400+
Vets completed since 2011
Step 1
Apply
Apply through our careers site with your CV and fill in a short clinical skills checklist.
What is cutting edge?
A supported introduction to ECC
Emergency and critical care is fast-paced, rewarding and unlike any other area of veterinary practice.
Cutting Edge is designed to support vets taking their first steps into ECC, combining practical experience, structured learning and support from experienced clinicians in a real emergency care environment.
What you’ll learn
Managing emergency and critical cases
Clinical decision-making under pressure
Practical procedures and diagnostics
Communicating with owners and teams in high-stakes moments
How the programme works
The programme combines practical workshops, clinical teaching and hands-on experience within Vets Now clinics.
Working alongside experienced ECC teams, you’ll gain exposure to emergency caseloads, clinical decision-making and out-of-hours practice in a supportive learning environment.
From emergency consultations to inpatient care, Cutting Edge provides exposure to the realities of emergency and critical care practice.
The programme is designed to help build confidence, clinical understanding and practical experience through supported learning and real-world exposure.
Classroom & in-clinic training
Start with focused learning at our Support Office in Dunfermline, then apply it in a real clinic environment.
Hands-on with ECC teams
Work alongside experienced ECC vets and nurses on real cases in your permanent or surrounding clinics, with support always close by.
Clinical coaching
Dedicated clinical coaches guide your development and help you set the pace.
Programme structure
Week 1-2: Face-to-face seminars, practical sessions and a surgical training wet lab
Week 3-5: Hands-on in-clinic block
Week 6-7: Face-to-face seminars and practical sessions
Week 8: Hands-on in-clinic block
Where it leads
Complete Cutting Edge and you step into a permanent role at Vets Now — with measurable growth in clinical confidence and a long-term career in ECC ahead of you. You'll keep seeing the complex, rewarding cases that drew you to emergency care in the first place, with progression routes when you're ready for them.
67%
Of our senior vets
are Edge alumni
3.5 -> 7.4
Average confidence increase after the programme
100% Recommendation
Based on feedback from '23, '24, '25 cohorts
Step 2
Chat
Have a chat with our Talent Team about your experience and find out more about the programme.
Step 3
Interview
Your chance to talk about your experience in more detail with our hiring managers.
Step 4
Offer
Your place on the course and your permanent role in one of our Vets Now clinics is secured!
What participants say
Cutting Edge It’s not just a brilliant way into ECC, I honestly think every vet in practice would benefit. I learned so many new skills and it makes you so much more confident and competent. You don’t need to be scared of it and I’d definitely recommend it.
I’ve really enjoyed it. There have been cases – like a GDV that came in recently – that I’ve been able to treat successfully that I’d never have been able to handle before I did Cutting Edge. I feel that I’m making a real difference, helping to save animals’ lives and that I have found what I’m meant to do.
Even an intense course like that can never prepare you 100% for what you’ll see as you need time and experience. But I definitely felt ready. I had the foundations, and I knew that wouldn’t have been the case without Edge. I couldn’t imagine starting ECC without it.
The structured training and practical support of Cutting Edge gave me the tools I needed to approach emergency cases systematically and calmly.
Cutting Edge It’s not just a brilliant way into ECC, I honestly think every vet in practice would benefit. I learned so many new skills and it makes you so much more confident and competent. You don’t need to be scared of it and I’d definitely recommend it.
I’ve really enjoyed it. There have been cases – like a GDV that came in recently – that I’ve been able to treat successfully that I’d never have been able to handle before I did Cutting Edge. I feel that I’m making a real difference, helping to save animals’ lives and that I have found what I’m meant to do.
