Veterinary Technician

At Houston Methodist, the Veterinary Technician position is responsible for delivering exceptional animal care to the research animals at Houston Methodist Academic Institute (HMAI) Comparative Medicine Program (CMP) under the direction of the Comparative Medicine management which includes participating in all aspects of the health and welfare of laboratory animals, including daily monitoring and treatment, maintaining accurate health records, health surveillance, and providing requested technical services which includes inducing and monitoring anesthesia for multiple species.

FLSA STATUS
Non-exempt

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Associate's Degree

EXPERIENCE

• One year of animal handling and veterinary technician experience

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES

• Demonstrates the skills and competencies necessary to safely perform the assigned job, determined through on-going skills, competency assessments, and performance evaluations
• Sufficient proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing the English language necessary to perform the essential functions of this job, especially with regard to activities impacting patient or employee safety or security
• Ability to effectively communicate with patients, physicians, family members and co-workers in a manner consistent with a customer service focus and application of positive language principles
• Ability to use a variety of technical machinery including developing x-rays, cleaning equipment and entering essential research data into computers and databases

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

PEOPLE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Establishes and maintains working relationships and communicates effectively with the Houston Methodist Academic Institute (HMAI) animal care, veterinary and research teams.
• Contributes towards improvement of department scores for employee engagement, i.e. peer-to-peer accountability.

SERVICE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Performs veterinary procedures such as, but not limited to, blood collection, TB test placement and reading, parenteral and oral administration of materials, animal restraint, anesthesia, and tissue collection.
• Provides pre, peri and post-operative care including, but not limited to shaving and skin preparation, animal transport, administration of anesthesia and analgesia, intubation, bandaging, or any other treatment as directed by the veterinarian.
• Cleans, prepares, packs, and sterilizes surgical instruments/equipment.

QUALITY/SAFETY ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Ensures that animal records are maintained in conformance with institutional policies and federal regulations including the Animal Welfare Act, Good Laboratory Practices and the standards required by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care for accreditation.
• Ensures the CMP facility remains prepared for routine regulatory inspections and meets occupational health and safety standards.
• Identifies and clearly communicates all health problems to veterinarians in oral or written form. Understands verbal and written directions of the veterinarians and/or management.
• Maintains both written and electronic animal treatment records.

FINANCE ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Enters billing charges for services provided by CMP Veterinary Team and documents the use and transfer of controlled substances.
• Identifies and communicates cost saving initiatives within the department and is self-motivated to independently manage time effectively and prioritize daily tasks.

GROWTH/INNOVATION ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Generates and communicates new ideas and suggestions that improve quality and service for a variety of animal care, technical procedures and facility support practices.
• Embraces opportunities to acquire additional knowledge regarding guidelines and regulations that affect CMP’s animal research facility. Ensures own career discussions occur with appropriate management. Completes and updates the My Development Plan on an on-going basis.

SUPPLEMENTAL REQUIREMENTS
WORK ATTIRE

• Uniform: No
• Scrubs: Yes
• Business professional: No
• Other (department approved): No

ON-CALL*
*Note that employees may be required to be on-call during emergencies (ie. Disaster, Severe Weather Events, etc) regardless of selection below.

• On Call* No

TRAVEL**
**Travel specifications may vary by department**

• May require travel within the Houston Metropolitan area No
• May require travel outside Houston Metropolitan area No

QUALIFICATIONS

EDUCATION

• Associate's Degree

EXPERIENCE

• One year of animal handling and veterinary technician experience