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Northford Veterinary Clinic
Dr. Gregory Azzolin
Veterinary Assistant Job Description
Summary of Job Purpose and Function
The Veterinary Assistant supports the veterinarians in ensuring quality veterinary care for all pets, advocates for pets, educates clients on all aspects of pet health, and ensures a safe and effective hospital environment.
Essential Responsibilities and Tasks
Act as the extra eyes, ears and hands for the veterinarian to ensure the best quality pet care and to maximize the veterinarian's productivity. Lead veterinarians and veterinary medical team through the Cycle of Service and communicate with the other associates to maintain the flow of patients.
Provide professional, efficient and exceptional service at all times. This includes performing or preparing procedures that do not require veterinarian assistance, completing preparatory work for other procedures, ensuring that clients and pets are comfortable in the hospital, and monitoring hospitalized or surgical pets as allowed in the state practice acts.
Educate clients about Optimum Wellness Plans, preventive care, pet health needs, hospital services and other issues.
Obtain relevant information and history from clients and maintain proper and complete medical charts.
Ensure the safety of pets, clients and associates by utilizing safe restraining techniques, following standard protocols, and maintaining clean, sterile and organized treatment areas, exam rooms and labs.
Assist with surgery as applicable.
Utilize technical skills to the fullest, within state practice acts and as outlined in the NAVTA guidelines for veterinary assistant skills and duties.
Mentor other paraprofessionals in the hospital.
Keep the Clinic clean and presentable at all times.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Make appointment, discharge clients, accurately prepare and dispense medications.
Hiring Qualifications
Capabilities and Experience (can do)
Ability to multi-task- Manages multiple tasks at one time; quickly and accurately shifts attention among multiple tasks under distracting conditions without loss of accuracy or appearance of frustration.
Communication skills - Read, write and speak fluent English, using appropriate grammar, style and vocabulary. Correctly spells commonly used English words and job specific terms. Demonstrate exceptionally strong written and verbal communication skills.
Organizational ability - Demonstrates a systematic approach in carrying out assignments. Is very orderly and excels at cutting through confusion and turning chaos into order.
Problem solving skills - Demonstrates a strong ability to identify, analyze and solve problems. Translate problems into practical solutions.
Client service skills - Consistently ensures the team provides the client with attentive, courteous and informative service. Gains and shows personal satisfaction from delivering great service.
Intellectual ability - Accurately and consistently follows instructions delivered in an oral, written or diagram format. Can provide directions.
Mathematical ability - Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide, and to compute rate, ratio and percent; ability to convert units of measurement.
Computer skills - Comfortably and confidently
Attitudes (will do)
Initiative - shows willingness and aptitude to take appropriate steps in finding solutions to problems; presents options and ideas to enhance current processes or procedures. Take on additional responsibility when both big and small tasks need to be done.
Integrity - Firmly adheres to the values and ethics of the Northford Veterinary Clinic . Exhibit honesty, discretion, and sound judgment.
Cooperativeness - Willing to work with others, collaborating and compromising where necessary; promptly share relevant information with others.
Flexibility - Is open to changing situations and opportunities and is willing to perform all tasks assigned.
Independence - Able and willing to perform tasks and duties without supervision as appropriate.
Tolerance for Stress / Resiliency - Maintains a positive "can do" outlook, rebounds quickly from frustrations and unpleasantness, and maintains composure and friendly demeanor while dealing with stressful situations.
Special Working Conditions
Ability to work at a computer for long periods of time.
Ability to be confident around pets (i.e., dogs, cats)
Client needs and work volume may often require more than 30 hours per week to complete essential duties of this job. This position requires special hours including working weekends and early evenings.
Must have mental processes for reasoning, remembering, mathematics and language ability to perform the duties proficiently.
The noise level in the work environment is moderately high.
Requires sufficient ambulatory skills in order to perform duties while at the Clinic.
Ability to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and climb as well as manipulate (lift, carry, move) up to 50 pounds.
Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm-hand-finger dexterity with the ability to grasp, and visual acuity to use a keyboard and operate equipment.
Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
Associate is routinely exposed to a variety of pets that may bite or scratch, and on occasion, exposed to biological hazards and medication/controlled substances.
The Northford Veterinary Clinic is committed to a diverse work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. It is our mission to provide equal employment opportunities to all candidates and to ensure that access to jobs is strictly based on job-related criteria.
