Veterinary Assistant

Petco•Redlands, CA

14d•Onsite

About The Position

The Veterinary Assistant provides medical care support to Vetco Total Care full-service hospital patients and customer care to their owners, while representing Petco’s mission and values. The role supports technical and customer service operations, contributes to teamwork and staff motivation, and helps create an environment centered on patient needs, exceptional customer experiences, prompt issue resolution, and shared goals. The Veterinary Assistant assists with routine and emergency appointments, surgery, dentistry, euthanasia, anesthesia, treatments, and patient monitoring under the supervision of veterinarians and veterinary technicians. The role also handles patient intake and records, client communication and education, scheduling, laboratory samples, medications, and general hospital cleanliness. The position has no immediate supervisory duties, but may help train new staff as directed.

Requirements

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Compassionate and sympathetic, with the ability to maintain a professional attitude and demeanor during emotional and stressful situations.
Telephone and computer skills.
Willingness to work as a team player, learn new techniques and treatments, offer creative ideas, and accept change.

Nice To Haves

At least one year of previous experience working in a veterinary practice, or sufficient relatable animal-care experience to ensure excellent performance in the listed duties and skills.

Responsibilities

Greet clients and patients, escort them to exam rooms, obtain patient weights and vital signs, and record information in electronic medical records.
Collect patient histories and document visits in electronic medical records.
Assist doctors with routine and emergency appointments, surgery, dentistry, and euthanasia under supervision.
Restrain patients, obtain and process laboratory samples, handle and dispense medications as directed by a veterinarian, and help maintain electronic medical records.
Schedule appointments, provide client education, relay test results to doctors and clients, and maintain and update client and patient records.
Prepare patients for surgical and dental procedures and assist doctors or veterinary technicians with anesthetizing patients.
Under supervision, monitor patients under anesthesia, assist with recovery monitoring, and prepare patients for discharge or transfer to overnight care.
Perform in-hospital treatments for sick patients under supervision, including injectable and oral medications and intravenous fluid therapy.
Keep patients clean, watered, and fed when indicated and directed by a doctor, and safely walk canine patients when needed for elimination.
Assist in training new staff and sharing knowledge as directed by the HOM/HLOD.
Maintain a neat and clean hospital environment and perform scheduled and as-needed cleaning.
Perform additional duties as assigned.
Provide backup phone and front desk support as needed.