Veterinary Assistant

Petco; West Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 26,000 - 36,000; Full time

Job summary

Petco is looking for a Veterinary Assistant in West Des Moines, Iowa. This role involves providing excellent medical care to patients in a Vetco Total Care hospital and delivering exceptional customer service to pet owners. Key responsibilities include assisting in appointments, performing lab tests, and ensuring a clean hospital environment. Candidates should have at least 1 year of veterinary practice experience, excellent communication skills, and a compassionate demeanor. This position promotes teamwork and maintains high standards of patient care.

Qualifications

• Experience working in veterinary practice or relatable animal care experience preferred.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.
• Compassionate and sympathetic demeanor necessary.

Responsibilities

• Provide medical care to patients and excellent customer service.
• Assist doctors in appointments, surgeries and patient care.
• Maintain cleanliness of the hospital environment.

Skills

Veterinary Practice Experience

Patient Care

Communication Skills

Team Player

Education

1 year in veterinary practice or relatable animal care experience

Job description

Position Purpose

The purpose of this position inherently involves providing excellent medical care to our Vetco Total Care full-service hospital patients and phenomenal customer care to their owners. The Veterinary Assistant represents the mission and values to all clients. Our Veterinary Assistants set the tone for the technical and customer support in the hospital, and are responsible, like all team members, for fostering cohesion and motivation within the practice.

All hospital staff are responsible for performing their duties in a way that creates an environment in which the patient's needs always come first; every team member understands that they have the power to do what it takes to create an exceptional customer experience; contentious issues are dealt with and resolved as they occur when possible, or as soon as is possible; and exceptional teamwork and commitment to shared goals benefits the entire organization.

Essential Job Functions

The incumbent must be able to perform all the following duties and responsibilities with or without reasonable accommodation:

• Greet clients and patients arriving for appointments and escort them into an exam room, obtain weight and vital signs (temperature, pulse, respirations) and record the electronic medical record. Veterinary Assistants will collect thorough patient histories and document the patient visit in the EMRs.
• Assist doctors with appointments (routine and emergency), surgery, dentistry, and euthanasia, under supervision from the veterinarian credentialed veterinary technician, HOM and HLOD.
• Perform patient restraint, obtain and process laboratory samples, handle and dispense medications at the direction of the veterinarian and help maintain the electronic medical record.
• Schedule appointments, provide client education, relay test results to doctor and clients, and maintain and update client/patient records.
• Help prepare patients for surgical and dental procedures and assist doctor and/or veterinary technician in anesthetizing patients. Under supervision of the veterinarian and or veterinary technician, assistants will maintain patients safely under anesthesia while monitoring vital parameters, help monitor patients during recovery and prepare them for hospital discharge or transfer to an overnight care facility.
• Under supervision of the veterinarian and or veterinary technician, perform in-hospital treatments for sick patients including giving injectable and oral medications as well as intravenous fluid therapy; keep patients clean, watered, and fed (when indicated and directed by doctor), safely walk canine patients when necessary for elimination.
• Under direction of the HOM/HLOD, assist in the training of new staff members and general dissemination of knowledge as required.
• Keep hospital environment neat and clean; perform regular cleaning of environment based on necessity as well as based on a pre-determined maintenance schedule.

Other Duties and Responsibilities

• Perform additional duties as assigned
• Provide backup phone and front desk support as needed

Nature of Supervision

In all activities related to the care of individual patients, the incumbent will take direct supervision from the veterinarians as well as the Veterinary Technician. For purposes of overall supervision, the incumbent takes direction from the HOM/HLOD or from the supervising technician for the shift.

Planning and Problem Solving

Like all team members, the Veterinary Assistant plays a crucial role in ensuring that day-to-day operation of the hospital is efficient and provides an optimal experience for our patients and clients.

Impact

This position will impact the organization by contributing to the growth of productive practice while focusing on a high-quality standard of care. From an overall hospital organizational standpoint, this position is critical to ensuring that we have a cohesive, well-trained, and motivated technical team. The desired end-result is the creation of an optimal environment that ensures employee retention, patient well-being, and customer satisfaction.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position has no immediate supervisory duties.

Education / Experience

Preferred to have at least 1 year previous experience working in veterinary practice or sufficient relatable animal care experience to ensure excellent performance at the above-listed skills.

Must have excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Must be compassionate and sympathetic, and be able to maintain a professional attitude and demeanor during emotional and stressful situations.

Must have telephone and computer skills.

Must be a team player willing to learn new techniques and treatments, offer creative ideas, and accept change.

The majority of job duties are conducted in the Veterinary Hospital. Position requires bending, kneeling, lifting (up to 30 pounds, as necessary) and standing for long periods of time. A large amount of this partner's time will be spent in direct contact with clients and their pets.

Contacts

This position will regularly communicate with clients, veterinary specialists, and companies that provide products and/or services that the practice utilizes.

Benefits

For a more detailed overview of Petco Total Rewards, including health and financial benefits, 401K, incentives, and PTO, see https://careers.petco.com/us/en/key-benefits.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Petco Animal Supplies, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or any other protected classification.