Veterinary Technician - Emergency and Critical Care Services

Provide standard paramedical technical support in a professional and courteous manner:

• Work as a team with students, interns, residents and faculty to provide skilled nursing care for all patients including, but not limited to emergencies, critical care, post-surgical, acute and chronic conditions, and isolation, which may include methicillin resistant organisms and zoonotic diseases.
• Perform and teach patient triage, patient history, obtain approval for initial stabilization and resuscitation orders from the owner.
• Use and teach problem solving skills to assist with patient care in both emergent and non-emergent situations.
• Recognize and teach to recognize physical abnormalities such as, but not limited to; cardiac murmurs/arrhythmias, abnormal pulmonary auscultation, respiratory difficulty and distress, change in mentation, abnormal physical exam findings, and signs of shock.
• Recognize and teach to recognize pulmonary or cardiopulmonary arrest and immediately initiate Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) if indicated. Perform and teach both basic and advanced CPR life support as directed by the veterinarian.
• Restrain and teach to restrain patients using appropriate techniques.
• Administer and teach to administer sedation and monitor patient vitals as directed by the veterinarian.
• Record and teach to record the administration of all controlled substances on the appropriate forms and patient records.
• Perform and teach venipuncture and cystocentesis.
• Perform and teach electronic submission of samples to clinical pathology and the diagnostic laboratory.
• Perform and teach to analyze venous/arterial blood gases, packed cell volume (PCV)/total solids(TS), blood glucose (BG), lactate, ketostick, slide agglutination, ect.
• Perform and teach the use of basic monitoring equipment such as indirect blood pressure (doppler and oscillometric), electrocardiogram (ECG), pulse oximetry, and continuous temperature monitoring.
• Complete and review (and teach how to) monitoring and treatments as directed on the patient’s care plan, such as Intensive Care Unit (ICU) flow sheet or Emergency Room (ER) patient record. Contact veterinarian with abnormal findings when something is not within the set call parameters.
• Assist and teach to assist veterinarians with variety of procedures including abdominocentesis, thoracocentesis, pericardiocentesis, wound care, chest tube placement, nasogastric/nasoesophageal tube placement and unblocking urinary obstructions.
• Perform and teach the placement of peripheral intravenous catheters (IVCs) and the placement of both central venous jugular catheters and peripheral central venous catheters.
• Perform and teach a variety of procedures including indwelling urinary catheter placement, direct arterial blood pressure monitoring, continuous ECG monitoring, and nasal oxygen tube placement.
• Maintain, trouble shoot, and teach the care and use of intravenous(IV) fluid and syringe pumps, indwelling urinary catheters, Jackson-Pratt grenade style drains, chest tubes, continuous chest tube suction(Pleuravac), central line catheters, peripheral IVCs, feeding tubes, oxygen cage, nasal oxygen, nebulization, and temporary/permanent tracheostomy care.
• Assist and teach how to calculate drug dosages and fluid/CRI rates.
• Set up and teach the administration of IV fluids, continuous rate infusions (CRI’s) and other medications as directed by the veterinarian.
• Aseptically prepare and teach to prepare blood products for administration, monitor appropriately during transfusion and record monitoring parameters.
• Set up and teach how to administer enteral feedings through nasogastric (NG), nasoesophageal (NE), esophagostomy (E)-tube, gastrostomy (G)-tube, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), or jejunostomy (J)-tubes, as directed by the veterinarian. Perform treatments and administer medications under the direct or written orders of the veterinarian.
• Record and teach to record treatments, procedures, supplies, and thorough notes on patient’s medical record.
• Record and teach to record and enter charges for supplies and procedures into the electronic medical record (EMR).
• Maintain and teach to maintain ECC patient logs. Provide and teach to provide instruction in a professional and courteous manor.
• Orientation, direction and instruction of students and clinicians.
• Provide instruction of on general ECC procedures.
• Use problem solving skills to instruct students and lower level technicians how to assist with patient care in both…