Overview

The College of Veterinary Medicine seeks a Veterinary Assistant that will perform various tasks related to the care and treatment of animal patients in a specialized anesthesia clinical service area. This position will focus on Small Animal Anesthesia Services.

Hours generally vary between 7:30 AM to 6 PM Monday through Friday.

Employees in this role must complete a rabies pre-exposure vaccination series and maintain adequate rabies antibody titer (≥0.5 IU/mL) as recommended by CDC guidelines. Auburn University will cover the cost of the rabies vaccination series, periodic titer checks, and any necessary boosters.

Responsibilities

• Assists in the administration and monitoring of anesthesia and a variety of tasks in the care, observation and treatment of animals in a specialized small animal clinical service area. With oversight from a veterinary anesthesiologist, independently performs anesthesia and peri-operative pain management for veterinary species.
• Specifically: perform cursory physical examinations, calculate drug dosages, maintain anesthesia equipment, administer pre-anesthetic medications, induce anesthesia, perform endotracheal intubation, insure safe positioning of patients for surgery, monitor physiological parameters, properly document anesthetic events in medical record, recognize anesthetic complications and institute proper corrective actions, recover patients from anesthesia, and enter patient charges into practice management software application.
• Responsibilities are conducted in a teaching hospital on clinical cases. Anesthetist is also responsible for overseeing and instructing professional students in the safe and effective application of veterinary anesthesia and pain management.
• Will be responsible for application of a wide variety of anesthetic agents and equipment. Manages anesthesia for moderate, complex and critical patients.
• Position has the potential to be physically (lifting, restraining, transporting animals) and mentally (rapid evaluation of physiologic parameters) demanding.
• Performing physical examinations and calculating drug dosages.
• Maintaining anesthetic equipment and administering anesthetic and analgesic medications.
• Performing endotracheal intubation and positioning animals.
• Monitoring physiologic parameters; applying patient warming devices; changing bandages; cleaning animals.
• Properly documenting peri-anesthetic events; recognizing patient complications and performing corrective measures.
• Entering patient charges into practice management software applications.
• Communicating effectively and working under the orders of a supervising veterinarian; and a willingness to learn new skills.

Qualifications

Depending upon the combination of education and experience, the qualified candidate will be selected as Veterinary Assistant and assigned Levels II or III.

Level II: Requires a high school diploma plus 2 years of professional experience in the care and comfort of animals.

Level III: Requires a high school diploma plus 4 years of professional experience in the care and comfort of animals. Experience must include at least 2 years at the preceding level or equivalent.