Employment and Volunteer Opportunities

Veterinary Technician

Reports to: Clinic Manager
Reports To: Clinic Manager
Status: Part Time, 6 days a month
Salary: $125/day
Date: June 7, 2011
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Job Summary: Work with the Clinic Manager and Assistant Clinic Manager along with a very dedicated group of special volunteers. Pet Allies Spay/Neuter Clinic is a mission driven and passionate high quality, high volume spay/neuter clinic dedicated to stop pet overpopulation. Be a team player with best practices medicine and help make a difference for the pets in our community. It will be the hardest job you will ever love and you can't be afraid to get poop under your fingernails! If you're looking for easy work, don't apply. We work hard, all day, and love what we do as a close-knit team of dedicated professionals. Are you willing to lend your skills to the mission?

Job Responsibilities:

1. Prepare for intake (Set up BAG, syringes, thermometer, stethoscope)
2. Intake dogs, ask appropriate questions concerning health, take to back take TPR, assist Dr. examining. Cage card and head tag on cage.
3. In-Patient Medical Care- give medications, assist or perform treatments, diagnostics & monitoring, place IV catheters, draw blood, run lab tests, administer IV fluids
4. Anesthesia induction, maintenance, monitoring, & recovery of patients, clean / maintain anesthesia equipment.
5. Surgery- Surgical prep, doctor assistance, clean, sterilize, and maintain all surgical instruments and OR equipment
6. Laboratory duties- collecting, preparing, & running or submitting samples for requested tests; reading and recording results when indicated (fecals, Urines, Ear cytology etc) when requested by doctor.
7. Surgery Forms- are to be filled out completely. All services given to the patient should be highlighted, in order to be properly charged.
8. Client communication- give patient updates, discharge instructions, and follow up for certain hospital patients.
9. Client medical demonstrations / education
10. Clinic technician- assisting doctor with outpatient appointments, preparing, restocking, cleaning exam room, check patients in and out, take history and vitals, input date into patient medical record, ensure a smooth and timely flow of outpatient appointments from the check-in to the discharge
11. Assist in training and mentoring volunteer members
12. Preparing prescriptions, dispensed medications & medication refills
13. Physically be able to lift 50 lbs.
14. Must be open to Continuing Education courses.
15. Responsible for cleaning and preparing your area for next day clinic.

Client Education

1. Must be able to learn basic veterinary medical concepts including but not limited to vaccine protocols and anesthetic risks
2. Must also be able to communicate basic veterinary concepts to owners and be able to repeat information relayed by a veterinarian
3. Will be asked to take medical histories for surgical rechecks
4. Will be asked to communicate with the public on a daily basis in a professional manner

Animal Handling

1. Will be asked to handle (on average) 40 dogs and cats per day
2. Must be able to learn characteristics of animal behavior (for example: be able to identify aggressive or fearful behavior)
3. Must be able to use appropriate safety equipment for fractious or feral animals (will train) - the use of safety equipment is mandatory
4. Must possess excellent reflexes
5. Should be able to identify own limitations and be willing to ask for help
6. Must become proficient at animal restraint for various procedures

Physical Requirements

1. Must be able to work standing or sitting for 8 or more hours
2. Must be able to lift and carry up to 50 pounds repeatedly throughout the day with help
3. Must be able to bend and kneel repeatedly
4. Must be able to see fine detail in a variety of situations
5. Must have good hearing including ability to distinguish changes in pitch
6. Must have reasonable degree of agility to move through tightly cramped areas in various situations
7. Must have acceptable sense of touch and smell
8. Must have good range of motion in joints especially wrist, knees, elbows
9. Must have good range of motion in your back for instance twisting
10. Must be able to work in potentially extreme environmental temperatures
11. Must have acceptable sense of balance
12. Must be able to work and reach on hands and knees
13. Must be able to use a ladder and or step stool
14. Must possess excellent hand-eye coordination
15. May be asked to move large oxygen tanks
16. Must possess an acceptable degree of dexterity in hands and fingers
17. Must have good vision including peripheral vision, fine detail, distance, depth perception and ability to focus

Emotional/Mental Requirements

1. Must be able to work under stressful conditions and work efficiently and effectively under those conditions
2. Must be able to respond quickly to a variety of medical situations (with training)
3. Must be able to cope with death either due to surgical complication or euthanasia
4. Ability to rapidly and accurately process information
5. Ability to delegate tasks
6. Ability to recognize a need for assistance and ask for help
7. Ability to control instinct (for example: while restraining it is most often required to tighten grip and NOT release the animal when they begin to struggle)
8. Ability to make decisions
9. Ability to cope with frustrating situations and remain calm

Potential and Prolonged Exposures

1. Prolonged exposure to various aqueous solutions including but not limited to dish soap, chlorhexidine and bleach
2. Prolonged exposure to isopropanol, hydrogen peroxide
3. Potential exposure to formalin solution
4. Potential/Prolonged exposure to isoflurane gas
5. Prolonged exposure to quartenary ammonium cleaners and bleach
6. Prolonged exposure to pressurized steam
7. Potential exposure to sharps including needles and surgical blades

To apply for this position:
Send a resume and cover letter detailing how your experience, skills and abilities make it a good fit for you electronically to CM@PetAlliesAZ.org. We will be accepting application materials until 4:00pm May 31, 2011. If you have additional questions you can either e-mail CM@PetAlliesAZ.org or call Jan at (928) 532-1602.