The Veterinary Assistant supports the veterinarians and veterinary technicians 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.
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 - Reads, writes and speaks fluent English, using appropriate grammar, style and vocabulary. Correctly spells commonly used English words and job specific terms.
Demonstrates 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. Translates 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 uses a computer and specialized medical software, as well as Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel.
Ability to work at a computer for long periods of time.
Ability to be confident around pets (i.e., dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, etc.)
Client needs and work volume may often require more than 40 hours per week to complete essential duties of this job. This position requires special hours including working weekends and evenings.
Must have mental processes for reasoning, remembering, mathematics and language ability (reading, writing, and speaking the English language) 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 hospital. 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 anesthesia, radiation, biological hazards and medication/controlled substances.