Veterinary Assistant at Humane Society for Southwest Washington

Description

The Humane Society for Southwest Washington is currently seeking a  Veterinary Assistant to join our team. This is a full-time, FLSA nonexempt opportunity.

Since 1897, the Humane Society for Southwest Washington (HSSW) has been caring for the animals of Southwest Washington. Today, we are the largest animal welfare agency in Southwest Washington with campuses in Vancouver and Longview, where we help thousands of adoptable pets find shelter, TLC, and loving homes. And through programs like free pet food, emergency shelter, financial assistance, and medical care, we provide critical support that helps pets in need stay home with the families they love. Thanks to our hardworking staff and volunteers, we serve more than 10,000 pets each year. At our Community Veterinary Clinic (CVC), we provide high-quality, subsidized care to the pets of income-qualified families in our community. The CVC expands access to preventative care and spay/neuter, provides care for treatable conditions, and offers essential support to keep pets happy and healthy. And at ReTails Thrift Store, our team of staff and volunteers help hundreds of thousands of items find a second life, providing vital funding for our work with animals.

Thanks to our hardworking staff and volunteers, we served more than 10,000 pets in our community - helping them find new homes or providing the support they need to stay with the family who loves them.

Our mission is to rescue, return, restore, rehome, and reconnect one animal at a time. That work is possible thanks to the dedicated teams of staff and volunteers who are here for the animals every day. We are committed to a diverse, healthy, and engaged team of employees and volunteers who strive for excellence, treat one another with kindness, and provide quality and compassionate care for the pets and people we serve.

Veterinary Assistant (Levels 1, 2, & 3)

The mission of the Veterinary Assistant is to have the greatest positive impact on the continuity of care an animal receives during its stay at HSSW through daily monitoring and by treatment of health conditions and surgical procedures that keep in alignment with HSSW’s vision, mission, values, and standard operating procedures. The Veterinary Assistant is responsible for monitoring and treating all animals under veterinary care and assisting the Surgery Team with providing excellent quality, high volume spay/neuter surgery.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

VA Level 1 – Basic Entry Level tasks

• Assist with daily pre- and post-op care of surgical patients and disease control protocols.
• Maintains a clean, sterile, and functioning prep and surgery room.
• Cleans and maintains surgical instruments; prepares surgical packs.
• Restrains animals for exams and anesthetic induction; assists in surgical prep.
• Assists Licensed Veterinary Technician and Surgeons.
• Enters surgery records into database; maintains paperwork.
• Cleans and disinfects tables, floors, cages, and surgery equipment.
• Monitors, treats, and medicates all animals under veterinary care. 
• Assists Veterinarian in examinations, treatments, diagnostics, and other duties.
• Input data into Shelter Buddy regarding exams, medications, and treatments.
• Demonstrates and teaches technical skills and proper sanitation protocols and procedures to other staff members of HSSW who participate in animal care.
• Cleans and maintains areas of shelter clinic.
• Assists with inventory and orders supplies.
• Promotes a safe working environment and follows safety protocols. 
• Maintains equipment in good working condition. 
• Educates clients on pre- and post-surgical care of their animals. 
• Integrates with volunteers and workforce partners, taking an active role in their training, safety, performance, and job satisfaction.
• Responds to inquiries and concerns from Foster Care providers and volunteers, schedules, and assists with appointments.
• Attends continuing education and performs other duties and special projects.

VA Level 2 – adding these tasks…

• Provides training to staff/volunteers on disease control standards, shelter medicine protocols, and foster care guidelines. 
• Provides advice and resources on HSSW programs and other animal welfare-related topics.
• Provides orientation and training to veterinary students, veterinary assistants, and interns.
• Proficient in lab work and radiology
• High level of skill in Shelter Buddy, able to run reports and complete data entry.
• Fill prescriptions.
• Make decisions and solve problems independently. 

VA Level 3 – adding these tasks…

• Dentistry skills
• CPR trained.
• Able to become Registered Medication Clerk
• Perform euthanasia of selected animals with compassion and participate in Euthanasia Technician training.

General Expectations

• Promote, and follow safety guidelines to ensure a safe work environment. 
• Display initiative and exercise good judgment.
• Exercise good judgment when working with the public, volunteers, workforce partners and staff.
• Committed to maintaining the integrity of the HSSW’s mission and adoption program and the importance of Spay/Neuter to end pet overpopulation.
• Adheres to agency policies and procedures, providing a positive example/role model for other employees.
• Maintains a positive and respectful attitude, displaying excellent people skills and high degree of emotional intelligence. 
• Demonstrates flexible and efficient time management and ability to prioritize workload.
• Consistently reports to work on time prepared to perform duties of position.
• Meets department productivity standards.

Employee Benefits and Perks
In addition to serving in an organization with a compassionate and strategic purpose, eligible employees enjoy a comprehensive benefits package and a variety of employee perks.

Benefits include:

• Health insurance effective the first of the month following hire (full-time employees).
• Dental and vision insurance effective the first of the month following hire.
• Matching percentage 401(k) retirement plan beginning the first month after hire, with a 3-year graded vesting schedule and ROTH contribution option.
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to all employees and household members.
• Section 125 FSA Cafeteria Plan for out-of-pocket health and/or dependent day care expenses.
• Access to affordable life, disability, and accidental supplemental insurance.
• Numerous employee discounts and discounts with partner organizations.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness qualified employer: To learn more about this Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, go to https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation.

Paid Time Off (PTO) 

This position accrues PTO at a rate of 1.6 hours for every 40 hours worked. 

Additional Paid time includes:

• Floating Holidays (full-time employees).
• Bereavement leave.
• Pet bereavement leave.

Culture

Vision: A community where everyone loves and cares for animals.

Mission: Rescue. Return. Restore. Rehome. Reconnect. One animal at a time

Values: Compassion. Collaboration. Excellence. Service. Integrity.

The ultimate team player:

• Displays interest, enthusiasm, and an affinity for working with people.
• Demonstrates an attitude in being of-service, using good judgment, maintaining a positive outlook, and ideally, a sense of humor.
• Works well in teams and demonstrates an attitude and commitment to collaboration with a sincere interest in helping others succeed.
• Is committed to achieving excellence individually and as a part of the team.
• Exhibits adaptability, curiosity, flexibility to change, open to new ideas, and encourages others to recognize changes in work tasks, situations, and environment as an opportunity for transformation.
• Is committed to personal and professional development through life-long learning.

How to Apply

Does HSSW sound like the right place for you? 

Does this job sound like a great fit & do you meet the qualifications for this position?

If so, then click the Apply button to begin your journey to join our team today. HSSW participates in E-Verify.

For more information visit https://HSSW.org/careers/. 

Application Deadline: Open until filled.    

Requirements

 Qualifications

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Licenses, and Credentials

• Competent in monitoring anesthesia and assisting surgeon. 
• Effective organization skills 
• Excellent customer service skills 
• Effective verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work collaboratively as a team. 
• Ability to manage multiple tasks in a demanding environment.
• Display compassion and confidence when communicating with the public, staff, and volunteers.
• Meticulous with the ability to maintain and organize written and computerized records.

Physical Demands and Working Conditions

The Veterinary Assistant must be able to safely work with a variety of animals. In addition, they must be able to stand, walk, sit, talk, and hear, stoop, bend, squat, kneel, stretch, grasp, and grip, put fingers together firmly and reach above and below shoulder level and lift, push, pull , lift and/or carry up to 50 pounds of weight, repetitively use hands to operate computers, flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist. 

Work is performed in an animal shelter veterinary clinic environment, with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals. Primary workplace is at an animal shelter that operates 7 days per week with potential exposure to fractious animals; high noise levels; zoonotic diseases; animal bites and scratches; cleaning chemicals and allergens. Potential exposure of infectious diseases to owned animals.

This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, other than an “at-will” relationship. HSSW participates in E-Verify.