the offer, the offer letter template handles that step, and an onboarding template gives the new hire a structured start. FirstHR connects the offer, paperwork, e-signatures, and onboarding workflow in one place so a small clinic can manage the full process from one system.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a veterinarian do?
A veterinarian is a licensed doctor for animals, responsible for their health and for helping to protect public health. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, veterinarians diagnose, treat, and research medical conditions and diseases of pets, livestock, and other animals. On a normal clinic day, that work means exams and diagnoses, surgery and dental procedures, vaccines, prescriptions, conversations with owners about care, and keeping the medical records. The vet also directs the technicians and assistants who support each case. How the week is spent depends on the practice: small animal vets concentrate on companion animals and surgery done in the clinic, whereas large animal and equine vets travel to farms to handle herd health and treat animals in the field.
What should a veterinarian job description include?
A strong veterinarian job description includes a clinic overview, a job summary, key responsibilities, required licensing and qualifications, skills, compensation, and the work schedule. Because this is a licensed medical role, the qualifications section is critical: name each credential you require, from the degree (DVM or VMD) and an active state license to DEA registration and a passing NAVLE score. Tailor the duties to the way your practice actually works, whether that means surgery on companion animals, farm calls, or short-term relief shifts. Include a salary range and be specific about hours, on-call, and weekend expectations, since these matter a great deal to veterinary candidates. The templates in this article give you a ready structure to customize.
What is the difference between a veterinarian and an associate veterinarian?
A veterinarian is the general role for any licensed DVM providing medical and surgical care. An associate veterinarian specifically refers to a hired veterinarian who works under a practice owner or medical director, rather than owning the practice. Associate roles typically include collaboration with a lead vet, mentorship, a base salary plus production-based bonus, and a path toward senior or partner positions. The clinical work is the same; the difference is the employment structure and seniority. If you are hiring a vet into a practice you own or manage, the associate veterinarian template usually fits best, especially for newer graduates who benefit from mentorship.
What qualifications and licenses does a veterinarian need?
A veterinarian needs a veterinary degree, a state license, and a federal registration to prescribe controlled substances. The degree is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM or VMD) from an accredited program; the Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies it as a doctoral or professional degree. The license has to be active in the state where the vet practices, and earning one generally means passing the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE). That federal registration comes from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). List every one of these requirements in your job description. Past the credentials, the best candidates show compassion, sound decision-making, steady hands for surgery, and the ability to explain treatment clearly to clients. Specialized roles, such as equine or large animal work, may also call for relevant experience.
How much does a veterinarian make?
Veterinarians are well paid: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025), the median annual wage for veterinarians was $130,100; the bottom tenth earned less than $73,920 and the top tenth more than $215,700. Where a given vet lands in that spread depends on the type of practice, its location, how much experience the vet has, and any specialization; emergency, surgical, and specialty roles tend to pay toward the top. Relief and locum vets usually earn a per-shift or daily rate instead of a salary. Whatever you offer, put a salary range in the posting. A growing number of states require one, and in SHRM research (2023), 66 percent of organizations that list pay ranges reported an increase in applicant quality. It is also worth listing benefits such as an allowance for continuing education and coverage of license fees.
What is a relief or locum veterinarian?
A relief or locum veterinarian provides temporary coverage for a clinic, stepping in during vacations, leave, parental time, or busy periods. Rather than a salaried staff position, relief work is usually engaged as a 1099 contractor or short-term W-2 role, paid a per-shift or daily rate. Calling a relief vet a contractor does not make them one. To decide whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, the IRS weighs behavioral control (who controls, or has the right to control, what the worker does and how), financial control (who controls the business side of the job, such as pay and expenses), and the type of relationship (such as written contracts or employee-type benefits). Relief veterinarians are expected to work independently from day one with minimal ramp-up, so they typically need at least a couple of years of clinical experience and carry their own professional liability insurance. If you need short-term help rather than a permanent hire, use the relief veterinarian template.
How do I hire a veterinarian after writing the job description?
Once your job description is ready, post it, screen for both clinical fit and the right licenses, and interview your shortlist. When you choose a candidate, the job description becomes the basis for the offer and onboarding. Send an offer letter, collect signed paperwork, and verify credentials such as the state license, DEA registration, and NAVLE. Then run a structured onboarding covering your clinic protocols, software, controlled-substance procedures, and team introductions. Do not cut corners there, because a new vet carries significant responsibility from the very first day. FirstHR handles the offer letter, document storage, e-signatures, and onboarding workflow in one place so a small clinic can move from job description to a fully onboarded hire.