Our Careers

RVT Job Description

The veterinary technician is the veterinarian’s primary medical support and plays a vital role in the practice. Technicians must value the quality of care we provide at Del Valle Pet Hospital and uphold our mission statement: To practice the highest quality medicine, provide and maintain a professional clinical setting to benefit our clients and patients and to create a stimulating, organized and pleasant work environment.

• The technician aids the veterinarian in achieving greater efficiency in overall patient care. Technicians should enjoy working with people and animals.
• Technicians must be detail oriented and make good decisions, respond quickly and calmly to crises and maintain high standards of patient care.
• A technician’s focus is ever-changing according to the priority of the moment. This often requires multi-tasking and creative thinking. Strong interpersonal skills, set a good example, and promote a positive work environment.
• Technicians need to communicate clearly with the veterinarians, other team members as well as with clients to ensure patients receive the care they need.
• Ability to read and write legibly in English and to communicate clearly both in person and over the telephone.
• Basic computer literacy, including typing, and experience with general office equipment and software such as Microsoft Windows, Word, and Excel.
• Learn how to use the practice management software (Avimark) to enter services, medications, procedures and updates into patient record.
• Registered technicians must be graduates of an AVMA accredited training school or program. They must be licensed with the state of California in good standing and must complete all professional requirements to maintain their licensure.
• Ability to work with animals even when they are stressed, ill or in pain. Calmly and safely restrain pets who may struggle, scratch or try to bite.
• Must be able to observe abnormal behaviors and physical problems in patients. Safely and humanely restrain patients.
• Perform common outpatient procedures (i.e., nail trims, ear cleanings, anal gland expression, etc). Employees must be able to respond calmly and quickly to frequent auditory signals, warnings, or communication from other staff, animals or medical equipment.
• Employees should be able to work unaffected in an environment where dogs are barking loudly or constantly. Must be able to make independent, common sense decisions and solve complex problems.
• Perform physical duties include repetitive standing, walking, bending, twisting, and lifting up to 50lbs. Must be able to grasp, hold and manipulate objects. Other physical duties include working on a computer/ phone for extended periods of time.
• Technicians must be able to operate and maintain equipment pertinent to carrying out their duties, including but not limited to laboratory equipment, anesthesia and dental and radiographic equipment.
• Update client/patient records including reminders and progress exams. Document all relevant conversations with clients (i.e., patient status updates, labwork results, etc.)
• Perform and document in-house lab tests,, PCV/TP, skin/ear cytology, including ELISA snap tests. Review the appointment schedule and plan for procedures. Assess patient status, review patient plan, perform hospitalized patient’s treatments according to the veterinarian’s orders and document such activity. Monitor patients for vomit, blood, urine and feces in the cage, and clean patients and cages as needed. Note incidents in the medical record. Monitor changes in patients’ conditions. Alert the veterinarian to significant changes. Be able to recognize signs and degrees of pain and discomfort.
• Perform emergency procedures including shock assessment and initiation of treatment, control of hemorrhage, establishing an airway by intubation and providing ventilation with oxygen, applying temporary bandages or splints and clipping and cleaning wounds.
• Recognize patients with potentially contagious diseases and follow isolation procedures. Be familiar with zoonotic diseases.
• Assist with humane euthanasia as requested.
• Properly calculate medication volumes and rates of administration. Administer injectable, topical and oral medications to patient. Perform venipuncture and place IV catheters and administer IV fluids using an IV pump according to the veterinarian’s orders. Perform cystocentesis.
• Anesthesia and Surgical Assistance: Understand aseptic principles and apply them at all times to surgical patients, instruments, equipment and rooms. Knowledge of various anesthetic agents and their use in different patients. Operate, interpret and maintain vital signs equipment and other general surgical equipment (vital signs monitor, surgical table, electrosurgical units, suction, etc.)
• Operate and maintain anesthetic machines with closed- and open-circuit anesthetic systems. Knowledge of commonly used analgesics and resuscitative medications. Administer injectable and gas anesthesia according to standard practice protocols. Properly maintain a patient airway using endotracheal intubation.
• Monitor and maintain anesthetized patients by observation/manual parameters and by use of vital signs equipment.
• Perform standard surgical field preparation and patient positioning. Knowledge and maintenance of standard surgical instruments. Assist the veterinarian in surgery as directed. Monitor and assure safety of patients during post-operative recovery. Perform extubation. Properly clean, prepare and sterilize surgical equipment. Maintain accurate surgery log. Perform post-operative client update calls upon patient recovery.

To apply, please email your resume to info@delvallepethospital.com with the email subject as follows – Job Application: RVT. We look forward to meeting you!