Patient Care Assistant

The Pet Care Assistant works with the veterinary medical team to provide and prepare for the best medical care of pets.ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND TASKS  Live and exemplify the Five Principles of Mars, Inc. within self and team.  Prepare the treatment room for examination of pets and all necessary medical item and supplies (e.g. vaccinations, fecal loops, slides, etc.) for the veterinarian and/or veterinary technician. Set up fecals, smears, and skin scrapings as allowed by state rules and regulations.  Serve as support to the Client Services Coordinator, Veterinary Assistant and Veterinary Technician.  Hold or restrain pets during examination, treatment, or inoculation.  Prepare routine in-house laboratory tests (e.g. canine heartworm, feline leukemia, FIV, and canine parvovirus) as allowed by state rules and regulations.  Monitor the comfort of hospitalized patients. Ensure the comfort of hospitalized patients by "walking", exercising, feeding, and cleaning cages and pet (when approved by the veterinarian or veterinary technician).  Bathe and dip pets when necessary to treat dermatological conditions (when advised by veterinarian or veterinary technician.  Clean the surgical suite and instruments.  Ensure cleanliness of the hospital including but not limited to housekeeping such as laundry, dishes, mopping, cage cleaning, trash collection and removal and instrument cleaning as outlined by hospital protocols  Other job duties as assignedCAPABILITIES AND EXPERIENCE (CAN DO)  Ability to multi-task – Manages multiple tasks at one time; quickly and accurately shifts attention among multiple tasks under distracting conditions without loss of accuracy or appearance of frustration.  Communication skills – Reads, writes and speaks fluent English, using appropriate grammar, style and vocabulary. Correctly spells commonly used English words and job specific terms. Demonstrates exceptionally strong written and verbal communication skills.  Organizational ability – Demonstrates a systematic approach in carrying out assignments. Is very orderly and excels at cutting through confusion and turning chaos into order.  Problem solving skills – Demonstrates a strong ability to identify, analyze and solve problems. Unusually decisive in handling difficult problems. Translates problems into practical solutions.  Client service skills – Consistently ensures the team provides the client with attentive, courteous and informative service. Gains and shows personal satisfaction from delivering great service.  Intellectual ability – Accurately and consistently follows instructions delivered in an oral, written or diagram format. Can provide directions.  Mathematical ability – Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide, and to compute rate, ratio and percent; ability to convert units of measurement.  Computer skills – Comfortably and confidently uses a computer and specialized software. Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Outlook, etc Ability to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and climb as well as manipulate (lift, carry, move) up to 50 pounds.  Requires good hand-eye coordination, arm-hand-finger dexterity with the ability to grasp, and visual acuity to use a keyboard and operate equipment.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.  Associate is routinely exposed to a variety of pets that may bite or scratch, and on occasion, exposed to anesthesia, radiation, biological hazards and medication/controlled substances