Stray Cat Alliance is a non-profit organization focused on educating and empowering communities to advocate for every cat’s right to be safe, healthy, and valued. Every day, our team works to save the helpless lives of kittens and cats by providing: spay/neuter, trap neuter return (TNR), adoptions, wellness care, medical care, and community shelter support. Our goals are to:
- Eradicate cruelty toward cats through advocacy, rescue, and education.
- Find loving forever homes for cats and kittens taken in through all of our programs.
- Help shelters transform themselves from executioners to safe havens for cats by implementing our life-saving policies and procedures.
- Educate the community about the plight of free-roaming cats and empower people to take action to stop population growth through spay and neuter.
- Create and sustain a No-Kill Nation by mentoring other communities to become no kill through our grassroots programs.
Stray Cat Alliance envisions a time when all cats are valued and safe whether in homes or communities, and when shelters serve as temporary safe havens.
Reporting directly to the Shelter Clinic Manager, the Registered Veterinary Technician (RVT) will be a part of Stray Cat Alliance’s medical team and their rotating veterinarians, ensuring the health and well-being of all cats in our care. This position focuses on working with our animals on-site and in foster. The RVT performs all of the duties of a Registered Vet Technician, including providing high-quality, practical veterinary care to a wide range of emergency patients.
No cat is turned away. No euthanasia will be performed. The only time Stray Cat Alliance authorizes euthanasia is when the animal is truly suffering and then a licensed veterinarian will perform euthanasia.
**TO APPLY: Please read this posting THOROUGHLY and, if you fit the requirements, send us your resume and a paragraph or two detailing why you are interested in this role.**
ESSENTIAL DUTIES
Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
Learning & Leadership
- Perform, teach, and supervise all duties of the Technician/Veterinarian Assistant.
- Assist in training and supervision of technician student externs, new technicians, and other staff members.
- Provide staff leadership for tasks in a professional and personable way.
- Promote a positive attitude and demonstrate a commitment to the vision and mission of Stray Cat Alliance.
- Make suggestions for how to improve practice protocols.
Patient Care
- Review the appointment schedule and plan for procedures.
- Assess patient status, review patient plan, perform patient’s treatments according to the veterinarian’s orders and document such activity.
- Monitor patients for vomit, blood, urine and feces in the cage, and clean patients and cages as needed. Note incidents in the medical record.
- Monitor changes in patients’ conditions. Alert the veterinarian and Shelter Clinic Manager to significant changes.
- Know common disease states and alert the veterinarian and Shelter Clinic Manager when symptoms change or when concerns arise with patients.
- Use technical skills to assist the veterinarian with out-patient care, anticipate what the veterinarian will need for appointments and do everything you can to set up and assist the doctor and Shelter Clinic Manager.
- Manage emergency patient care and alert the veterinarian as soon as possible.
- Be able to recognize signs and degrees of pain and discomfort. Understand the medications and methods used to control pain.
- Perform emergency procedures including shock assessment and initiation of treatment, control of hemorrhage, establishing an airway by intubation and providing ventilation with oxygen, performing external cardiac massage, applying temporary bandages or splints, and clipping and cleaning wounds.
- Recognize patients with potentially contagious diseases and follow isolation procedures. Be familiar with zoonotic diseases.
- Safely and humanely restrain patients.
- Perform common outpatient procedures (i.e. nail trims, ear cleanings, anal gland expression, etc).
- Assist with humane euthanasia as requested.
- Properly calculate medication volumes and rates of administration.
- Administer injectable, topical, and oral medications to patients.
- Perform venipuncture and place IV catheters and administer IV fluids using an IV pump according to the veterinarian’s orders.
- Perform cystocentesis and be familiar with the management of urinary catheters.
- Be proficient in the placement and administration of nasal intubation for oxygen administration.
- Properly implant microchips and test their functionality.
- Be skilled in applying a variety of bandages.
- Perform routine dental scaling, polishing and fluoride. Recognize and bring to the veterinarian’s attention any abnormalities. Perform dental charting and document the procedure in the medical record.
- Update patient records including reminders and progress exams. Document all relevant conversations with fosters (i.e. patient status updates, labwork results, etc.)
Laboratory Procedures
- Be able to type match blood samples. Obtain and administer whole blood or plasma transfusions. Monitor for transfusion reactions.
- Perform radiographs, including dental, and evaluate for proper positioning and exposure. Be proficient in conducting contrast imaging studies. Adhere to radiographic safety standards.
- Clean and maintain laboratory equipment.
- Know how to use common diagnostic equipment (i.e. ECG, BP, sPO2, IOP, i-Stat, AlphaTrak, refractometer, centrifuge, IDEXX CBC/Chem, PCV, Microscope, etc.)
- Perform and document in-house lab tests, including blood smears, PCV/TP, urinalysis with sediments, fecal tests, skin/ear cytology, including ELISA snap tests.
Anesthesia and Surgical Assistance
- Understand aseptic principles and apply them at all times to surgical patients, instruments, equipment, and rooms.
- Be proficient in various anesthetic agents and their use in different patients.
- Operate, interpret, and maintain vital signs equipment and other general surgical equipment (vital signs monitor, surgical table, electrosurgical units, suction, etc.)
- Operate and maintain anesthetic machines with closed- and open-circuit anesthetic systems. Maintain oxygen supply and assure use of scavenger system.
- Knowledge of commonly used analgesics and resuscitative medications. Properly calculate emergency medication volumes.
- Knowledge of fluid therapies for intraoperative use (i.e. Normosol, hetastarch, hypertonic saline, plasma, whole blood) and properly calculate volumes and rates.
- Administer injectable and gas anesthesia according to standard practice protocols. Nonregistered technicians may not induce general anesthesia.
- Properly maintain a patient airway using endotracheal intubation.
- Monitor and maintain anesthetized patients by observation/manual parameters and by use of vital signs equipment.
- Perform standard surgical field preparation and patient positioning.
- Know and maintain standard surgical instruments.
- Knowledge of a variety of surgical procedures and ability to anticipate what supplies and equipment are needed for surgical set-up.
- Assist the veterinarian in surgery as directed.
- Resuscitate and care for neonatal patients.
- Monitor and assure safety of patients during post-operative recovery. Perform extubation.
- Operate and maintain autoclave.
- Properly clean, prepare, and sterilize surgical equipment.
- Maintain accurate surgery log.
- Perform post-operative client update calls upon patient recovery.
Management and Regulatory Tasks
- Perform laboratory, treatment, and surgical inventory maintenance as requested.
- Receive deliveries.
- Ensure that working areas are stocked with medical supplies at all times.
- Maintain controlled substance log. Keep controlled drugs secured to meet Drug Enforcement Agency and California state law specifications.
- Maintain radiology log to comply with AAHA standards and/or California state laws.
- Maintain cleanliness and organization in the treatment area, surgery suite, imaging, cages, and runs.
- Complete closing checklist for laboratory, treatment, imaging, and surgery daily.
EXPERIENCE AND LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS
- RVT certification (or equivalent) with CA State veterinary license required
- Minimum 3 years RVT experience
- Shelter medicine experience a plus
PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS
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- Position involves walking or standing for extended periods of time with frequent work in a bent position.
- Must be able to work around animals (including deceased, injured, and/or potentially aggressive animals), loud noises, chlorine or other chemicals.
- May be exposed to unpleasant odors, noises and animal feces. May be exposed to bites, scratches and contagious diseases.
TIME COMMITMENT
- Full-time with an average of 40 hours per week, including weekend and holiday work. Position could include split-shifts and irregular days/hours, which may include weekends, early morning and late evening hours.
BENEFITS
- Full-time employees are eligible for insurance benefits after 30 days.
- 5 days paid vacation plus 6 paid sick days accrued within the first year of employment.
EMPLOYMENT DISCLAIMER: This job description is not a contract – management reserves the right to change its contents at any time. Stray Cat Alliance does not discriminate on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, or sexual orientation. Stray Cat Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
- 8 hour shift
- Holidays
- Monday to Friday
- Weekends
Employment Type: Full Time
Years Experience: 1 – 3 years
Salary: $23 – $30 Hourly
Bonus/Commission: No