The mission of the Lawrence Humane Society is to nurture the human-animal bond by providing shelter, care, and advocacy for homeless and vulnerable animals, as well as resources for the people and pets in our community. This care includes providing shelter animals with preventative veterinary care, diagnosis and treatment of both acute and chronic medical conditions, and humane euthanasia for severe medical conditions or severe behavior issues. The clinic also provides some low cost or subsidized public veterinary services to help pet owners otherwise struggling to access veterinary care for their pets.
The Veterinary Clinic is an integral component of achieving the organization’s mission. The clinic is staffed by 3 Medical Associates (Veterinary Technicians/Assistants) a Clinic Coordinator, and a Staff Veterinarian, all led by the Chief Veterinarian. Together, this team oversees the health of over 3,700 shelter animals annually, and provides low cost or subsidized public veterinary services to over 1,000 pets in the community each year.
Position Summary:
The Lawrence Humane Society is seeking an individual who thrives in a fast-paced, team oriented environment helping animals in the shelter, and in the community, with an emphasis on humane, compassionate, and timely care. The Medial Associate supports the veterinarians and the Clinic Coordinator in operating the clinic effectively.
Primary Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Animal Wellness:
- Completing daily exams, procedures, and treatments. Assisting in the triage of any emergencies. This includes:
- Performing treatments and protocols as directed by the staff veterinarians;
- Monitoring the health of the animals in care and taking immediate action to address medical needs following established medical protocols;
- Performing blood draws, fecal tests, and snap tests, as needed;
- Administering vaccinations, and microchipping;
- Administering medication in a timely manner; and
- Taking x-ray images of animals for timely diagnosis of medical conditions.
Surgery:
- Assisting in surgery with sedation, animal prep, monitoring anesthesia and recovery;
- Performing surgery check-ins and discharges for pets belonging to members of the public;
- Ensuring controlled drug logging is being kept up to date, and is accurate, and bringing discrepancies to the veterinarian’s attention;
- Ensuring that surgical instruments are cleaned and sterilized properly;
- Maintaining clean and orderly work areas;
- Facilitating the movement of surgical animals back to their kennel at the end of the day;
- Ensuring proper kennel/crate sanitation for surgical patients; and
- Accurately logging surgeries/procedures as well as any vaccines, microchips, and/or medication given/prescribed at the time into the animal management database.
Humane Euthanasia:
- Assisting with and/or performing humane euthanasia, when deemed appropriate, for shelter animals and privately owned pets. Euthanasia is typically limited to severe medical conditions, unsafe animal behavior, and diminished quality of life where there is a poor prognosis for treatment/rehabilitation.
Other Responsibilities:
- Communication
- Ensuring timely response to phone and email communication with the clinic; and
- Communicating critical information to colleagues as needed to ensure the highest standard of animal care and customer service.
- Animal Flow
- Providing backup support to the Pet Resource Center staff in performing intake exams as needed to achieve efficient animal flow; and
- Supporting the Foster Coordinator in responding to medical concerns and scheduling clinic services for foster animals.
- Public Services
- Delivering public services with an open-minded and inclusive attitude. Treating each community encounter with respect, kindness, and compassion. Working to reinforce a non-judgmental culture in the clinic; and
- Collaborating with the Pet Resource Center to ensure successful completion of daily public veterinary services as well as periodic special events such as high volume vaccine clinics, feral cat surgery days, etc.
- Safety
- Understanding and abiding by all federal, state, and local ordinances, as well as state regulations;
- Following all workplace safety rules, actively promoting a safe work environment and taking immediate action to prevent and address hazards; and
- Following all disease transmission prevention protocols.
Skills and Qualifications:
- Compassion for animals and pet owners, sometimes in emotionally difficult and complex situations, without judgment;
- Passion for serving the community as a whole and individual people;
- Highly collaborative with colleagues;
- Demonstrably sound judgement in dealing with the public and handling sensitive and confidential information;
- Highly developed critical thinking skills, a commitment to ongoing learning and growth, and a willingness to consistently address process improvement;
- Ability to prioritize, multi-task, and endure a fast pace.
- Ability to remain calm, even in stressful situations, and find solutions to problems and challenges;
- Effective written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills with a diverse range of individuals, sometimes in an emotional, fast-paced setting;
- Proficiency with computers and able to quickly learn new software;
- Knowledge of common shelter-related illnesses and herd health management;
- Proficiency in safe and humane animal handling practices, especially restraint techniques to assist in the completion of exams, procedures, and treatments. Actively strive to employ the least stressful, most humane approach to animal handling;
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of animal behavior;
- Attention to detail and accuracy in documentation and data entry;
- Proven ability to follow directions and learn new skills quickly;
- Strong organization skills; and
- Able to work with minimal supervision and direction.
Position Requirements:
- At least 18 years of age;
- High School Diploma or GED;
- A minimum of 1 year of experience working as a Veterinary Technician or Veterinary Assistant. Veterinary Technician Certification preferred.
- A minimum of 1 year of experience in customer service;
- No allergies to animals or chemical cleaning agents; and
- Able to work holidays and weekends as needed;
- Ability to work on-call 1-2 nights per week for afterhours emergency with additional compensation for on-call work. (Afterhours emergencies are limited and do not occur every night.)
Work Environment and Physical Demands:
- Communicating with shelter staff and the general public.
- Regular contact with upset and emotional individuals, potentially dangerous animals, and deceased animals can occur;
- Exposure to animal bites, scratches, dander, parasites, infectious diseases, strong odors and fumes from caustic chemicals, animal blood, and animal waste;
- Exposure to high noise levels;
- Working in a stationary position for extended periods of time using a computer;
- Traversing the facility and grounds for extended periods of time performing labor that may include walking (with and without animals weighing up to 150 pounds), reaching with hands and arms, climbing and balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching and/or crawling, lifting up to 50 pounds without assistance and operating various tools and equipment; and
- Exposure to wet, cold, hot and/or humid conditions for periods of time.
The Lawrence Humane Society believes that our organization is strengthened by the diversity of our staff, and welcome such diversity including race, gender identity or expression, educational attainment, disability, veteran status, and personal experiences. The Lawrence Humane Society encourages applications from people of all cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $15.00 - $16.50 per hour
Expected hours: 40 – 45 per week
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee discount
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
Experience:
- Veterinary experience: 1 year (Preferred)
- Veterinary assistant: 1 year (Preferred)
Ability to Commute:
- Lawrence, KS 66046 (Required)
Work Location: In person