Veterinary Technicians play an integral role in providing excellent care to our patients as well as serving as major communicators for our hospital. A caring and compassionate attitude is required of all members of our team.

Coordinating the team will require strong communication skills and the ability to explain policies, procedures and new information to employees in a method in which they can understand.  Monitoring the team to ensure it is working consistently to maximize productivity and make adjustments when necessary.

Responsibilities include but not limited to:

• Prepare for office hours by making sure the drawers in exam rooms and treatment area are well stocked, setting up syringes, and assuring that drugs and equipment are ready.
• Admit and discharge patients with the doctor’s orders, being especially careful to ensure those patients being discharged are well groomed and in a medically appropriate state.
• Assist the receptionist when necessary.
• Use initiative in carrying out recurring assignments.
• Maintain good attendance and punctually.
• Notate medical records clearly and accurately.
• Prioritize your time to finish projects in timely manner.
• Follow and enforce hospital protocol and policy.
• Take initiative, and be able to recognize a problem and try to solve it, recognize tasks and perform them without direction.
• Be personable; greet other co-workers and clients with an upbeat, positive tone and a smile. Maintain a positive, friendly attitude; convey warmth and caring.
• Offer appropriate information and guidance, in a pleasant manner, in order to improve patient care.
• Willingness to help others when needed, without making judgments or negative comments.
• Leave personal problems at home.
• Have good self-control under pressure. Maintain composure, and react in a positive manner to negative situations.
• Ability to accept negative feedback well; do not argue, blame others, or constantly find excuses for mistakes.
• Cooperate with the doctors; do not debate or undermine doctor’s decisions.
• Take care with animal handling, restraint, drug dosages, anesthetic dosing and monitoring, be able to operate and set up all equipment that is used daily as well as maintain and clean it.
• Always demonstrate humane treatment with compassion and concern for the well-being of the patients and provide diligent care.
• Try to anticipate doctor’s needs before they ask.
• Monitor & record vital signs on all patients.
• Able to anticipate doctors needs before they ask.
• Able to perform bandage/splint changes, staple/suture removal
• Able to perform ear flushes and pluckings, & pedicures for dogs and cats.
• Able to accurately perform exams, blood draws (jugular & back leg), cystocentesis, radiographs, SQ fluids, SQ/IM/IV injections, place IVC and set up & maintain IV fluids including fluid pump and calculate drip rates.
• Perform dewormings, record patient weights and temperatures, record observations on patient status such as nature and amount of vomitus, bowel movements, and urination
• Ensures that patient medical records are complete and orderly
• Contact owner post-surgery to give current status and give discharge time. Answer any questions as needed.
• Ensure proper cleaning of packs, autoclave and all surgical materials after they are used.
• Help the doctor with orders by assisting in medical or surgical procedures such as irrigating wounds, medication, cleansing wounds, bandaging.
• Help doctor administer anesthetics.
• Prepare patients for surgery.
• Monitor patients during surgery and recovery.
• Assist in surgery. Administer fluids. Perform support therapy to patients in surgery and post-op. Remove and ready next patient.
• Able to accurately perform skin scraping, ear cytology, PCV/TP, & urine specific gravity.
• Perform clinical laboratory procedures such as fungal & DTM cultures, and draw blood and urine for laboratory analysis.
• Prepare samples for shipment to laboratory and prepare laboratory forms.
• Perform other in-house tests such as parvo virus tests and immunoglobin transfer tests and feline leukemia virus tests.
• Maintain file of lab test results and ensure patient records have test results recorded in them.
• Able to accurately take chest, abdo, skull & extremities radiographs.
• Able to produce accurate quality rads with correct exposure and positioning.
• Able to troubleshoot poor quality films.
• Perform all radiographs, use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
• Enter and fill medications correctly in the computer and medical record according to the veterinarian’s direction.
• Able to prepare medications (both injections and dispensed medications) for both out patients and inpatients.
• Keep abreast of new products and of new pharmaceuticals.
• Answer client questions one-on-one on various aspects of animal care up to, but not including controversial items and/or those best left to the veterinarians.
• Pass on information/advice from the practitioners; explain dosage/purpose of medications; reinforce through discussion the proper care and procedures that should be followed at home.
• Call back/follow-up with clients concerning certain patients; recommend additional visit if patients progress does not appear satisfactory.
• Able to educate and communicate with clients about their pets.
• Helps clients quickly and cheerfully. Treats all clients with the utmost respect and care.
• Able to endear most clients to the practice through conversation and friendliness.
• Able to handle irate clients with relative ease and does not become rattled. Shows prowess and judgment in crisis.
• Be efficient, pleasant, courteous, polite, concerned and helpful to all clients under all conditions and at all times.
• Use appropriate interpersonal communication techniques when interacting with clients.
• Knowledge of the procedures used in the hospital  for receiving, treating, and scheduling patients, for ordering medical supplies, and requesting laboratory tests.
• Knowledge of the use, care, and storage of veterinary instruments, materials, and equipment.
• Knowledge of overall animal handling procedures.
• Knowledge of sterilization techniques to sterilize various instruments and materials.
• Knowledge of the instruments, materials, and standardized procedures used in the full variety of treatments to make preparations and provide effective assistance.
• Keep abreast of over-the-counter products and their usage such as flea control products and skin products like shampoos, dips, vitamins, dog food. Also understand usage and recommendations for such prescription drugs as heartworm preventative and prescription flea control products.
• Possess adequate knowledge of veterinary medicine, our practice policies and protocols.
• Keep the hospital as germ-free and infection-free as possible by keeping the medical area of the hospital a clean and sanitary place in which to work and practice veterinary medicine.
• Keep up with the daily cleaning, completes chores as assigned, cleans up after him/her, and takes personal responsibility for clinic appearance by reviewing the clean checklist to make sure all scheduled clean is completed daily including all surfaces and equipment in surgery, treatment, lab, radiology, & pharmacy.
• Ensure all Treatment rooms and medical equipment are cleaned and maintained properly.
• Display a positive and helpful attitude with other staff and with clients, even during stressful time periods.
• Support the goals of the practice; promote products and services that we utilize, help build the practice and learn and implement new policies.
• Adaptable and flexible with hospital needs during unexpected obstacles or crisis.
• Work cohesively with the management team toward common goals, appropriate patient care and fully support the hospital Mission Statement.
• Communicate in an efficient and respectful manner about client’s needs to doctors or other staff members.
• Handles paperwork efficiently.
• Set priorities, budget time well, and avoid unnecessary expenditure of time on nonproductive tasks.
• Keeps current in field by reading journals and participates in continuing education.
• Maintain medical equipment.