Shift Lead Emergency Veterinary Technician

Incredible Opportunity for a Lead Emergency Veterinary Technician to join the team at Pet Specialist of Austin!

Day shift: 3 day, 12 hour shift with one day being a weekend day

More than a word, care is present in everything you do. At Pet Specialists of Austin we take action to empower your best care for pets, their families, and yourself.

We are a community of 400 clinics forming an extraordinary network of unparalleled resources and people. Through outstanding learning and career options, comprehensive benefits, and abundant support, you’ll be nurtured and appreciated for who you are and what you bring to the table. We come together in both the joys and heartaches of our profession to lift each other up through laughter and empathy.

And, we have plenty of fun along the way!

Who we are

At Pet Specialists of Austin you’ll feel the warmth and openness of a small clinic, while having the opportunity and support of a united network.

Pet Specialists of Austin is a 24 hour emergency and specialty referral hospital that invests heavily in our teams' growth and development. Opened in 2021, we pride ourselves on providing the Austin area with compassionate and quality emergency, and specialty care including neurology surgery, internal medicine and oncology. We provide an emotionally intelligent work environment and strive to maintain a positive work/life balance.

Provide your best care with more bridges and less barriers.

Role Responsibilities:

The Emergency Shift Lead Veterinary Technician is not only responsible for providing all veterinary nursing duties in the hospital but also provides direction to veterinary technicians and assistants. The Shift Lead technician should be knowledgeable in a wide variety of areas and is able to train staff in these areas including client service, communication, clinical pathology, radiology, animal nursing care, anesthesia, surgical assistance, emergency medicine, among others. The shift lead technician is expected to uphold the hospitals core values while maintaining professional composure

Shift Lead – has time management skills, delegation skills, is communicative with team and leadership members, solution-oriented, role-model, trainer, trustworthy, reliable, accountable, and is responsible.

Our Ideal Candidate:

• Strong emergency veterinary skills
• Previous Leadership experience within the veterinary space
• Superior customer service skills
• Excellent communication skills
  

Job Requirements:

• 5+ years experience as a Veterinary Technician in Specialty and Emergency or General Practice preferred
• Associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology preferred
• Licensure (CVT, LVT, RVT) preferred
• Prior supervisory/management experience preferred
• Flexible in schedule to include weekends, evenings, and holidays.
• May be required to work overtime on occasion
  

Leadership

• Time Managing/Delegation - assigning team members in the most efficient role; delegating mid/end of shift duties, holding accountable for role responsibilities, case assignments
• Review of treatment and order sheets, conducting shift to flow as smoothly as possible, acting as float
• Directing team members to the next task (sedated procedures; obtaining triages/dx; or discharging etc., moving team members fluidly as needed based on patient and case load
• Team Huddles – 5 minutes to group everyone together beginning/mid/near end to redirect flow (what needs to be focused on and where are priorities of team - Cleaning? Discharging? Sedated Procedures? Breaks, meals? Critical case? etc.)
• Focus on shift efficiency and workflow, to be able to provide efficient care to pet and client.
• Effective Communicator –
• Guide and help prioritize
• Train and mentor, coach in the moment
• Lead – work for the team, recognize when team is struggling
• Communicating with Nurse Manager, Medical Director and other members of the leadership team. Participate in regular lead check-ins to discuss current potholes (concerns) and also setting-up milestone (goals). Hold accountability in developing, rolling out and enforcing new protocols and training guidelines.
• Solution-Oriented
• Must possess conflict-solution and solution based response to potholes presented during shifts, handling with Servant Leadership, high EQ and Proactive Conflict Resolution Conversation Techniques, recognizing teaching moments and taking advantage of them.
• Make recommendations for Performance Improvement Plans and Corrective Actions, with complete documentation, action items and proactive suggestions.
• Role-Model –
• Reinforce policies/process flows (triage sheets, checking charts in real time, round sheets, cleaning log etc.
• Hold team accountable when policies, protocols, workflows are not upheld, teach first, then proceed with next step.
  
  
Training –


• Schedule hours for one-on-one time with each employee to work on assessments and training needs
• Perform assessments on every team member, develop individualized training plans for each team member.
• Recognize gaps in training, need for consistent protocols. Present to leadership meetings so training and protocols can become action items
• Encourage and execute cross-training opportunities, schedule and move team members as needed
• Coach and mentor in the moment, communicate to DVM and team each team members’ training goals, hold team members accountable for progress, provide encouragement and positive for accomplishments.
• Guide team with wet labs, webinars, drills, case studies, etc.
• Accountability –
• Accountable for enforcing policy changes, process flow changes, updates, communicate and hold team responsible for all changes and updates in policies, protocols and medical protocols.
• Uphold hospital Vision and Core Values at all times
• Uphold and enforce all Thrive Pet Healthcare Policies and Procedures, including OSHA, Controlled Substances, Attendance, Code of Conduct, etc.
  
  
Technical duties:

• Nursing/patient care
• Perform all technical duties associated with emergency and critical care
• Triage, complete physical examination, stabilization of emergent patient
• Follow Rule of 20 critical care nursing principles, monitoring changes in patients’ condition, administering treatments on time, provide excellent nursing care.
• Administer blood transfusion and monitor appropriately
• Provide and follow proper isolation procedures for infectious patients
• Calculate proper medication and fluid doses and administer properly using proper route, well-versed on side effects, contraindications, etc. Understand pharmacology of all medications used
• Perform collection of diagnostic specimens, place IVC, central and PICC lines, urinary catheters, cystocentesis
• Record all procedures and medical notes properly on patient’s medical record, using proper medical terminology and notation. Proper invoicing of treatments and procedures performed during shift
• Apply proper wound care and bandage technique
• Apply proper aseptic technique
• Laboratory procedures
• Operate and maintain all in house laboratory equipment, trouble-shooting
• Perform in-house laboratory diagnostics including urinalysis, hematology, fecal, ear cytology, aspirate cytology, skin cytology, PCV/TP, blood typing and crossmatch for blood transfusion, etc
• Radiology procedures
• Observe and enforce all safety requirements and proper PPE use
• Obtain appropriate diagnostic radiographs
• Operate ultrasound machine
• Anesthesia/surgical duties
• Perform pre-operative exam and laboratory diagnostics
• Create, calculate and administer anesthetic protocols with DVM according to individual patient needs, understand pharmacology of all anesthetic and analgesic medications
• Prepare OR suite
• Operate and trouble shoot anesthetic machines, circuits and ventilator. Maintenance of machines
• Proficient at intubation properly
• Induce, maintain and recover patient from anesthesia
• Properly operate and interpret all monitoring equipment, knowledge of normals and abnormals, trouble shooting
• Respond to and be prepared for anesthetic emergencies
• Perform proper surgical instrument care, cleaning and maintenance. Prepare and sterilize surgical packs, obtain certification to operate gas sterilizer
• Perform set-up, maintenance and cleaning of endoscopy equipment
  

You’ll Grow With Us

Here, you can grow your career as best fits you through access to comprehensive learning and skillset programs. You can build your skills and earn credentials through:

• Our vast, diverse, and free library of continuing education courses - ThriveU
• Live, virtual interactive workshops to develop valuable leadership skills
• A program to designed to teach you the fundamentals of running a pet hospital
• Earn your AVMA-CVTEA Accreditation and become a Vet Tech through our fully accredited distance learning program for veterinary technicians
• Scholarship opportunities and tuition reimbursement
  
  

And, with so many locations nationwide, you can find and move into any specialty, hospital type, or environment. Join us and provide your best care at a clinic that is deeply rooted within its community and bolstered by the resources of Thrive Pet Healthcare.

Benefits – Our Care In Action

We provide benefits spread comprehensively across your mental, physical, emotional, and financial wellbeing designed to meet your needs as a unique individual. Some key benefits include:

• Paid time off including 8-weeks of full-pay parental leave, bereavement to grieve both humans and pets, and time off for new pet adoptions
• Top quality medical, dental, and vision insurance plus health savings account and flexible spending account
• Pet perks including free exams, discounts on products and services, and more at all Thrive Pet Healthcare locations
• Generously subsidized backup and ongoing care support for children, adults, and pets
• Mental health benefits including coaching and therapy sessions
• 401k with employer contribution and no waiting period
• Continuing education and development support through our library of free CE courses and paid time off to complete
• Scholarship opportunities and student loan support program
  
  

and so much more!

At Thrive Pet Healthcare, we celebrate and embrace the uniqueness and diversity of all of our team members, pet parents, and pets. We strive to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture where all team members belong and feel empowered.