Title: Licensed Veterinary Technician I

Department: Animal Medical Department

This position reports to: Shelter Veterinarian

Schedule: Full-time; 38 hours/week; Monday-Friday 7am-4pm (8-hour days, with the ability to choose one day of the week to leave 2 hours early)

$5,000 hiring bonus!

Ready for a meaningful adventure? Want to go home at the end of each day knowing you made a difference in the lives of many animals? Tired of financial discussions with owners and product sales? Come work alongside our passionate and knowledgeable staff and volunteers in the Animal Medical Department at the Nebraska Humane Society! Our veterinary team values a whole-animal approach, incorporating the Five Freedoms and Fear Free Sheltering™ into our daily veterinary patient care.

We care about our people, too! Competitive salary and benefits. Get one day a week to leave earlier than your “normal” schedule for errands, appointments, you name it. Take time at work to develop a self-care plan to prevent compassion fatigue and burnout in the veterinary field.

You will experience personal and professional growth through unique shelter medicine and high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter (HQHVSN) experiences. Enjoy performing anesthesia and monitoring patients? We got it! Care for hospitalized shelter animals and become their “person” during the shelter stay. Witness those same animals find their “furever” home in our state-of-the-art new adoption center. Appreciate access to a full diagnostic suite – Abaxis CBC, and blood chemistry analyzers, VetScan SA, digital radiography, Butterfly iQ Vet ultrasound, and more. Over 15,000 diagnostic tests were performed in 2021. Perhaps you’d like exposure to various species – we’ve got them all! Cats, dogs, pocket pets, exotics, and the occasional stray small livestock. Those with a special interest in veterinary forensics have an opportunity to go deeper and learn through assisting shelter veterinarians with cruelty investigations.

In 2021, 5268 shelter animals received HQHVSN services. 5,854 shelter animals received microchips. Nearly 1,000 specialized surgeries and dental procedures were also performed.

Do the math. Impact more lives as a Licensed Veterinary Technician at the Nebraska Humane Society.

Benefits

• Competitive pay and benefits
• Hiring bonus - $2500 at start of employment and $2500 at 6 months with performance meeting or exceeding expectations
• Flexible schedule options – both 4-and 5-days work weeks (38 hours)
• 1 hour lunch
• CE reimbursement - $600/year
• Uniform allowance
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness Qualified Employer
• Pre-exposure rabies inoculation
• Health, dental and vision insurance
• 403(b)
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) for health and dependent care
• Medical, dental and vision insurance
• PTO – Personal and Vacation
• Holidays – eight paid holidays
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Purpose of Position: Provide veterinary medical and surgical nursing skills with a focus on shelter medicine. Veterinary technicians enhance the lives of animals at the Nebraska Humane Society (NHS) by partnering with fellow colleagues to prepare animals for adoption, alleviate suffering and bring justice to victims of cruelty. Periodic rotation through the NHS Spay & Neuter Center occurs on an as need basis.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

This position description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees are required to follow any other job related duties assigned by their supervisor. This document does not create an employment contract implied or otherwise, and does not alter the “at‐ will” relationship.

• Perform medication rounds for shelter animals
  • Administer prescribed pain medications, antibiotics, antiparasitics and vaccines
  • Relieve animal suffering and comfort the sick
  • Provide supplemental feeding to puppies and kittens too young for adoption
  • Assist NHS veterinarians in disease surveillance
• Collect specimens and perform diagnostics as prescribed by NHS veterinarians – common diagnostics include:
  • Digital radiographs
  • Fecal exams by centrifugation
  • Skin scrapes and cytology
  • In-house CBC and chemistry panels
  • DTMs, Wood’s Lamp and trichograms
  • Heartworm, FeLV and FIV tests
  • UAs
  • Parvo tests
  • Submit various diagnostics to off-site laboratories
• Provide enrichment and stress reduction for animals through humane handling
• Perform medical rounds with NHS veterinarians
  • Ensure prompt and accurate medical record updates
  • Assist in examination of shelter animals
• Administer pre-medication, induce anesthesia and intubate surgical patients
• Direct other staff and volunteers on a rotational basis as lead anesthetist
• Monitor anesthetized patients
• Assist in animal emergency triage and resuscitation
• Place IV catheters
• Prepare animals for surgery
• Perform dental cleaning and non-surgical extraction as allowed for by state regulations
• Recover anesthesia patients with the assistance of trained volunteers
• Handle and record controlled substances for large volumes of surgical patients
• Assist in training new staff members, department volunteers, veterinary students and interns
• Collaborate with personnel from other NHS departments
• Perform safe and humane euthanasia when necessary on a limited basis in Animal Medical Department
• Act as a resource for adopters answering pre and post adoption medical questions
• Maintain clean treatment, housing and examination areas
• Periodically review, provide input and adhere to Animal Medical Department and shelter protocols
• Assist in the cleaning and sterilization of surgical equipment
• Perform any other duties as may be assigned by the Operations Manager or veterinarian

Position Qualifications: Education, Experience, Certification, and Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

Required

• Minimum: Associate of Applied Science Degree in Veterinary Technology from an accredited program
• Must be a licensed veterinary technician in the state of Nebraska
  • Consideration will be given to veterinary technicians currently licensed in another state with a background in shelter/rescue work – must be able to obtain Nebraska veterinary technician license
• Must adhere to applicable state and federal laws governing the practice of veterinary medicine
• Display affection and compassion for animals and concern for their welfare
• Must adhere to highest ethical standards; possess trustworthiness, exercise maturity and sound independent judgment while maintaining a professional manner and personal appearance
• Ability to clearly communicate verbally and in writing
• Must have valid driver’s license with acceptable driving record and be able to provide proof of vehicle insurance
• Be comfortable and skilled working with a culturally diverse staff and community
• Must be considerate, respectful and display a helpful demeanor to all employees, volunteers and customers
• Must be able to work cordially, safely and efficiently in face-paced, stressful conditions
• Must possess the ability to cope with loss of animal life from illness, injury and euthanasia
• Must exhibit the organization core values of compassion for all animals, respect and dignity for all, strive for excellence and teamwork
• Ability to safely and humanely handle animals
• Ability to respectfully give and receive feedback
• Ability to work independently and part of a team
• Ability to work in close proximity of others

Desired

• One year veterinary technical experience preferred
• Previous experience in a shelter and/or high volume spay/neuter
• Familiarity with Microsoft operating systems and computer literate in Microsoft Office

Work Conditions:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions within the work environment.

• Minimum 38 hours per week; may periodically exceed 40 hrs. One to two holiday shifts are required per year.
• The noise level in the office environment is usually quiet, though barking or whining of animals may be escalated at certain times in certain areas of the building.
• High exposure to animals whose reactions to the shelter environment cannot be predicted.
• Temperatures in the shelter environment are varied, though usually moderate, and dependent on the season.
• Potential exposure to zoonotic diseases and hazardous chemicals.
• Ability to work around animals without severe allergic reactions.