Overall Responsibility:
The Exotics technician must be outgoing, be able to work independently, possess excellent communication skills, and make use of all available time. The Exotics technician must have good organizational skills and the ability to perform and work proficiently in a wide variety of daily situations. The technician must also be able to work with every department in the hospital. The Exotics technician provides a link between clients, client services, doctors, and technicians.
Key Areas of Responsibility:
Stocking/cleaning
Facilitate the doctor’s daily schedule.
- Prepare the exam room for each visit. Acquire tools needed for exam.
- Retrieve patient charts from client services in order of appointment time or doctor request.
- Greet clients in the waiting room and escort to appropriate exam room.
- Admit patients to hospital.
- Obtain current body weight, heart rate, temperature, and respiratory rate.
- Conduct a throughout patient history and determine reason for visit.
- Perform and assist with all aspects of patient restraint for exams and procedures.
- Triage emergency exotics patients.
- Assist with patient discharges.
- Thoroughly discuss diet and husbandry recommendations with owners at discharge.
- Be familiar with vaccines for different species and identify vaccine reactions.
- Set up and break down/clean for surgical or medical procedures.
Facilitate diagnostics
- Perform venipuncture on multiple species.
- Collect and prepare cytology, fecal direct, and trichogram samples.
- Prepare lab forms for all in-hospital or outside lab work.
- Print labels for consults/diagnostics in other services (diagnostic imaging, cardiology).
- Be able to run an Abaxis VetScan rotor and enter results into Cornerstone
- Know proper tubes/slides needed for blood panels.
- Prepare and properly perform a Gram stain and DiffQuik stain. Train in evaluation of avian fecal cytology.
- Complete and submit Necropsy requests.
Communication
- Make appropriate estimates and properly explain estimates to clients.
- Call in prescriptions to compounding pharmacies.
- Check doctor’s voicemail and return calls as appropriate.
- Perform follow up calls for recently discharged and/ or sick patients.
- Confirm out-patient appointments and scheduled surgeries for the following day
- Round with overnight technicians on patient status and needs after hours.
- Client communication and documentation.
- Check department email and respond appropriately
Excellent patient care
- Perform basic grooming (ear cleaning, pedicures, scent gland cleaning etc.).
- Assist doctor with medical, and euthanasia procedures.
- Place and maintain IV and IO catheters in multiple species.
- Calculate ad retrieve prescribed drugs.
- Administer SQ fluids, SQ/IM/IV/IO injections, topical medications, and oral medications.
- Set up fluid using fluid pumps and syringe pumps.
- Be able to properly mix and perform assisted feedings.
- Demonstrate medications and feedings to owners.
- Perform CPCR on multiple species.
- Adequately perform aftercare requests.
- Calculate emergency drugs.
- Assist with anesthesia and recovery.
- Understand placement and use of monitoring equipment.
Medical record keeping
- Be able to properly record CPCR events.
- Perform basic medical record keeping (including technician visit notes), patient care documentation, and entering charges in Cornerstone in a timely manner.
- Perform basic computer skills.
- Accurately entering charges
General
- Use and be familiar with veterinary medical terminology.
- Strong work ethic and a positive attitude.
- Must be flexible and able to acclimate to new situations.
- Ability to act as a team player
- Help provide training to other staff members within and outside of the Exotics Department.
Years of Experience Required: 2-3 years of experience including anesthesia required. Experience with exotic patients preferred but not required.
Educational Requirements: CVT preferred but not required.
Physical Requirements (if any): This job is physically active and requires frequent bending. It also requires routine lifting and restraining of animals as small as <10 grams and in excess of 100 pounds. Please be aware that this is an area of the hospital that stores/feeds nuts.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $45,000.00 - $63,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k)
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Employee discount
- Flexible spending account
- Health insurance
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Professional development assistance
- Vision insurance
Schedule:
- 10 hour shift
- 8 hour shift
Application Question(s):
- A requirement for this position is 2-3 years of veterinary experience including anesthesia. Do you meet that requirement?
Ability to Relocate:
- Tinton Falls, NJ 07724: Relocate before starting work (Required)
Work Location: In person