Description

Emergency Veterinarians & Criticalist: Practice Meaningful Medicine with a Kind, Collaborative Team
Sunstone Veterinary Specialists | Portland, OR

Come practice emergency and critical care medicine where collaboration isn’t just a buzzword—it’s how we work every day.

Sunstone Veterinary Specialists is an independent, privately owned specialty and emergency hospital seeking Emergency Veterinarians and a board-certified or residency-trained Criticalist to join our growing team.

We’re a people-first hospital where collaboration, curiosity, and kindness guide everything we do. Our ER doctors are valued partners in patient care, working alongside specialists who are accessible, collaborative, and committed to excellent medicine.

If you love complex cases, value teamwork, and want to practice in an environment that supports both professional growth and genuine well-being, we’d love to meet you.

“It’s a pleasure to work with people who love medicine, who love to learn, and who love helping pet owners.”
— Joshua Elliott, DVM, DACVIM, Co-Founder & Chief of Staff

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The Opportunity

Since launching Emergency Services in 2023, Sunstone’s ER has grown into a thriving, cohesive department where medicine is practiced with thought and care. Our cases are diverse, our caseload is steady but sustainable, and our team is deeply collaborative.

You’ll have direct access to specialists in Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Clinical Nutrition, along with experienced technicians and veterinary assistants who thrive in emergency and specialty medicine.

Sunstone also supports internship and residency training, creating a teaching-oriented environment where questions are encouraged, knowledge is shared, and continued learning is part of everyday practice.

Whether you love managing complex multi-service patients, stabilizing urgent cases, or helping develop the next phase of an expanding emergency and critical care service, this role offers the variety, resources, and support to do your best work.

For a Criticalist, this is also an opportunity to help shape the future of critical care at an independent hospital—working collaboratively with hospital leadership, ER doctors, specialists, and our clinical teams as the service continues to grow.

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Why You’ll Love This Role

• Medicine-Driven Culture: You’ll have the time, tools, and support to practice the kind of medicine you’re proud of.
• True Collaboration: Our ER team and specialists work together every day. Case discussions are open, respectful, and centered on achieving the best outcome for the patient.
• Accessible Specialists: Internal Medicine, Surgery, and Clinical Nutrition are right down the hall—not somewhere across town or available only through a formal transfer process.
• Supportive Leadership: Our administrative team works onsite every day, understands the realities of hospital life, and makes decisions quickly without the layers and delays of corporate oversight.
• Work-Life Balance: We believe great medicine requires clinicians who have the opportunity to recharge. We work to create schedules and staffing models that support longevity in emergency medicine.
• Professional Growth: Generous continuing education support, mentorship, teaching opportunities, and professional development allow you to keep growing throughout your career.
• A Voice in What Comes Next: We’re still building. You’ll have the opportunity to contribute ideas, influence how our emergency and critical care services evolve, and help create the kind of hospital you want to practice in.

“Our ER team is passionate about medicine and loves learning. They show up curious, kind, and ready to grow every day.”
— Ruthie Torrey-Stahl, ER Manager

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About You

For our Emergency Veterinarian positions, you’re a veterinarian with experience or a strong interest in emergency and critical care medicine. You’re comfortable managing acute cases, enjoy collaborating with specialists, and bring empathy to your interactions with clients and colleagues.You’re a veterinarian with experience or strong interest in emergency and critical care medicine. You’re confident managing acute cases, collaborative with specialists, and grounded in empathy for both clients and colleagues.

You might be:

• A seasoned ER doctor seeking a hospital that values excellent medicine, balance, and mutual respect.
• An early-career veterinarian eager to strengthen your emergency skills in a highly supportive, teaching-oriented environment.
• A veterinarian who enjoys complex cases and wants more direct collaboration with specialists.

For our Criticalist position, you are board-certified or residency-trained in Emergency and Critical Care and excited by the opportunity to practice high-level medicine while helping develop a growing critical care service.

Whatever your career stage, you bring curiosity, communication, sound clinical judgment, and a genuine love for medicine.

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About Sunstone Veterinary Specialists

Privately Owned | Purpose-Driven | Professionally Supportive

Sunstone is a 9,000 sq. ft. specialty and emergency hospital in Portland, Oregon, co-founded by Joshua Elliott, DVM, DACVIM and Marie Xavier, BFA, CVT, LVT—two long-standing members of the Portland veterinary community who are deeply invested in creating a sustainable, people-centered workplace.

Our redesigned mid-century modern facility features:

• Two dedicated surgery suites 
• Five procedure suites
• Spacious, light-filled treatment areas designed for collaboration
• Advanced diagnostic and monitoring equipment hand-picked by our clinicians

“The laughter and teamwork ‘chit chat’ echoing down the hallways of Sunstone always makes me smile.”
— Marie Xavier, Co-Founder & Hospital Administrator

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The Team You’ll Join

You will be joining the following highly experienced and ultra-collaborative team of 14 veterinarians, supported by 11 full-time licensed technicians, 17 veterinary assistants, and 10 referral coordinators.

Dr. Joshua M. Elliott (Davis, 2004), Dr. Regina Tobin (Cornell, 1994), Dr. Debra Klaser – McGarvey (Georgia, 2000), Dr. Staci Goussev (Cornell, 2009), Dr. Josh Sarrazin (Oregon, 2023), Dr. Taryn Pestalozzi(Oregon, 2013), Dr. Courtney Gallant (Atlantic (AVC), 2020), Dr. Olivia Wallace (Oregon, 2022), Dr. Logan Boyle (St. George's, 2020) Dr. Cristal Carey (Colorado, 2019), Dr. Ellen Morgan (Arizona, 2025), Dr. Anthony Cervantes (RDSVS, 2020), Dr. Dana Sheets-Nichols (Ross, 2026)

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Why Sunstone?

We believe medicine is best practiced in an environment where people are respected, supported, and inspired.

• Culture: Kind, grounded, collaborative, and drama-free.
• Collaboration: Specialists and ER doctors work hand in hand, not in silos.
• Independence: We are privately owned, allowing us to make decisions based on what is best for our patients, clients, and team rather than a corporate checklist. 
• Flexibility: As our hospital and emergency service evolve, we can adapt quickly to the needs of our clinicians and staff.
• Growth: You'll join an established specialty hospital with a growing emergency service and the opportunity to help influence what comes next.

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Compensation & Benefits

Compensation

• Competitive base salary plus production
• No negative accrual

Financial & Retirement

• Simple IRA with generous employer match
• Financial wellness programs

Insurance & Wellness

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Time Off

• Four weeks paid vacation
• Flexible scheduling designed to support sustainable emergency practice

Professional Development

• Generous CE allowance
• Professional development and mentorship opportunities
• License, PLIT, DEA, and association fees covered
• Teaching and leadership growth opportunities

Additional Perks

• Uniform allowance
• Staff discounts on veterinary services
• Modern specialty and emergency facility with advanced imaging and equipment

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Ready to Apply?

If you’re looking for a hospital where collaboration is real, medicine is prioritized, and kindness is non-negotiable, we’d love to meet you.

Come help us continue building an emergency and critical care service where excellent medicine and a healthy workplace can exist together.