Veterinary Technician

Brandywine Valley SPCA; Washington, Malvern (District of Columbia, Chester County); On-site; USD 40,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

Brandywine Valley SPCA in Washington, DC seeks a licensed Veterinary Technician to support shelter medicine and clinical care. You will perform vaccines, anesthesia monitoring, injections, venipuncture, lab tests, record-keeping in PetPoint, and assist doctors and technicians under supervision.

This role emphasizes safety, humane animal handling, and teamwork in a shelter/hospital setting. Applicants must hold Veterinary Technician Licensure, demonstrate proficiency with veterinary software, and

Qualifications

• Licensed Veterinary Technician with regulatory credentials.
• Experience with shelter or clinical animal care.
• Ability to perform vaccines, injections, venipuncture, and basic diagnostics.

Responsibilities

• Administer vaccines and preventative treatments as directed.
• Assist in spay/neuter surgery; monitor anesthesia.
• Perform injections and administer medications as directed.
• Assist doctors and technicians in medical procedures.
• Maintain patient records in PetPoint and input test results.

Skills

Humane animal handling

Animal care

Communication of medical information

Self-motivated

Education

Veterinary Technician Licensure

Tools

Veterinary software

Job description

• Administer vaccines and other preventative medical treatments as outlined by medical.
• Prepare patients for spay/neuter surgery, assist in surgery, and monitor anesthesia under the direction of the veterinarian.
• Perform intramuscular and subcutaneous injections.
• Assist doctors and other technicians in performing medical procedures.
• Administer medications to animals as directed by staff veterinarians.
• Perform venipuncture, laboratory tests, IV catheter placement, and drug and fluid calculations as ordered by the veterinary staff.
• Clean and pack surgical instruments.
• Comply with all laws pertaining to controlled substances
• Understand standard veterinary terminology, medical math, procedures and animal health issues.
• Facilitate good working relationships through teamwork and collaboration.

Shelter Medicine

• Perform medical intake physical examinations.
• Perform and interpret basic diagnostic tests such as, but not limited to, fecal floatation, skin scrapes, heartworm test, FeLV/FIV tests, etc.
• Able to interpret treatment sheets and administer treatment to patients (PO, topically, otic, ocular) under the direction of a veterinarian.
• Operate x-ray, proper patient positioning.
• Follow veterinary care protocols for animals in the BVSPCA – including medical, behavior and general care protocols for the health and well-being of the animals; individually and as a herd.
• Participate in medical rounds as directed by the managment.
• Keeps up to date in veterinary medicine with regular continuing education.

Administrative Duties

• Maintain and create patient records by accurately recording treatments, examinations and test results on PetPoint software.
• Assist with keeping inventory and ordering supplies.

Client and Community Service

• Admit and release animals from BVSPCA in a responsive, courteous and tactful manner to both internal and external clients.
• Inform clients of any pertinent medical information regarding animal care; communicate release instructions.
• Practice and encourage the humane treatment of animals.
• Provide quality customer service to clients, volunteers, and staff while actively promoting our mission, services, programs, and events.
• Promote donation and giving opportunities as appropriate.

Diversity and Inclusiveness

• Work effectively with individuals and colleagues from diverse communities and cultures.

Safety

• Ensure a safe work environment; following all safety guidelines and modeling safe work practice.
• Take immediate action to address any safety concerns that could put a staff member, volunteer, client, animal, or the organization at risk.
• Maintain a clean, healthy, and sanitary work area; follow all pest and rodent control protocols.

Qualifications

• Veterinary Technician Licensure.
• Commitment to the mission, values, goals, and success of the BVSPCA.
• Experience with humane animal handling and restraint techniques of healthy, ill and feral animals.
• Experience in caring for and handling animals in a safe, effective and humane manner, especially larger and possibly untrained pets.
• Comfortable working in the shelter environment and willing to accommodate animals in the work place.
• Computer literate and able to master veterinary software as applicable to clinic operations.
• Knowledge of basic dog and cat physiology, anatomy and behavior as it relates to understanding the general health of animals.
• Ability to understand and communicate pertinent medical information with colleagues and clients.
• Self-motivated and able to initiate and complete tasks.

Working Conditions

• Work is performed in a shelter/animal hospital setting.
• Frequent bending, reaching, kneeling, and climbing stairs while seeing patients.
• Regular sitting at a computer workstation 2-4 hours per day to input patient data.
• Exposure to disinfectant solutions when in kennel & treatment areas.
• Subject to animal bites and scratches while handling animals.
• Repeated lifting and carrying of animals weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Consistent exposure to animals and animal allergens under conditions with limited alternatives available.

BVSPCA is now elevating animal services for the nation's capital

Visitors understand and accept the inherent risk of interacting with shelter animals, whose behavior may be unpredictable. This includes, but is not limited to, scratches, bites or falls. Visitors to our properties and events agree to hold Brandywine Valley SPCA, Humane Society of Harrisburg Area and Animal Adoption Center harmless from any liability or expenses that may arise should something occur.