Veterinary Technician

APA; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading nonprofit organization in animal welfare is seeking a passionate Veterinary Technician to join their medical clinic team. The role involves providing critical care to animals, assisting in surgeries, and ensuring a high standard of care. Ideal candidates will have strong animal handling skills and a commitment to the organization's no-kill mission. This full-time position offers a dynamic work environment and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

Subsidized medical coverage

401(K) retirement plan with up to 2% match

10 paid holidays

10 days paid time off

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Preferred 6 months of experience as a veterinary technician.
• Proficiency in standard veterinary technician skills.
• Ability to perform precise drug calculations.

Responsibilities

• Provide hands-on care and treatment to over 10,000 animals annually.
• Assist in high volume spay/neuter surgery.
• Communicate effectively with fosters and adopters.

Skills

Compassion

Customer Service

Animal Handling

Communication

Education

Veterinary Technician Certification

Tools

ShelterLuv

Google Suite

Job description

APA! BACKGROUND
Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and best-loved nonprofits. The organization is the leader in the no kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a no-kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by the scrappiness of its grassroots, non-traditional community-based animal rescue work.

The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and teaches its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, AmPA! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) project, a collaborative movement of more than 10,000 animal welfare professionals working in nearly 1,900 organizations. HASS is the first-of-its-kind collective of shelters and animal welfare professionals coming together to build community-focused animal services that better meet the needs of people and pets by keeping human-animal families together and keeping pets unnecessarily out of shelters.

The APA! Medical Clinic works on the cutting edge of shelter medicine, treating the most critical and vulnerable animals that other shelters and even some private clinics don't have the resources to help. This makes APA! the ideal learning environment for anyone interested in expanding their knowledge of veterinary medicine and no-kill animal sheltering, with the added benefit of knowing you are helping homeless animals from all over Texas and the United States.

POSITION SUMMARY/OVERVIEW
Our technicians rotate through different roles in the clinic including Wellness Technician, Emergency Technician, Hospital/Onsite Technician, and Prescription Technician. Once trained, our techs also assist in high volume spay/neuter surgery; including Recovery of patients, Gopher tech role, and ultimately Surgery Technician. Our veterinary technicians are crucial to the success of our lifesaving programs, providing hands-on care and treatment to the 10,000+ animals who come through our doors every year. The ideal candidate is passionate about creating the best experience for the public, adopters, and volunteers who visit APA!, all while making a difference for Austin’s most vulnerable pets. This is a full-time, nonexempt position and reports to the Medical Clinic Manager on duty or another individual designated by APA!.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
This position reports to the Medical Clinic Management team, specifically their Clinic Team Manager. This position will work closely with fosters, adopters, other clinic staff and APA! veterinary staff. This position also requires regular communication with all other teams in the organization to provide quality patient care.

DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
(Work assignments vary and will be communicated to the applicant or incumbent by the supervisor)

Level 0.5: Veterinary Technician in Training (Typical proficiencies expected in order to move up to Level 1)

• Complete hospitalized treatment, from beginning to end, at any complexity level
• Manage wellness appointment schedule efficiently and on time
• Follow technician protocols independently
• Understand x-ray positioning and terminology
• Use med chart proficiently
• Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

Level 1 (Typical work functions expected of Veterinary Technicians designated as Level 1)
General

• Able to train for all non-surgical roles: Wellness, Emergency, Hospital/Onsite and Prescription Technician (see below); learning the positions’ duties quickly and willing to take on solo shifts within 30 days of commencing the role
• Ability to complete everything on the veterinary technician training checklist within 6 months of commencing the role, with surgical duties as an exception
• Treats animals with the highest level of compassion and consideration at all times.
• Works professionally with all staff, volunteers, and visitors
• Arrives to work on time and ready to work for all shifts and stays for the duration of all shifts to support other tasks if needed and unless otherwise scheduled.
• Based on APA Medical Protocols, elevates medical concerns to Clinic Managers, Veterinarians, and Medical Directors
• Administers medications as indicated in APA! Medical Protocols as prescribed and within the required timeframes
• Perform and read PCV/TP/BG
• Start learning microscopy: fecals, skin scrapes
• Diff Quick Staining
• Administer insulin to diabetic cats
• Able to identify common illnesses, injuries, and general health concerns, and respond and treat according to APA Medical Protocols
• Learn, understand, and calculate the uses of all medications in the APA! Medical Dose Chart
• Able to administer SQ and IM injections.
• Administer vaccines and maintain the associated data and records. Rabies vaccinations are administered with Veterinarian approval.
• Perform blacklight exams for ringworm.
• Concurrently document all vaccinations, preventatives, medications administered, and/or any diagnostic tests completed for a specific cat and the results in the electronic medical record and in a timely manner
• Basic APA! software knowledge - ShelterLuv, Waitwhile and Google Suite
• Records thorough and accurate patient histories and elevates information to veterinarians as outlined in APA! Medical protocols.
• Able to perform radiographs on patients with assistance
• Learn and understand X-ray positions
• Vaccinate animals and administer necessary treatment (oral, SQ, IM, IV etc) in accordance with protocols and/or directions received from veterinarian
• Monitors animal behavior and eating patterns
• Cleans and sanitizes cages, kennels, equipment, and treatment areas to maintain the sanitary conditions of the APA! Medical clinic
• Ability to run appointments with some assistance needed
• Assists in euthanasia appointments and appropriately stores and labels deceased animals
• Identify, triage and respond to emergency situations with assistance
• Assist colleagues in other clinic positions as outlined by management and as scheduled in Paycor
• Appropriately and effectively restrains and handles animals for exams and treatments
• Answers questions and provides information to the public and fosters/adopters on APA! policies and procedures
• Assists in maintaining accountability of scheduled drugs
• Maintain a safe, clean, and sanitary work environment
• Provide excellent customer service to all clients

Wellness Technician: This position is responsible for providing wellness services (vaccines, preventatives, intakes, HW injections etc) to scheduled appointments in the APA! medical clinic.

• Provide quality and timely wellness-related medical care for scheduled medical clinic clients
• Follow vet-approved protocols for diagnostics and treatment of routine medical concerns
• Seek manager or vet involvement for all non-routine or chronic patients
• Provide fosters and adopters with clear communication and information regarding the animals in their care
• Prepare for daily appointments in advance, including reviewing medical history for each patient
• Maintain updated animal records through immediate data entry during and after each appointment
• Assist other team members when there is down time

Emergency Technician: This position is responsible for assisting the veterinarian with emergency and urgent appointments in the APA! medical clinic.

• With veterinarian, provide quality and time-efficient medical care for offsite, emergency and urgent medical clinic clients
• Triage and react accordingly to urgent, critical, and contagious animals
• Follow veterinarian instructions or approved protocols for diagnostics and treatment of medical concerns
• Provide fosters, adopters, and animal program staff with clear communication and information regarding the animals in their care, including relevant APA! handouts when applicable at patient discharge
• Prepare for daily appointments in advance when applicable, including reviewing medical history for each patient
• Maintain updated animal records through immediate data entry during and after each appointment

Hospitalized/Onsite Technician: This position is responsible for the treatment and care to all hospitalized animals under the care of the APA! medical clinic.

• Provide scheduled treatments to all hospitalized animals
• Request and administer all assigned medications appropriately and within acceptable time frames, as directed by clinic protocols and the veterinary staff
• Maintain proper care of all hospitalized animals, including identifying, monitoring, and documenting illness symptoms and changes
• Work with receptionists and clinic managers to coordinate intake and care for all incoming animals needing hospitalization
• Triage and react accordingly to urgent, critical, and contagious animals
• Report declining hospitalized patients and urgent needs to veterinary staff immediately
• Work closely with onsite care teams to identify animals that need medical triage
• Triage requests for all onsite animals at the start of the day.
• Round with cat team & dog teams to address medical concerns
• Responsible for any appointments scheduled under the onsite column in our scheduler
• Ensure hand-off of hospitalized patients to other teams is effective and they go with their medications/treatments

Prescription Technician: This position is responsible for filling all prescriptions in a timely manner for the APA! medical clinic.

• Efficiently and accurately fill all approved medical prescriptions for the APA! medical clinic in a timely manner
• Learn dosages for commonly used medications and calculate doses based on weight, dose and medication concentration
• Review medical records as needed to ensure all requested prescriptions are accurate and appropriate for the specific animal
• Follow veterinarian-approved protocols and written medical instructions regarding medication use
• Communicate with animal caregivers regarding prescriptions, as needed
• Maintain updated animal records through immediate data entry
• Make sure at-home-parvo packs are filled and handed off in a timely manner

Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

Level 2 (Typical work functions expected of Veterinary Technician designated as Level 2)
General

• All duties and responsibilities identified in Level 1
• Ability to perform all skills from the clinic Veterinary Technician training checklist without assistance
• Performs animal triage and treatment with limited assistance
• Proficient with blood draws, catheter placement, and all forms of injection
• Microscopy: fecals, skin scraping, cytology
• Able to read glucose curves.
• Calculates out dosages for all medications with no assistance
• Able to assist in surgery; including Recovery of patients and Gopher role duties
• Ability to perform radiographs on patients with minimal assistance needed
• Knowledgeable on all medication and treatment protocols and can perform independently
• Confident in talking to and independently relaying health information to fosters, adopters, and members of the public
• Ability to be on call as needed with limited veterinarian assistance
• Confidently handles emergency situations following protocols and with veterinary direction
• Performs daily health checks on hospitalized animals and animals of concern, identifying
• Documents pertinent animal health information and able to communicate medical history with fosters and adopters with limited vet assistance
• Trains Level 1 employees on Level 1 tasks

Recovery Technician: This position is responsible for the recovery of all animals from spay/neuter surgery.

• Assisting with check in, recording each animal's weight and health status. Setting up animals in an appropriate kennel and labeling the surgery sheets
• Giving each patient, especially small or young, a small amount of food before surgery
• Prepping recovery in the morning, making sure all your equipment is ready and getting vaccines and rabies certificates ready BEFORE surgery starts.
• Cleaning kennels throughout the day as needed
• Ability to preparing all post-surgery meds as calculated by the surgery tech
• During surgery, the recovery tech will recover each animal, administer any medications, vaccines or treatments that are required and then return it to its kennel once alert enough to hold their head up independently.
• Communicating with caretakers during discharge
• Cleaning recovery area

Gopher Technician: This position functions as the “Operations Manager” of the surgery day. The main responsibilities are restraining animals for surgery and washing/packing surgical kits.

• Checking in surgery animals in the morning over the phone
• Prepping surgery in the morning: helping surgery tech draw up meds if requested, making surgical scrub, setting up gopher station, putting any un-sterilized packs in the autoclave.
• During surgery gopher will get each animal in turn, restrain for injection and hold for intubation. After surgery they will carry the animal down to the recovery tech
• Keeping on top of sterile packs is crucial. Packs should be remade throughout the day so instruments are consistently available for the surgeries. All packs should be cleaned and sterilized by the end of the shift
• Assisting with cleaning surgery suite
• Able to anticipate what Surgery Tech, Recovery Tech, and Vet needs without much prompting

Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

Level 3 (Typical work functions expected of Veterinary Technicians designated as Level 3)

• All duties and responsibilities identified in Level 1 and 2
• Assists the veterinarian in all clinical procedures including full surgery days
• Operates anesthesia equipment and performs anesthesia on various species and breeds of animals;
• Comfortability with handling animals with varied behavior levels
• Ability to run special surgeries solo with a veterinarian
• Learn or able to do dental prophylaxis on both cats and dogs
• Takes lead on emergency situations with little to no veterinary direction
• Maintains accountability of DEA controlled pharmaceuticals
• Applies bandages and/or places splints on injured animals
• Assists in monitoring all inventory and alerts management to low stock or needed items
• Trains Level 1 and 2 employees on Level 1 and 2 tasks
• Serves as Lead Veterinary Technician and keeps track of training progress for all trainee
• Confidently handles client complaints and identifies when to alert clinic management

Job duties may include some or all of the above, and other duties as assigned by manager

OTHER FUNCTIONS

• Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
• Maintain open and consistent communication with clinic manager, supervisors and other colleagues
• Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
• Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
• Able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Preferred 6 months of experience working as a veterinary technician or surgery experience, preferably in a customer-facing role, but not required
• Proficiency in standard veterinary technician skills, including but not limited to proper handling and restraint techniques, blood draws and diagnostics, skin scrapes, TPR, SQ/IM/IV injections, and catheter placement
• Must possess moderate to expert veterinary pharmacy knowledge
• Must have basic knowledge of common dog and cat illnesses, injuries, conditions, and diagnostics and run basic medical tests
• Ability to do precise drug calculations and create accurate prescription labels
• Must be able to transcribe veterinarian notes
• Ability to work independently in a busy and dynamic environment
• Current Valid Driver’s License desired for occasional transport needs
• Must embody APA!'s Core Values of Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion
• Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
• Willing and committed to working well with volunteers and staff in all roles

EXPECTATIONS

• Must embody APA!'s core values of innovation, respect, drive, resourcefulness, and inclusion
• Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
• Commitment to APA!’s no kill mission and care philosophies
• Willing and committed to working well with volunteers and staff in all roles Leadership identifies and puts forth.

PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Must be able to routinely lift 40-50 pounds
• Must be able to work around animals (including diseased, injured, and/or potentially aggressive animals), loud noises, unpleasant smells, chlorine or other chemicals, indoors, and outdoors in all weather
• Must be able to comfortably interact with cats/dogs of various health levels, including those who may carry zoonotic diseases such as ringworm, scabies, intestinal parasites, etc.
• Must be able to work in a medical clinic environment and be witness to a variety of animal medical conditions and procedures
• Able to be on your feet for multiple hours of the day
• Must be able to visually observe people and animals from up to 150 feet away
• Ability to hear normal speech at close contact and shouting up to 150 feet away with the ability to hear and discern dog vocalizations both soft and loud
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to pass all required dog handling training required for this position
• Must be able to focus in a loud and busy environment despite distractions
• Must be able to walk around shelter as needed - uneven ground, keeping a safe distance from dogs and handlers
• If reasonable accommodations are requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job absent undue hardship to the organization.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Work is normally performed inside the APA! Medical Clinic; some outside work is required
• Exposure to unpleasant odors and noises.
• Exposure to bites, scratches and animal waste
• Possible exposure to contagious diseases
• Rapid pace with exposure to potential hazards including animal waste, disinfectants, and high levels of noise
• Must be comfortable witnessing veterinary surgical procedures
• Uses own transportation to travel and transport
• Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs

TIME COMMITMENT

• This is a full-time, nonexempt position with an average of 40 hours per week.
• Shift and schedule flexibility is required, as weekly schedule is subject to change
• Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed

LOCATION(S)

• APA! Main - Town Lake Animal Center 1156 West Cesar Chavez Austin, TX 78703
• Occasional travel to offsite locations may be required

BENEFITS
Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage, subsidized and voluntary life insurance, voluntary dental, vision and short-term disability options, all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, supplemental benefits, flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment, with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life saving work.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENTAustin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color, LGBTQ people, women, transgender and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities to apply.

Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, community focus, and innovation.

APA! is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation, please contact Talent Acquisition at [e-mail] at least one week in advance of your interview.