Veterinary Technician - Emergecny

Vicar Operating, Inc. dba VCA; United States; On-site; USD 37,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Paid vacation/sick days

401(k)

Generous employee pet discounts

More

Job summary

VCA Emergency Animal Hospital & Referral Center in San Diego, CA is seeking an Emergency Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) to join our Emergency Team in the Receiving Department. This is a 24‑hour emergency and specialty referral hospital with a brand‑new facility opened in July 2025.

We offer full‑time hours on 4/10 shifts (4:00 PM–2:30 AM) with a salary of $26.50–$35.00 per hour plus shift differentials; compensation is negotiable based on education, experience and credentials.

Responsibilities

• Strong critical thinking skills
• Client communication: obtain histories, present treatment plans, review discharge instructions and medications, and provide client education on more complex disease processes treated by Internal Medicine.
• Strong patient restraint and handling skills
• Experience with recumbent, non‑ambulatory patients is preferred
• Monitor and perform treatments for patients requiring intensive management, recognize significant changes in the patient’s condition, and notify the Doctor
• Experience in monitoring patients under anesthesia
• Strong anesthetic skills with critical patients
• Experience with a surgical ventilator
• Run in‑house lab samples and handle submissions to outside laboratories
• Venipuncture and IV catheter placement
• Experience with specialized equipment care and use, and a willingness to learn new skills
• Experience with MRI Studies is a plus
• Assist the Doctor with ongoing dynamics of a specific case, including call‑backs, prescription handling, medical records, etc.
• Strong communication skills

Skills

Critical thinking

Client communication

Patient restraint

Recumbent patient handling

Intensive patient monitoring

Anesthesia monitoring

Anesthetic management

Surgical ventilator use

In-house labs

Venipuncture & IV placement

MRI knowledge

Case management & documentation

Tools

MRI

Job description

VCA Emergency Animal Hospital & Referral Center is looking for an Emergency Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) to join our Emergency Team in the Receiving Department. Location: 7675 Mission Valley Rd, San Diego, CA 92108. VCA Emergency Animal Hospital & Referral Center is a 24-hour emergency and specialty referral hospital located in the heart of beautiful San Diego, California. As part of our continued growth and the recent opening of our brand-new, state-of-the‑art facility in July 2025, we are seeking a dedicated and skilled Veterinary Technician to join our Emergency team. Our hospital supports a wide range of advanced diagnostics and treatments, and we pride ourselves on offering compassionate, high-quality care to our patients and clients.

Schedule & Compensation

Schedule: Full‑time 4/10 hour shifts, 4 pm - 2:30 am.

Salary: $ 26.50 - $ 35 / hour, shift differentials for shifts below $2.50/hour for hours worked between 7:00 PM and 12:00 AM $5.50/hour for hours worked between 12:00 AM and 6:00 AM Compensation is negotiable based on education, experience, and other relevant credentials.

Responsibilities & Skills

• Strong critical thinking skills
• Client communication skills are a must: technicians obtain histories, present treatment plans, review discharge instructions and medications, and provide client education on more complex disease processes treated by Internal Medicine.
• Strong patient restraint and handling skills.
• Experience with recumbent, non‑ambulatory patients is preferred.
• Monitor and perform treatments for patients requiring intensive management, recognize significant changes in the patient’s condition, and notify the Doctor.
• Experience in monitoring patients under anesthesia.
• Strong anesthetic skills with critical patients.
• Experience with a surgical ventilator.
• Run in‑house lab samples and handle submissions to outside laboratories.
• Experienced with venipuncture and IV catheter placement
• Experience with specialized equipment care and use, and a willingness to learn new skills.
• Experience with MRI Studies is a plus!
• Assist the Doctor with ongoing dynamics of a specific case, including call‑backs, prescription handling, medical records, etc.
• Strong communication skills.

Benefits

We offer competitive compensation along with a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision and paid vacation/sick days, 401(k), generous employee pet discounts and more!

• Medical
• Dental
• Vision
• Paid vacation/sick days
• 401(k)
• Generous employee pet discounts
• More

Equal Employment Opportunity

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer - Veterans / Disabled. For a complete EEO statement, please see our career page at vcacareers.com.

The information in this position description indicates the general nature and level of work to be performed. It is not designed to be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of associates assigned to this job. Management reserves the right to revise the job description or require that other tasks be performed when the circumstances of the job change (for example, emergencies, change in personnel, workload, or technical development).

A leader in veterinary care, VCA Animal Hospitals is committed to taking care of the future of veterinary medicine. We are a family of hometown animal hospitals determined to positively impact pets, people and our communities. From primary care to emergency, urgent and specialty care, VCA delivers world‑class medicine and hometown care to more than four million pets each year. We invest in cutting‑edge tools, training and technology that enable Associates across our national network of hospitals to lead the industry today and into tomorrow. Among our talented 35,000 Associates are nearly 7,000 veterinarians – including 500 who are board‑certified specialists – nearly 4,000 credentialed technicians and over 10,000 veterinary assistants – all dedicated to giving pets the very best in medical care. The future of veterinary medicine is in our hands. Join us.