Career Opportunities

The Medical Director (MD) is responsible for providing strong leadership for the hospital, managing and mentoring associate veterinarians, and assuring regulatory compliance relating to the practice of veterinary medicine. The MD is also responsible for maintaining an environment of teamwork in which the highest quality veterinary medicine is delivered. In partnership with the hospital leadership team, the MD holds shared responsibility for the financial health of the hospital, directing staff and the overall management of practice operations. The MD also serves as a staff veterinarian in addition to the administrative and leadership duties of the MD role. Effective MDs demonstrate strong work and professional ethics, a positive attitude, and uphold a high standard of patient care.

Hospital Overview:

Santa Fe Pet Hospital has been giving families and their adorable cats and dogs first-rate veterinary care every year since 1977.  We are a full-service animal hospital and offer a range of quality veterinary services to help keep your cat or dog in optimal health, such as routine exams, vaccinations, dental care, surgery, and more.  We also have an onsite diagnostics lab that helps us make sure your pet is in excellent health. 

Compensation and Benefits Overview:

• Salary Range: $175,000 - $200,000 
• No negative accrual and no non-compete!
• Paid time off and holidays
• Generous sign-on bonus and relocation assistance
• Flexible schedule options
• Employee pet care discounts
• Full benefits package, including but not limited to: Quality health, dental, vision disability, liability insurance, 401k with company contribution, including reimbursement and time off for CE & license fees and more.

If this sounds like a team you want to be a part of, please email your resume to Lindsay Aimar at laimar@petvetcarecenters.com or apply at https://www.petvetcareers.com/.

Essential Functions:

• Maintaining a high quality of progressive veterinary care
• Oversees and gives directives regarding medical standards and quality of care
• Sets policies as they pertain to the practice of medicine
• Works toward making various services work as one team
• In conjunction with appropriate leadership team members, recommends additions to the hospital inventory
• Budgets for new equipment and provides a reasonable cost estimate and return on investment
• Sees patients and handles clinical practice
• Ensures positive communication with clients and between doctors, including the proper transfer of patient care responsibilities
• Reviews patient records for completeness and accuracy and uses them to promote medical excellence
• Appropriately manages controlled drugs
• Reviews and approves requests for alternatives to additional drugs and medical supplies
• Conducts regular doctor meetings
• Performs other duties as assigned by Manager

Administration duties:

• Handles patient care problems, client complaints, and referral partner issues
• Manages veterinary, client, and board complaints and recommends resolutions
• Schedules staff at the hospital to meet practice needs
• Develops medical policies
• Assists in ensuring practice compliance with the State Veterinary Medical Practice Act, OSHA, and AAHA standards

Leading by example:

• Holds licensure in good standing to practice and maintains all required licenses with timely renewals
• Monitors DVM performance and production, provides coaching when appropriate
• Serves as a mentor and role model for all staff veterinarians

Development of the practice:

• Leads candidate interviews of potential DVMs
• Identifies new service opportunities that do not currently exist in the hospital
• Holds ownership for the revenue and success of the practice through monitoring key performance indicators and works with the Hospital Manager to make adjustments to achieve positive results
• Helps identify and plan for upcoming challenges in maintaining hospital operations and possible temporary solutions (locum)
• Performs other duties as assigned by Manager

Qualifications: Education/Experience:

• Doctor in Veterinary Medicine Degree
• 3+ years of clinical experience
• Prior experience in leadership or management preferred

Position Overview: The veterinary assistant provides support to the veterinarians and technicians in their daily tasks by cleaning and maintaining equipment, feeding, exercising and grooming patients, preparing and sanitizing surgery suites, restraining and handling patients, and clerical and administrative work. They deliver quality care for all patients and provide exceptional service.

Essential Functions:

• Provide compassionate care to all patients
• Greet patients and their owners as they arrive and show them to an examining room, taking the patient's weight and other vital signs upon arrival
• Triage patients, perform physical exams, treatments, and administer medication as directed by the licensed veterinary technicians (LVT's).
• Calm and soothe anxious patients
• Assist doctors and technicians with the administration of medications or with patient restraint
• Perform laboratory tests and take radiographs
• Operate and maintain hospital equipment, including EKG, fluid pump, syringe pump, scales, anesthetic monitors, and machines, etc.
• Fill prescriptions, calculate and administer medications, maintain proper documentation, logging, and security of controlled drugs.
• Feed patients as prescribed by the attending doctor or as the client has requested; record appetites; recognize and report any unusual conditions or abnormal behaviors
• Communicate in a positive manner with clients and ensure that they feel comfortable leaving their pet(s)
• Educate clients about insurance, wellness, and medicinal plans
• Maintain the cleanliness of the hospital each day; clean equipment, kennels, and facilities using chemicals and supplies; ensure the safe use of chemicals; complete laundry
• Bath and care for patients who stay overnight; ensure that every animal released is clean and properly groomed prior to their release
• Adhere to the hospital's safety and wellness regulations
• Understand and carry out oral and written directions
• Maintain accurate medical records
• Show up for work regularly; full-time presence at work is essential for every shift
• Promote hospital products and services and support the organization
• Respond respectfully with urgency to directions given by Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) or Licensed Veterinary Technicians (LVT).
• Perform any other duties as assigned by the Manager; may have other assigned duties if working in a specialty area (i.e., dentistry, surgery, emergency, radiology, cardiology, neurology, internal medicine, etc.)

Additional Functions: Assignment to the areas below may include the following additional job functions:

Cardiology:

• Assists in collecting and submitting laboratory samples
• Ability to learn to identify common and acquired cardiac disorders and arrhythmias
• Sets up and calibrates transducers/physiographs to measure intracardiac and intravascular pressures
• Understands the basic physiology and engineering of pacemakers

Dentistry:

• Assists with dental cleanings, polishing, and intraoral radiographs
• Assists with dental procedures and oral surgery

Dermatology:

• Assists with performing ear cleanings and minor flushes
• Obtains skin scrapes and tape samples
• Prepares skin and ear cytology
• May induce and monitor anesthesia under direction and supervision
• May place intravenous catheters
• May prepare and administer medications, intravenously, orally, and topically

Emergency:

• Assists veterinarians with a variety of emergency procedures and critical care situations
• Cleans wounds and applies casts or bandages
• Give injections and takes blood samples
• May have to be on call in the intensive care unit

Internal Medicine:

• Researches general wellness and preventative medicine for animals

Neurology:

• Assists with various technical procedures including intravenous catheter placement, venipuncture, IV injections, wound management, drug administration assistance, bandage care, vital sign monitoring, intubation, surgery support, and various routine diagnostic Electromyography (EMG) testing

Oncology:

• Assists veterinarians with patient assessment, diagnostics, treatments, and procedures
• Provides empathy, comfort, and unparalleled nursing care to all patients and serves as a strong patient advocate during the patient's hospitalization
• Provides client communication and education on various oncology disease processes

Ophthalmology:

• Assists veterinarians with ocular exams
• Assists with diagnostic testing (Schirmer Tear Testing, Tonometry, Ocular Ultrasounds, Electroretinogram testing, etc.)

Radiology:

• Assists veterinarians with providing high-quality diagnostic imaging services to inpatient, outpatient, surgical, and emergency patients

Surgery:

• Provides extensive surgical assistance by preparing patients, scrubbing, shaving, acting as a surgical nurse, and operating specific surgical equipment and supplies

Competencies:

• Care and Compassion – displays a desire to build rapport, provide personal assistance, and emotional support
• Animal Restraint and Safety – uses sound judgment when handling patients and always takes appropriate precautionary steps when needed
• Communication – uses effective and appropriate methods of interacting with others
• Team Orientation – works cooperatively with the team to address tasks and accomplish goals
• Dependability – demonstrates responsibility in completing all job tasks
• Cleanliness Standards – consistently follows sanitization and sterilization policies and procedures
• Energy and Productivity – completes tasks quickly and thoroughly without prompting
• Time Management – manages time and prioritizes work tasks effectively
• Technical Skills and Learning – keeps up-to-date with new technical skills and knowledge in the field
• Care and Use of Equipment – takes appropriate steps to perform operation checks and maintenance of equipment

Qualifications:

• High school diploma or equivalent
• One or more years' experience in a veterinary environment successfully performing all of the duties of this position
• Vet Tech (VTNE) Certification preferred
• Experience with surgical monitoring, radiology, dental prophylaxis, and client education preferred
• May consider an equivalent combination of education, certification, training, and/or experience

Position Requirements:

• Maintains current knowledge in the field of expertise and actively seeks opportunities for continuing education and skill improvement.
• Ability to restrain animals, fill prescriptions, and monitor sedation procedures
• Ability to work with or around sick animals, potentially hazardous materials, cleaning chemicals, gas anesthetics, zoonotic diseases, and unpleasant odors
• Requires knowledge of hospital procedures, policies, and services; client and patient treatment protocols; hospital computer systems; and the standard procedures, records, and terminology used in a veterinary hospital.
• Must be flexible with scheduling and able to work some weekends and holidays
• Depending on the functional area of assignment, tasks may involve extended periods of time at a keyboard or workstation and/or extended periods of time standing and/or walking.
• This is a strenuous job that requires a lot of lifting, cleaning, and constant motion. May involve some climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, or crawling
• Some tasks involve the periodic performance of moderately physically demanding work, usually involving lifting or carrying moderately heavy animals (up to 50 pounds)

Additional Information: The list of essential functions, as outlined in this job description, is intended to be representative of the tasks performed within this classification. The omission of any job function does not preclude management from assigning duties not listed herein if such functions are a logical assignment to the position.