Veterinarian, Adoption Center

ASPCA•New York, NY

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Adoption Center Veterinarian is a critical player on a high-performing staff and volunteer team at the ASPCA, working collaboratively to ensure all animals live good lives. Staff veterinarians focus on the health of individual animals and the entire shelter population, aiming to minimize length of stay (LOS) and utilize best practices to move animals quickly into safe homes. This role requires an experienced clinician in shelter medicine, comfortable with complex medical case management, and committed to animal welfare. The ideal candidate is organized, efficient, and thrives in a fast-paced, evolving environment, possessing strong communication, teamwork, and decision-making skills to provide high-quality medical care that addresses both medical and behavioral complexities. The Adoption Center provides shelter and adoption services for animal victims of cruelty and neglect, animals from Community Engagement, underage kittens and medically compromised strays, owner-surrendered animals, and transfers from shelter/rescue partners. The ASPCA is passionate about minimizing fear, anxiety, stress, and pain in patients, and team members are responsible for service and communication consistent with ASPCA standards and Fear Free® values. The staff veterinarian must be an excellent communicator and team player, skilled at guiding and coaching team members in providing quality medical care.

Requirements

Ability to successfully work efficiently and calmly in a high-volume, fast-paced environment and effectively multi-task with a high degree of integrity and accountability and without loss of attention to detail
Ability to work well within a team and communicate effectively and respectfully with all levels of staff
Solid veterinary medical knowledge, including familiarity with shelter medicine principles and best practices
Strong clinical skills, including efficient diagnosis and treatment of cats and dogs for a variety of medical conditions
Excellent low-stress animal handling and restraint skills
Ability to teach and coach others
Excellent written and oral communication skills
Strong organizational skills and a high level of attention to detail
Basic computer skills, including Excel, Microsoft Office, and email
Able to lift 40 pounds
Able to work standing for 8 or more hours
Ability to exemplify ASPCA’s core values and behavioral competencies
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (or equivalent degree) from an accredited veterinary college
Eligibility for licensure in New York State (NYS) as a veterinarian required
USDA accredited in New York State or completed within 4 months of hiring
Minimum 3 years small animal clinical practice with at least 1 year clinical shelter medicine experience managing both individual animal and population level care required
Fear Free® shelter certified or completed within 60 days of employment
Veterinarian License - Other
English (Required)

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with PetPoint or other shelter software systems
Current licensure in NYS
Veterinary internship and/or advanced clinical training in shelter medicine

Responsibilities

Provide timely, high-quality, practical, compassionate and cost-efficient veterinary care to a wide range of canines and felines in accordance with shelter medicine principles and best practices
Provide skilled and efficient diagnosis and treatment of patients with timely recognition of, and planning for, conditions requiring care through the ASPCA Animal Hospital (AAH)
Practice and model low-stress handling techniques to minimize animal fear, anxiety, and stress
Maintain regular and close communication with veterinary colleagues in other ASPCA programs, including with AAH regarding care of hospitalized patients, Community Medicine (CM), Animal Recovery Center (ARC), Recovery & Rehabilitation Center (R&R), and Kitten Nursery (KN) staff regarding medical needs and animal flow between the populations
Ensure that in-house and foster animals receive medical exams upon admission and are provided with on-going care as appropriate; ensure veterinary care provided is aligned with, and contributes to, the efficient and humane flow of animals from intake through outcome
Direct patient care provided by medical team members
Maintain accurate and thorough documentation of all exam findings, test results, diagnoses, treatments and procedures, in accordance with principles of medical record-keeping
Create Certificate of Veterinary Inspections (CVI) for animals being transported interstate
Closely collaborate with other departments, including ARC, Kitten Nursery, and R&R, and with other teams, including Operations and Behavior, at the Adoption Center to ensure the overall welfare of animals in our care, to effectively share information in a timely fashion with relevant stakeholders, and to ensure that decision-making regarding treatment, pathway plans, and outcomes for each animal is informed by all relevant considerations
Play a leading role in daily Medical-Behavior-Sheltering rounds (daily rounds/pathway planning); ensure individual patients and the population are assessed daily and treatment/intervention recommendations are implemented in a timely fashion
Guide appropriate and timely decisions about euthanasia – with attention to animals’ physical, medical, social and behavioral needs collectively
Monitor the health and welfare of the shelter population, identify potential disease outbreaks, and implement appropriate mitigation measures
Ensure effective use of quarantine and isolation spaces to manage individual animal needs and effectively protect population health; ensure appropriate designation and use of PPE
Perform humane euthanasia
Adhere to all protocols put forth by Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Follow and enforce all ASPCA Adoption Center SOPs; provide input to written SOPs and other related materials including information sheets and data sheets
Offer input and feedback on medical protocols and standards of care
Obtain continuing education as required by ASPCA and state licensing board
Provide medical information and representation to other ASPCA departments, public and media
Deploy with other ASPCA teams, including but not limited to Community Engagement, Community Medicine, National Field & Disaster Response, the Cruelty Recovery Center, and the Rehabilitation & Recovery Center per availability and programmatic needs
Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor, department head, or SVP
With the Senior Director, Veterinary Services, contribute to a culture of learning at the Adoption Center, including ensuring a respectful and welcoming environment, active participation in goal setting and monitoring, clear expectations, and regular practice of feedback and after-actions
Model a standard of continual improvement in all aspects of Adoption Center care and handling of dogs and cats
Teach and mentor nursing and animal care staff on shelter medicine principles and Adoption Center shelter medicine protocols
Ensure the medical team provides timely adoption follow-up and foster support via email, phone and in-person; step in to handle situations that require a higher level of decision-making
Competently and compassionately explain animals’ conditions to staff and responders with easily understood language
Provide mentorship for student externs and other potential teaching opportunities
Inform and advise relevant internal stakeholders of medical conditions of shelter animals, including outbreaks of infectious disease and concern for reportable disease
Attend interdepartmental, AC, Medical Staff meetings and training sessions
Mentor, train, and support rotational assessments for shelter medicine rotating veterinary residents, interns, and externs

Benefits

Affordable health coverage, including medical, employer-paid dental and optional vision coverage
Flexible time off that includes vacation time, paid personal time, sick time, bereavement time, paid parental leave, and 10 company paid holidays that allows you even more flexibility to observe the days that mean the most to you
Competitive financial incentives and retirement savings, including a 401(k) plan with generous employer contributions — we match dollar-for-dollar up to 4% and provide an additional 4% contribution toward your future each year
Robust professional development opportunities, including classes, on-the-job training, coaching and mentorship with industry-leading peers, internal mobility, opportunities to support in the field and so much more
Signing bonus (for external candidates)
Relocation bonus to non-local residents
Qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

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