Veterinary Assistant - Emergency and Critical Care

Pet Emergency and Specialty East County; La Mesa (CA); On-site; USD 28,000 - 39,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical/Dental/Vision

Health savings account

Flexible spending account

Pet perks

401k

Continuing education

Scholarships

Job summary

Pet Emergency & Specialty Center La Mesa, part of Thrive Pet Healthcare, is hiring an Experienced Veterinary Assistant for Emergency and Critical Care in La Mesa, CA. This full-time role includes overnight/swing shifts, four ten-hour shifts per week, and one weekend day.

As a Veterinary Assistant, you’ll assist veterinarians, manage outpatient treatments, admissions and discharges, and help maintain medical records in a fast-paced hospital.

Qualifications

• Proficient in triage and emergency care.
• Highly skilled veterinary assistant with clinical experience.
• Proficient IV catheter placement, blood work and injections.
• Experience monitoring anesthesia and equipment.
• Strong team player with fast learning ability.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Able to multitask under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Support veterinarians to ensure quality care and client education.
• Assist in maximizing productivity and patient flow across hospital functions.
• Communicate treatment plans to clients and document health histories.
• Maintain medical records in practice systems with accuracy.
• Gather relevant history from clients and manage charts.
• Use safe restraining techniques and keep areas clean and sterile.
• Mentor and support fellow team members.

Skills

Triage proficiency

Veterinary assistant

IV catheter placement

Blood work

Anesthesia monitoring

Team player

Fast-paced environment

Communication skills

Multitasking under pressure

Job description

Description

We are offering an up to $1,500 Sign-On Bonus for Qualified Veterinary Assistants.

Experienced Veterinary Assistant – Emergency and Critical Care

La Mesa, CA

We are hiring two Full-Time Veterinary Assistants needed for the following shift:

*Overnights/Swing: Full-time 4, ten-hour shifts: Days TBD, Will include one weekend day.

At Pet Emergency & Specialty Center La Mesa, a Thrive Pet Healthcare partner, we take action to empower your best care for pets, their families, and yourself.

We are a community of400clinics forming an extraordinary network of unparalleled resources and people. Through outstanding learning and career options, comprehensive benefits, and abundant support, you’ll be nurtured and appreciated for who you are and what you bring to the table. We come together in both the joys and heartaches of our profession to lift each other up through laughter and empathy.

And, we have plenty of fun along the way!

Who We Are

At Pet Emergency & Specialty Center, our team is dedicated to providing quality care to our patients and elevating our client experience.

We have several different specialists including Critical Care, Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Avian and Exotics. Collaboratively we strive to provide the highest level of care, education, and understanding to our clients, their pets, and our referring veterinarians.

What We Are Looking For

Pet Emergency & Specialty Center is looking for an experienced veterinary assistant to join our Emergency and Critical Care Team.

As a Veterinary Assistant, you will play an important role in pets’ lives by providing care for our patients in need. Your life-changing work will range from the hands‑on care of facilitating outpatient treatments and performing diagnostics, to support services including admitting for hospitalized treatments and discharging patients.

Role Responsibilities:

• Support veterinarians to ensure quality veterinary care, advocate for pets, and educate clients.
• With each hospital function, assist veterinarians and the medical team to maximize productivity and maintain positive patient flow.
• Communicate with clients about individualized pet health concerns and treatment plans
• Assist in maintaining relevant, comprehensive medical records with the support of practice systems.
• Obtain relevant health history and information from clients and maintain medical charts.
• Use safe restraining techniques, follow standard protocols, and sustain clean, sterile, organized treatment areas, exam rooms, and labs.
• Be willing to guide, mentor, and support fellow team members.

Experience & Skills Requirements:

• Proficient in Triage
• Highly Skilled Veterinary Assistant
• Proficient in IV catheters placement, blood work, and IV, IM and SQ injections
• Proficient in monitoring anesthesia and working with various monitoring equipment
• Team player
• Eager to learn and is self‑motivated
• Enjoys a challenging and fast‑paced environment
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to multi‑task under pressure

You’ll GrowWithUs

Here, you can grow your career as best fits you through access to comprehensive learning and skillset programs. You can build your skills and earn credentials through:

• Ourvast, diverse, and free library of continuing education courses -ThriveU
• Live, virtual interactiveworkshops to develop valuable leadershipskills
• A program todesigned to teach youthe fundamentals ofrunning apethospital
• Earn your AVMA-CVTEA Accreditation and become a Vet Tech through our fully accredited distance learning program for veterinarytechnicians
• Scholarshipopportunities andtuition reimbursement

And, with so many locationsnationwide,you can find and move into any specialty, hospital type, or environment. Join us and provide your best care at a clinic that is deeply rooted within its community and bolstered by the resources of Thrive Pet Healthcare.

Benefits – our care in action

We provide benefits spread comprehensively across your mental, physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing designed to meet your needs as a unique individual. Some key benefits include:

• Paidtime offincluding 8-weeks of full-pay parental leave, bereavement to grieve both humans and pets, andtime offfor new petadoptions
• Top quality medical, dental, and vision insuranceplushealth savings account and flexible spending account
• Pet perksincluding free exams, discounts on products and services up to 75 percent off, and more at all Thrive Pet Healthcare locations
• Milestone Award Program generous bonus received for dedication to company at 3,5,10 year
• Generously subsidizedbackup and ongoing care supportfor children, adults, and pets
• Mental health benefitsincluding coaching and therapysessions
• 401k with employer contributionand no waiting period
• Continuing education anddevelopment supportthroughour libraryoffree CE coursesand paid time off tocomplete
• Scholarship opportunitiesandstudent loan supportprogram

and so much more!

Compensation negotiable based on credentials and experience with a hourly pay rate starting at $20-$28/hour. The actual rate offered will carefully consider a wide range of factors, including your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.

4 Day Work Week (10 hour shifts). Will include 1 weekend day.

At Thrive Pet Healthcare, we celebrate and embrace the uniqueness and diversity of all of our team members, pet parents, and pets. We strive to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture where all team members belong and feel empowered.