Veterinary Assistant

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. Essential responsibilities include acting as extra support for veterinarians and technicians to maximize productivity, providing professional and efficient service, preparing for procedures, ensuring client and pet comfort, monitoring hospitalized or surgical pets, educating clients about wellness plans and preventive care, maintaining medical charts, ensuring safety through proper restraining techniques and clean environments, assisting with surgery, utilizing technical skills within state practice acts and NAVTA guidelines, mentoring other paraprofessionals, and other assigned duties. The role requires adherence to the Five Principles of Mars, Inc., including quality, responsibility, mutuality, efficiency, and freedom. Qualifications include leadership and functional competencies such as action orientation, customer focus, communication, problem solving, and organizational skills. Candidates must have the ability to multi-task, strong communication skills in English, organizational ability, problem-solving skills, client service skills, intellectual ability, mathematical ability, and computer skills. Attitudes required include initiative, integrity, cooperativeness, flexibility, independence, and tolerance for stress. Special working conditions include the ability to work at a computer for long periods, confidence around pets, potential for more than 40 hours per week including weekends and evenings, mental processes for reasoning and language, moderate noise levels, ambulatory skills, physical ability to lift up to 50 pounds, good hand-eye coordination, and exposure to various hazards. Experience and education requirements include a certificate from a NAVTA approved Veterinary Assistant program or equivalent, high school diploma preferred, ability to perform NAVTA skills, minimum age of 18 for radiography duties, and one year related experience with customer service preferred. The employer is a drug-free, smoke-free, equal opportunity employer.