Veterinary Assistant– Lerner Clinic

Tufts University•Grafton, MA

42d•Onsite

About The Position

The Luke and Lily Lerner Spay/Neuter Clinic provides students at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine with opportunities for both pre-clinical and clinical surgical training while serving pets and people in need. The Clinic provides high level spay neuter services to shelter and community animals while training veterinary students in the clinical competencies needed for anesthesia and surgery of healthy feline and canine patients. The pre-clinical surgical training programs run out of the Lerner Spay Neuter clinic include Introduction to Anesthesia and Small Animal Surgical Techniques (ISAAST), which is a required class for all third-year students, and the second-year clinical rotation elective. We offer a fourth-year clinical elective, Primary Care Procedures (PCP), which has a focus on spay neuter, other primary care surgery, and dentistry. We also run an outreach clinic for clients living in public housing and periodic Community Cat Clinics. Finally, we assist with dental training labs and other clinical skills laboratories run by our colleagues. The Veterinary Assistant collaborates with clinicians, residents, interns, technicians, and students to provide exceptional patient care and client service in the Lerner Clinic. The Veterinary Assistant also serves as a clinical liaison to provide clients with status updates and to address any questions they may have.

Requirements

High school diploma (or the equivalent) and at least one year of related experience.
At least one year of related experience.
Familiarity with medical terminology, veterinary pharmacology and animal behavior.
Ability to restrain small animals in a safe, compassionate manner.
Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to interact effectively with co-workers, clinicians, students, staff and clients.
Enthusiastic, genuine, empathetic and self-motivated professional with a positive, upbeat attitude.
Pride in and commitment to maintaining hospital floor and front lobby areas.
Basic computer skills including the ability to learn the electronic medical record system.

Nice To Haves

One or more years’ experience as a Veterinary Assistant in a veterinary hospital
Veterinary Assistant Certification Credentialed as a
Successful completion of a NAVTA-approved Veterinary Assistant Program.

Responsibilities

Assist clinicians, students and technicians with restraint, care and treatment of patients.
Anticipate the clinician’s needs with regards to treatments, restraint, supplies and instruments.
Provide professional and courteous service to ensure that the highest levels of client satisfaction and patient treatment are maintained at all times.
Coordinate patient flow to expedite each patient’s visit.
Draw blood samples as ordered.
Process in-house lab work as directed by a licensed veterinarian.
Administer injections, oral and topical medicine (except federally-controlled anesthetics) as directed by a licensed veterinarian.
Assist with medical record documentation.
Assist with providing basic animal husbandry and hygiene.
Serve as a contact to address clients’ clinical questions and concerns. Solicit information from clinician/technician as necessary.
Assess and address the needs of clients, including keeping clients informed of wait times.
Facilitate the flow of clients for patient visits.
Schedule follow-up appointments for clinicians as needed.
Maintain cleanliness of the Lerner Clinic. Sweep and mop as needed.
Clean and package instruments for sterilization as needed after use.
Maintain an adequate inventory of supplies including equipment and medications.
Perform other duties as assigned by Supervisor