Shelter Medicine Veterinary Technician

SAN FRANCISCO SPCA•San Francisco, CA

72d•$28 - $38•Onsite

About The Position

At the San Francisco SPCA, the practice of Shelter Medicine requires a unique blend of individual medicine and population management with a strong focus on behavioral wellness. Every day, the Veterinarians and Technicians on our Shelter Medicine Team dedicate themselves to maximizing our life saving capacity in San Francisco and beyond. We are looking for a highly skilled, innovative, compassionate, Veterinary Technician to join this remarkable team. The Shelter Medicine Veterinary Technician role provides excellent medical and surgical nursing care for the thousands of companion animals that enter the SF SPCA shelter and/or are served by the SF SPCA shelter medicine department each year. The Shelter Med vet tech works with shelter medicine veterinarians and other departments to ensure that each shelter animal meets adoption criteria and is ready to succeed in its forever home. We are seeking a licensed Registered Veterinary Technician or experienced Veterinary Assistant to fill this spot on the Shelter Medicine team.

Requirements

A minimum of 2 years experience working as a Veterinary Assistant, or 1 year as a Registered Veterinary Technician, in veterinary medicine including both medicine and anesthesia/surgery
A minimum of 1 year experience working in an animal shelter strongly preferred. Other experience working in veterinary medicine, animal science, agriculture, public health, laboratory animal research or similar field will be considered as well!
AA, AS or two years of post-secondary education preferred.
For Veterinary Assistants: Current Veterinary Assistant Controlled Substance Permit (VACSP) or ability to obtain one required
For RVTs: RVT in good standing

Nice To Haves

Experience in high volume spay/neuter surgery and/or dentistry a plus

Responsibilities

Provide high quality veterinary medical care including preventive care, diagnostic testing, routine treatments, and emergency care to shelter animals on both an individual and population basis
Nursing care will include, but is not limited to: IV catheter placement, calculation of appropriate drug doses and intravenous (IV) fluid rates, administration of IV fluids and medications by various routes, taking radiographs, collection of diagnostic samples, performance of in-house diagnostic tests, and application of bandages and splints as permitted by veterinary practice regulations
In collaboration with SM Director, SM Manager, SM veterinarians, and other SM staff, participate in/contribute to the monitoring and protection of the on-going health of the shelter population
Perform basic physical exams and recognize normal and abnormal parameters in a variety of canine and feline patients with familiarity of veterinary terminology and abbreviations
Recognize and respond appropriately to signs of animal pain and distress
Demonstrate an understanding of infectious disease in patients and infectious disease control
Humanely handle and care for animals, using low stress handling techniques and adhering to the 5 Freedoms
Accurately record all treatments, examinations, test results, procedures etc. on computerized patient charts and other medical records
Create, complete and interpret treatment sheets
Contribute to /participate in ongoing assessment and improvement of nursing care systems, processes, and documentation
Calculate, draw up, and administer pre-medication and anesthetic drugs as permitted by veterinary practice regulations
Prepare animals for spays, neuters, and other surgeries, including intubation, preparation of aseptic surgical site, positioning, and preparation of appropriate surgical supplies and equipment
Administer local and regional anesthetic blocks per protocol and/or as directed by surgeon
Correctly operate anesthesia machine and anesthetic circuits
Monitor vital signs & anesthetic depth for anesthetized patients from induction through recovery; maintain stable vital signs & appropriate planes of anesthesia
Manually ventilate patients when necessary
Concurrently monitor multiple patients in various stages of anesthesia and surgery
In collaboration with surgeon, recognize and respond appropriately to anesthetic and surgical complications and emergencies
Correctly operate and interpret output of anesthesia monitoring equipment
Help to maintain safe and efficient surgical flow that minimizes wait times for surgeons and anesthetized patients
Appropriately aseptically scrub and don surgical attire in order to assist surgeons with surgical procedures when required