Under policy direction of the Practice Owner with support of the Leadership Team, the Associate Veterinarian provides professional medical, nutritional, dental and surgical diagnostics and treatment of companion animals.
Education and Experience:
- A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree, or equivalent, from an accredited university.
- A license to practice in the state in which he/she is employed.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Professional mannerism and appearance.
- Good interpersonal skills.
- Positive and friendly attitude.
- Ability to communicate directions and instructions clearly and effectively.
- Ability to earn respect from coworkers.
- Ability to make decisions.
- Respect for clients and their pets.
- Willingness to work with clients and their pets.
- Ability to learn and use computer.
- Ability to work under stress.
- Practices the highest standard of medicine.
- Uphold the veterinary code of ethics.
Authority:
- Directs and guides Veterinary Technicians, Veterinary Assistants and any other employee interacting with pet care
Physical Requirements:
- Dependable attendance is required.
- Any allergies to animals must be controllable through medication.
- Must be able to lift 40 pounds.
- Must be willing to work long or irregular hours under pressure conditions.
- This position requires the ability to walk, bend, stand and reach constantly during a minimum 8-hour day.
- Visual acuity sufficient to maintain accurate records, recognize people and understand written directions.
- Ability to speak and hear sufficiently to understand, give information in person and over the telephone.
- Fine motor skills adequate for utilizing hospital equipment such as electric clippers, scalpels, syringes, radiology equipment, laboratory equipment, computers, etc.
Duties: The following is a partial list of essential job responsibilities. This list may be revised at any time and additional duties may be required but are not listed
Patient Management:
- Cares – remembering that the patient’s well being is the first priority.
- Continually improve the quality of patient care through studying veterinary journals and texts and by attending seminars.
- Perform examinations, diagnostic, medical, surgical and dental procedures in a way that will deliver the highest quality care while minimizing patient stress and discomfort.
- Recommend referral to a specialist when this is likely to significantly improve the prognosis.
Client Management:
- Will promote and participate in the principles of the our Mission Statement, our Core Values, and our Standards of Conduct, and help ensure that the above is known and practiced by all employees.
- Develop rapport with clients through compassionate communication.
- Determine client’s needs and wishes.
- Question the client to ascertain the patient’s past medical and surgical history as well as a description of the current presenting signs.
- Explain physical examination findings.
- Recommend the appropriate preventive health care, including vaccines and appropriate nutritional products and protocols.
- Recommend and explain plans for diagnostic procedures and for medical and surgical therapies; methods for home care procedures and follow up plans.
- Provide the client with a prognosis of the pet’s problems.
- Generate, or direct generation of fee estimates for recommended procedures and presents them to the client.
- Keep clients informed regarding the status of their pet and results of diagnostic tests.
- Provide telephone consultation, including follow-up calls for progress reports, etc.
Administrative Management:
- Maintenance of client/patient medical/surgical records.
- Completely “SOAP” the patients medical records:
S = Subjective analysis of problem (history)
O = Objective analysis of problem (symptoms)
A = Assessment of problem (diagnosis)
P = Plan of dealing with problem (treatment)
- Make certain all necessary logs are kept up to date through established protocols and guidelines:
- Surgical logs
- Narcotics logs
- Radiology logs
- Laboratory logs
- Any other hospital logs
- Accurately charge clients for all services performed.
- Participate in the planning, execution and analysis of various methods of improving delivery of services to clients.
- Support and participate in marketing and promotional events and programs.
- Ready to report to work when the need arises.
- Contribute to maintenance of a comfortable, clean and safe environment of which the clients, the staff and the management can be proud.
Staff Management – Professional Staff:
- Ensure an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect.
- Keep patient records complete and up-to-date to assist colleagues in follow-up and future management of the patient.
- Provide consultation when requested and assisting with diagnostic, treatment and surgical procedures.
- Ensure that credit is accurately given for procedures performed by each veterinarian.
- Maintain communication with clients when their pet’s primary veterinarian is not available.
Staff Management – Technicians/Assistants:
- Maintain an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect.
- Clearly prescribe detailed directions regarding drug doses, routes, times, and rates for administration, diagnostic medical, surgical and dental procedures and instructions for patient monitoring.
- Assist technicians where necessary and foster an educational environment.
- Provide instruction in client education, diagnostic and treatment procedures, and anesthesia, care of instruments, surgical assisting and dentistry.
Staff Management – Receptionists
- Maintain an atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect.
- Expedite the generation of fee estimates for recommended procedures and the invoicing of client charges for outpatients and for patients to be discharged.
- Clearly record information, in a timely manner, regarding medications and supplies being dispensed.
- Assist receptionists in providing answers to client’s questions.
- Provide education regarding basic pet health to assist them in advising clients when scheduling appointments for examinations and various procedures.
Professional Responsibilities:
- Honesty in dealing with clients and colleagues.
- Maintain an attitude and appearance that reflect favorably on the profession.
- Empathy for colleagues when questions of clinical judgment arise.
- Share information and concerns with other members of the profession by attending veterinary meetings regularly.
- Represent the hospital to the professional community and the general public as requested.
- Model an “owner” mentality in hospital by demonstrating willingness to assist all employees for the success of the hospital.