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DC Animal Services

Vet Tech

Locations

Duties & responsibilities

Animal Health Center 

  • Monitor the health of shelter animals. 

  • Triage cases according to medical need. 

  • 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. 

  • Operate an autoclave. 

  • 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

DC Animal Services

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