Come Work With Us!

Job Title: Veterinary Assistant

Schedule:
Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 6pm-12am; Potential for additional hours if desired by employee and hospital needs coverage. Additional dates for special holiday coverage may be requested on a case by case basis. 

Compensation:
$21-26/hr based on experience level; Additional $5/hr for major holidays. Occasionally may offer bonuses for shifts in need of coverage short term or special hours. We are unable to offer benefits such as health insurance/dental/401k at this time as we are a small team of 3 employees.  

Experience:
Ideally at least 6 months of veterinary experience in veterinary assisting, but will consider applicants on a case-by-case basis. Must be over the age of 18 with a high school diploma or GED equivalent. 

Duties:
Basic veterinary assistant tasks to include: 

-extensive client communication (rooming clients, obtaining histories, presenting estimates, answering phones, reviewing patient discharge instructions)
-obtaining vitals of patients 
-basic animal restraint
-after care of animal remains (paw prints/memorial items, preparation for cremation pick up)
-assisting the LVT and DVM on shift with various tasks
-patient monitoring for sedated procedures may be requested but will remain under supervision of DVM
-preparing patients for procedures/surgery (clipping/cleaning)
-administering oral and injectable medications
-filling prescription medications - you must have or be willing to obtain a Medical Clerk’s License within 30 days of employment (we will pay for the license fee)
-venipuncture, IV catheter placement - depending on employee comfort, will provide training if needed
-cleaning tasks (sweeping/mopping/laundry/cleaning surfaces/collecting trash/instrument cleaning/sterile pack preparation, etc)
-you will be cross-trained in reception duties, but we do have a full time receptionist so that will not be primary for you

Who We Are: 

Peninsula Pet Emergency is a locally owned, single doctor emergency practice in Sequim, WA operating Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights from 6pm-8am. Dr. Amanda Mason has worked in emergency medicine for over ten years, five as a technician/assistant and five as a DVM. Although we opened just in June, we are a bustling practice that regularly sees 8-10+ emergency cases a night, many include trauma cases requiring sedated surgical procedures. Dr. Mason performs all emergency surgeries and regularly has surgical patients, usually at least one per weekend. Although we are closed during the day, we do occasionally keep patients hospitalized continuously through the weekend on a case-by-case basis. We are a small team of passionate, hard working people who strive to provide excellent and compassionate care to every patient we see. We are a light-hearted, humorous group who value our employees as individual humans. Dr. Mason has set about creating this hospital as a refuge for veterinary staff who are looking for a place where culture and community are not just buzzwords. Our team has been carefully crafted to maintain a culture of people who love animals, enjoy a laugh, work hard, and empathize with our clients. We are a very open practice where questions are encouraged. We are always looking for better ways to do what we do and we value all of our employees' contributions equally. Dr. Mason and several LVTs she employs are experienced in teaching and training for advanced or unfamiliar tasks will be provided without judgement. 

Who We Are Looking For:

We are looking for someone who lives locally with reliable transportation. We need someone with a basic foundation in veterinary medicine that is experienced in safe restraint and handling of both dogs and cats. Experience communicating with clients and obtaining a proper medical history are required. We need someone comfortable using computers and software, as we are a completely electronic hospital (records, estimates, payments, treatments). Although we will provide training on all of our equipment, software, and advanced assisting (or emergency specific) tasks, we are looking for a self-starter who takes initiative, asks questions, and does well under pressure. The nature of our practice inherently involves a fair amount of traumatic injuries, emotional clients, and unfortunately, death. You do not need to have an extensive amount of experience with these situations, but you do need to be able to remain professional and compassionate with the client, patient, and staff during these events. We also occasionally see animal cruelty cases and assist local authorities with animal care - this will require complete confidentiality at all times and (although very unlikely), you could be called as a witness in a criminal case. If you are having a hard time with any case (this does happen, it’s okay), we will provide you with support and we often decompress as a team after the fact. You will always be supported and protected from any form of client abuse (we have a zero tolerance policy for abusive language/rude behavior from clients), but you also need to be able to remain professional and work towards defusing any situations where clients’ energies are heightened. We are lucky in our client base in this area as most are very kind and polite, but emergencies can bring out a lot of emotions and we unfortunately are seeing clients on their worst days. Emergency care can be stressful and sad, but we as a team try to remain light-hearted and focus on the wins - the pets that we get to send back home to their families. We provide an integral service to the community, even if the outcome is not as we hoped. 

How To Apply:

Please send a resume (including at least two references) to careers@peninsulapetemergency.com. Please do not deliver in person. An initial interview may be conducted by our hospital liaison, Sally Rodgers, prior to an interview with Dr. Mason. A paid working interview will be required prior to offering a position.