Veterinary Technician III - Internal Medicine Clinical Skills

Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts provides 24-hour care for pets 365 days of the year. Since 1985 we have offered high quality medical care, consultation, referral, and emergency veterinary services for the care of dogs, cats and exotic pets.

The Senior Clinical Skills Support Technician works as part of an integrated clinical care team to provide high quality care to all departments and patients in the Small Animal Hospital. As a member of the Internal Medicine team, this Veterinary Technician works under the direction of clinicians and technician management to schedule, conduct and oversee technician appointments for all services as needed. This includes obtaining patient histories, obtaining patient vitals and alerting clinicians to patient concerns, performing various testing including inhouse, send-out and bench top testing. Daily teaching of students and technicians in skills such as fear free restraint, venipuncture, testing requirements, IV catheter placement both basic and advanced, and any other additional care individual patients need.

Skills required for this position include:

• Advanced technical skills such as central IV catheter placement, urinary catheter placement, feeding tubes and anesthesia monitoring.
• This technician must have a wide range of knowledge of various disease processes, pharmacology and treatment plans and be able to translate this knowledge through education.
• Performs advanced and more specialized technical procedures, makes decisions and provides advanced veterinary patient nursing care.
• Coaches and mentors junior staff and provides on-the-job training to new technicians.

The Clinical Skills Veterinary Technician is considered an essential employee within the hospital and the schedule may include providing University and calendar holiday coverage on a rotating basis. A substantial holiday premium pay is applied to any University designated holiday. The University observes a minimum of thirteen holidays throughout the calendar year.

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and skills typically acquired by an Associate OR Bachelor's degree from an AVMA-accredited institution providing training in veterinary technology, veterinary nursing, or veterinary science or degree in a related field
• A minimum of 3 years of experience as a certified veterinary technician in a University Hospital or in a similar environment
• Mastery of advanced technical and procedural skills
• Certified Veterinary Technician in good standing
• Demonstrated ability to work independently when conducting complex tasks, with minimal supervision.
• Strong technical skills and familiarity with advanced IV catheter placements, urinary catheters, feeding tubes, endotracheal intubation, sedation and general anesthesia
• Highly motivated, enthusiastic self-starter with a professional attitude
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work effectively as a member of a diverse team of clinical and administrative professionals
• Excellent understanding of medical terminology and veterinary pharmacology, including knowledge of and ability to identify adverse drug reactions
• Demonstrated ability to provide exceptional service to both internal and external customers, and to work collegially as part of a team
• Demonstrated ability to instruct students, as determined by student feedback
• Experience with Microsoft Office and electronic medical record systems

• Required technical skills include:
  • Proven phlebotomy and Fear Free Handling skills
  • Strong technical skills and familiarity with advanced IV catheter placements, urinary catheters, feeding tubes, endotracheal intubation, sedation and general anesthesia.
  • Specialized technical skills related to advanced clinical skills or demonstrated ability to learn such skills within 3 months.
  • Be able to independently initiate steps to perform CPR in absence of an attending veterinarian
  • Fear Free Certification
  • Ability to lift up to 50 lbs with or without accommodation

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience with small animal internal medicine or other specialty focused care
• 3 years dedicated specialty experience in a busy, fast-paced hospital
• Veterinary Technician Specialist level skillset in internal medicine or critical care
• Experience teaching other technicians, veterinary students, veterinary technician students
• RECOVER Certifcation
• Able to work well independently as well as part of a team
• Ability to work in a busy, stressful environment with diverse personalities while maintaining a calm, professional demeanor

Special Work Schedule Requirements:

This position is considered essential and is therefore required to report to work as scheduled during emergency closings. The schedule for this position requires flexibility to ensure that adequate patient care is provided without interruption or exception. This position works a four-day work week and may be scheduled to work on Saturdays, Sundays, and evenings.