Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)

About the role

The ASPCA's Community Medicine (CM) team provides expert veterinary care to support the welfare of animals and their people through our stationary and mobile veterinary clinics, serving underserved communities in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. We help pet owners overcome barriers to care, bringing quality services directly to the communities that need us most and partially or fully subsidizing the cost of basic and preventive care. CM treats people and pets with dignity and respect, assisting pet owners in making informed decisions about their pets' health and wellbeing regardless of their financial circumstances.

Responsibilities

• Support two medical functions—high quality/high volume spay neuter surgery (HQHVSN) and primary pet care (PPC)—for pet cats and dogs living with their families in ASPCA service areas and animals in the care of the rescue community.
• Direct workflow on the floor, assisting the veterinarian in administering medical treatments and communicating with clients.
• Work closely with the CVC management team to coordinate the flow of work throughout the day to deliver high quality care and optimize our impact for animals in the communities we serve.
• Perform a broad range of veterinary technician functions, including venipuncture, anesthesia monitoring, surgical preparation and assistance, diagnostics, pharmacy and patient recovery.
• Communicate effectively with clients using a kind, nonjudgmental approach—assist with intake, obtain history and discharge patients.
• Oversee workflow on the clinic floor and ensure that all medical staff are efficiently using their time and skills to help the optimal number of patients daily.
• Ensure staff consistently delivers high-quality patient care and adheres to CM’s standard operating procedures and guidelines.
• Coach nursing staff to handle patients in a gentle, low-stress manner; instill the guiding principle that everyone can—and should—actively support the animals’ behavioral and mental health in everything they do.
• Coach staff to communicate effectively with clients, to accurately relay information and to gather patient history and other information using open ended questions and a non-judgmental approach.
• Maintain accurate drug logs for controlled drugs and report issues to clinic director.
• Ensure staff take all mandatory rest and meal breaks and adhere to time and attendance guidelines.
• Train and onboard new nursing team members, including hands-on skills training and weekly online training modules.
• Monitor and assess trainees’ progress, provide regular developmental feedback and coaching.
• Aid in training rotating interns and residents and veterinary and technical students through coaching, discussion, and demonstration.
• Serve on the CVC Leadership Team.
• Support a culture of kindness, respect, belonging, and teamwork through regular 1:1s, recognition, developmental coaching, performance evaluation, and feedback.
• Lead a culture of safety and security in the clinic—report safety incidents promptly and address root causes to prevent future injuries or accidents.
• Assist with hiring new staff, scheduling nursing staff for optimal coverage, managing team time and attendance, reviewing time sheets for accuracy, approving time off requests according to clinic guidelines, facilitating daily huddles to ensure staff have information they need each day, and meeting regularly with the CVC management team.
• Exemplify the ASPCA’s Core Values: Commitment and dedication to improving the lives of animals, ownership and responsibility for outcomes, belief in team, seeking to elevate others and reimagine what is possible, focusing on impact, specifically making change for animals.

Qualifications

• Must have graduated from an accredited school of veterinary science technology (2 or 4 year program) or the equivalent as determined by the New York State Education Department.
• Minimum five years experience as a Registered Veterinary Technician in small animal medicine and surgery; experience in shelter medicine and/or high volume spay/neuter surgery strongly preferred.
• Minimum two years people management experience.
• Must have current New York State Veterinary Technician License.
• Ability to work well within a team and communicate effectively with all levels of staff.
• Desire to serve clients in a kind, helpful and nonjudgmental manner.
• Strong interest in animal welfare and serving underserved communities.
• Excellent animal handling skills.
• Able to lift and carry 40-plus pounds repeatedly throughout the day with assistance.
• Ability to work standing for 8 or more hours.
• Fear Free® Shelter certification is required within 60 days of hire.

Benefits

Work/life balance: paid vacation time, paid sick time, three paid continuing education days and a CE stipend, ten paid holidays, paid personal time to celebrate what and when you like.

Terrific benefits package: medical, dental, and vision insurance, pre-tax dependent care and health flexible spending accounts (FSAs), 401(k) plan with generous employer contributions beginning after one year of service, employer-paid life and long-term disability insurance, and more (note that benefits are subject to change annually).