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Richmond SPCA
Richmond, Virginia

Associate Veterinarian - Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital, Richmond SPCA (Part-Time)

VeterinarianNo weekendsPart-Time

Listed compensation

Starting at $60/hr

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, nights and shift pattern and time off.

Posted 32m ago · Verified live

Job Description

Location: Richmond, VA

Hospital: Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital (Richmond SPCA)

  • Compensation & Schedule
  • Salary: Starting at $60 per hour (commensurate with experience)
  • Schedule: Flexible part-time schedule of up to 28 hours per week

Why This Isn’t Your Typical Veterinary Role

If you are tired of corporate medicine, production pressure, and the heartbreak of euthanasia for economic reasons, we offer a radical alternative.

The Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital is one of only a handful of facilities in the country pioneering a true access-to-care model. We meet people where they are, delivering quality, accessible veterinary medicine to pets who often have nowhere else to go. Our goal is simple: keep pets healthy, in their homes, and out of shelters.

Practice Mission-Focused Medicine: Your success is measured by the lives you impact, not the inventory you move. There are no sales targets or production-based quotas.

No Financial Euthanasia: We practice medicine aligned with our no-kill philosophy. We don't let economic hardship stand in the way of lifesaving care.

Boundaries: When your shift ends, you go home. Enjoy your evenings and weekends.

What You Will Do

As an Associate Veterinarian, you will work alongside a collaborative team of skilled doctors, licensed veterinary technicians, and dedicated support staff to provide wellness, sick, and urgent care.

Clinical & Surgical Care: Provide physical exams, develop treatment plans for illness, and perform sterilizations and other routine surgeries, dentals, and soft tissue procedures.

Spectrum of Care: Apply critical thinking to practice access-to-care medicine, offering pragmatic, compassionate treatment plans tailored to the realities of economically-disadvantaged pet guardians.

Diagnostics & Records: Interpret routine diagnostics (including radiography) and maintain thorough, accurate medical records.

Cross-Departmental Collaboration: Act as a flexible and collaborative resource across our entire veterinary services ecosystem, providing backup and operational support as needed to our HQHVSN clinic or shelter medicine team as dynamic organizational needs arise.

Who You Are

Qualified: You hold a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree from an AVMA-accredited college.

Licensed: You have (or can successfully obtain) a valid Virginia Veterinary License and DEA license in good standing.

Mission-Driven: You possess a deep commitment to the no-kill philosophy, shelter diversion, and serving vulnerable populations with dignity and empathy.

Adaptable & Collaborative: You thrive in a fast-paced environment, multi-task with a positive "can-do" outlook, and communicate compassionately with both a diverse public clientele and internal shelter teams.

Experience in a shelter, spay/neuter clinic, or public veterinary hospital is a major plus, but a passion for access to care is required.

Benefits & Perks

  • We care for our people just as deeply as we care for our patients.
  • Health & Wellness: Paid wellness leave.
  • Student Loan Forgiveness: Access to the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
  • Retirement: 401(k) retirement plan with an employer contribution (if eligible) of no less than 3%.

Pet Care Perks: Access to employee discounts at our Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital.

Physical Demands & Work Environment

Environment: A rapid-pace, high-energy environment with exposure to high noise levels, animal waste, disinfectants, radiation, and anesthetic gases.

Physical Requirements: Ability to stay on your feet for a 10-hour shift (accommodations can be coordinated with physician recommendations) and routinely lift, carry, or move up to 50 pounds. Reliable transport is required, including during inclement weather.

What Richmond Has to Offer

Richmond is a vibrant city with an active, accessible, and welcoming community culture. Outdoor enthusiasts enjoy the James River Park System, which offers urban whitewater rafting, miles of riverside trails, and sunbathing on Belle Isle right in the heart of downtown.

Our nationally-recognized, James Beard-nominated dining and craft beer scenes mean you'll always have a great new culinary spot to discover.

For entertainment, you can catch a baseball game at the new CarMax Park—located just a few hundred yards from our Hermitage Road campus—or enjoy outdoor concerts at the stunning new riverfront amphitheater.

Plus, Richmond’s central location puts you an easy drive away from the Blue Ridge Mountains, Atlantic coast beaches, and Washington, D.C.

Key Responsibilities

Provide wellness, sick, and urgent care, including physical exams, treatment planning, and surgical procedures. Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team to deliver accessible veterinary medicine to vulnerable populations.

Requirements

Must hold a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or equivalent degree from an AVMA-accredited college. Requires a valid Virginia Veterinary License and DEA license in good standing.

Qualifications

Education
Doctoral or professional degree (postgraduate degree)
Experience
2+ years of experience

Key Skills

SurgeryClinical diagnosticsSoft tissue surgeryDentistryPatient careCommunicationAdaptability

Veterinary Medicine Career Context

The cost-of-living index for Virginia is 101.1 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$125k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $123k in an average-cost state. 61.1% of Virginia clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Of the 50 active Veterinary Medicine listings this role was benchmarked against, 100% have no call, 100% require no weekends.

What does the Veterinary Medicine market look like in Virginia?
MeasureThis jobMarket
Work-life score5.7 / 10 · above average in veterinaryranked against 4,356 Veterinary listingslisting-based score, 0–10
Listed pay$125kVeterinary Medicine median $135k (middle half $130k–$151k)26 comparable listings, Oct 2026
Cost-of-living adjusted pay~$123k in purchasing powerVirginia index 101.1 (US = 100)BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)
Veterinary Medicine listings in Virginia97 active3,078 nationallylive on WeekdayDoc, Oct 2026
Work settingon-sitepeers: 100% no call · 100% no weekends50 benchmarked listings
Sources: WeekdayDoc live listing index (4,356 Veterinary listings), BEA Regional Price Parities (2024); as of Oct 2026. Same values as the Weekday Verdict and Market Insights on this page.

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Work-life snapshot

median 5.7this job 5.7
Better work-life than 50% of Veterinary Medicine listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 3,033 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • No weekends
Richmond SPCA logo

About Richmond SPCA

Non-profit Organizations
Richmond, Virginia
51-200 employees

Benefits & Perks

Paid wellness leave
PSLF eligibility
401(k) with employer contribution (≥3%)
Employee pet care discounts

Living in Richmond

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$342k
Typical market rent
$1,648/mo
Residents’ average commute
22 min
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
97.9
State income tax
Up to 5.8%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.

BEA 2024 · Richmond, VA metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.