Shift Lead Veterinary Technician - Emergency
Description
Shift Lead Veterinary Technician – Emergency
Day shift/Full-time: 3 day, 12 hour schedule, including one weekend shift
Austin, TX
Pet Specialists of Austin (PSA) is looking for a Shift Lead Vet Tech to join our team as part of the Thrive Pet Healthcare community.
At PSA, a Thrive Pet Healthcare partner, you will have the support, tools, and resources to elevate your skills. As a hospital deeply rooted in the local community, you will experience the best of both worlds: a genuine local feel with the benefits of Thrive's national resources.
About You
Role Responsibilities:
The Emergency Shift Lead Veterinary Technician is not only responsible for providing all veterinary nursing duties in the hospital but also provides direction to veterinary technicians and assistants. The Shift Lead technician should be knowledgeable in a wide variety of areas and is able to train staff in these areas including client service, communication, clinical pathology, radiology, animal nursing care, anesthesia, surgical assistance, emergency medicine, among others. The shift lead technician is expected to uphold the hospitals core values while maintaining professional composure
Shift Lead – has time management skills, delegation skills, is communicative with team and leadership members, solution-oriented, role-model, trainer, trustworthy, reliable, accountable, and is responsible.
Our Ideal Candidate:
- Strong emergency veterinary skills
- Previous Leadership experience within the veterinary space
- Superior customer service skills
- Excellent communication skills
Job Requirements:
- 5+ years experience as a Veterinary Technician in Specialty and Emergency or General Practice preferred
- Associate’s degree in Veterinary Technology preferred
- Licensure (CVT, LVT, RVT) preferred
- Prior supervisory/management experience preferred
- Flexible in schedule to include weekends, evenings, and holidays.
- May be required to work overtime on occasion
Leadership:
- Time Managing/Delegation - assigning team members in the most efficient role; delegating mid/end of shift duties, holding accountable for role responsibilities, case assignments
- Review of treatment and order sheets, conducting shift to flow as smoothly as possible, acting as float
- Directing team members to the next task (sedated procedures; obtaining triages/dx; or discharging etc., moving team members fluidly as needed based on patient and case load
- Team Huddles – 5 minutes to group everyone together beginning/mid/near end to redirect flow (what needs to be focused on and where are priorities of team - Cleaning? Discharging? Sedated Procedures? Breaks, meals? Critical case? etc.)
- Focus on shift efficiency and workflow, to be able to provide efficient care to pet and client.
- Effective Communicator –
- Guide and help prioritize
- Train and mentor, coach in the moment
- Lead – work for the team, recognize when team is struggling
- Communicating with Nurse Manager, Medical Director and other members of the leadership team. Participate in regular lead check-ins to discuss current potholes (concerns) and also setting-up milestone (goals). Hold accountability in developing, rolling out and enforcing new protocols and training guidelines.
Solution-Oriented:
- Must possess conflict-solution and solution based response to potholes presented during shifts, handling with Servant Leadership, high EQ and Proactive Conflict Resolution Conversation Techniques, recognizing teaching moments and taking advantage of them.
- Make recommendations for Performance Improvement Plans and Corrective Actions, with complete documentation, action items and proactive suggestions.
Role-Model:
- Reinforce policies/process flows (triage sheets, checking charts in real time, round sheets, cleaning log etc.
- Hold team accountable when policies, protocols, workflows are not upheld, teach first, then proceed with next step.
Training:
- Schedule hours for one-on-one time with each employee to work on assessments and training needs
- Perform assessments on every team member, develop individualized training plans for each team member.
- Recognize gaps in training, need for consistent protocols. Present to leadership meetings so training and protocols can become action items
- Encourage and execute cross-training opportunities, schedule and move team members as needed
- Coach and mentor in the moment, communicate to DVM and team each team members’ training goals, hold team members accountable for progress, provide encouragement and positive for accomplishments.
- Guide team with wet labs, webinars, drills, case studies, etc.
Accountability:
- Accountable for enforcing policy changes, process flow changes, updates, communicate and hold team responsible for all changes and updates in policies, protocols and medical protocols.·
- Uphold hospital Vision and Core Values at all times
- Uphold and enforce all Thrive Pet Healthcare Policies and Procedures, including OSHA, Controlled Substances, Attendance, Code of Conduct, etc.
Technical duties:
- Nursing/patient care
- Triage, complete physical examination, stabilization of emergent patient
- Follow Rule of 20 critical care nursing principles, monitoring changes in patients’ condition, administering treatments on time, provide excellent nursing care.
- Administer blood transfusion and monitor appropriately
- Provide and follow proper isolation procedures for infectious patients
- Calculate proper medication and fluid doses and administer properly using proper route, well-versed on side effects, contraindications, etc. Understand pharmacology of all medications used
- Perform collection of diagnostic specimens, place IVC, central and PICC lines, urinary catheters, cystocentesis
- Record all procedures and medical notes properly on patient’s medical record, using proper medical terminology and notation. Proper invoicing of treatments and procedures performed during shift
- Apply proper wound care and bandage technique
- Apply proper aseptic technique
- Perform all technical duties associated with emergency and critical care
- Laboratory procedures
- Operate and maintain all in house laboratory equipment, trouble-shooting
- Perform in-house laboratory diagnostics including urinalysis, hematology, fecal, ear cytology, aspirate cytology, skin cytology, PCV/TP, blood typing and crossmatch for blood transfusion, etc
- Radiology procedures
- Observe and enforce all safety requirements and proper PPE use
- Obtain appropriate diagnostic radiographs
- Operate ultrasound machine
- Anesthesia/surgical duties
- Perform pre-operative exam and laboratory diagnostics
- Create, calculate and administer anesthetic protocols with DVM according to individual patient needs, understand pharmacology of all anesthetic and analgesic medications
- Prepare OR suite
- Operate and trouble shoot anesthetic machines, circuits and ventilator. Maintenance of machines
- Proficient at intubation properly
- Induce, maintain and recover patient from anesthesia
- Properly operate and interpret all monitoring equipment, trouble shooting
- Respond to and be prepared for anesthetic emergencies
- Perform proper surgical instrument care, cleaning and maintenance. Prepare and sterilize surgical packs, obtain certification to operate gas sterilizer
- Perform set-up, maintenance and cleaning of endoscopy equipment
About the Hospital
Pet Specialists of Austin is a 24 hour emergency and specialty referral hospital that invests heavily in our teams' growth and development. Opened in 2021, we pride ourselves on providing the Austin area with compassionate and quality emergency, and specialty care including neurology surgery, internal medicine and oncology. We provide an emotionally intelligent work environment and strive to maintain a positive work/life balance.
Benefits – our care in action
Thrive offers a suite of benefits to support team members’ emotional, physical, professional, and financial wellbeing. In addition to our health and life insurance, and short- and long- term disability plans, we offer eligible team members:
- Competitive pay
- 401(k) with employer match
- Mental health resources, including 24/7 access to Lyra Health
- Paid parental leave
- Purr-ental leave for when you adopt a pet
- Employer-sponsored childcare and elder care
- Personalized care for every family-forming journey
- Discretionary funds and FREE CE courses
- Pet perks and veterinary service discounts
- Student loan management tools and assistance
Provide your best care with more bridges and less barriers.
We listen to your needs and then meet them. Through training and free CE experiences, your career development can flourish. And in our locally rooted, nationally connected community, you’ll be able to make connections, access opportunities and find support with ease.
Support for you is as vital as the support you provide.
You’ll Thrive With Us
At Thrive, you have the opportunity to develop your career in a way that best suits your goals. Take advantage of our comprehensive learning and skill-building programs to enhance your expertise. You can build your skills and earn credentials through:
- Our vast, diverse, and free library of continuing education courses - ThriveU
- Live, virtual interactive workshops to develop valuable leadership skills
- A program to designed to teach you the fundamentals of running a pet hospital
- Scholarship opportunities and tuition reimbursement
- Move into any specialty, hospital type, or environment – across the nation.
- Leadership training for a thriving and long career in the veterinary profession.
About Thrive
Vet-founded and Austin-born, Thrive Pet Healthcare has expanded to over 380 partner hospitals nationwide, united by a mission to shape the future of pet well-being through medical excellence, innovative technology, and a connected community of teams and partners.
We bridge general practice, urgent care, specialty, and emergency care, and our locally rooted, nationally connected hospitals benefit from Thrive's extensive resources while maintaining their unique identities.
We believe that supporting our people is the key to helping pets thrive through every stage of life.
Join us where #WeThriveTogether. We provide customizable professional development opportunities, a supportive work environment that values work-life rhythms, and 24/7 mental health support.
At Thrive Pet Healthcare, we are committed to creating a culture where everyone from any background can be heard, respected, and valued. We pledge to build an inclusive environment nurtured by respectful curiosity to support, encourage, and celebrate the diverse voices of our teams and the communities we serve.