PCA; Pet care assistant Ridgmar

Overview

The Pet Care Assistant works with the veterinary medical team to provide and prepare for the best medical care of pets.

• 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 items and supplies (e.g., vaccinations, fecal loops, slides) 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 pets 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 housekeeping such as laundry, dishes, mopping, cage cleaning, trash collection and removal, and instrument cleaning as outlined by hospital protocols.
• Other job duties as assigned.

• Quality – The consumer is our boss, quality is our work and value for money is our goal.
• Responsibility – Individuals take total responsibility; associates support the responsibility of others.
• Mutuality – A mutual benefit is a shared benefit; a shared benefit will endure.
• Efficiency – Use resources to the full, waste nothing, and do only what we can do best.
• Freedom – We need freedom to shape our future; we need profit to remain free.

Leadership, Customer Focus, Peer Relationships, Integrity & Trust, Action Oriented, Listening. Functional capabilities include preventative care and OWPs, communication skills, client service skills, priority setting, time management.

• 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.
• Communication skills – Reads, writes and speaks fluent English, using appropriate grammar, style and vocabulary; demonstrates strong written and verbal communication.
• Organizational ability – Demonstrates a systematic approach; very orderly and able to turn chaos into order.
• Problem solving – Identifies, analyzes and solves problems; decisive and able to translate problems into practical solutions.
• Client service skills – Provides attentive, courteous and informative service; aims for personal satisfaction in delivering great service.
• Intellectual ability – Follows instructions delivered in oral, written, or diagram format; can provide directions.
• Mathematical ability – Performs basic arithmetic and unit conversions.
• Computer skills – Comfortable using computers and software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Outlook).

• Initiative – Uses discretion to find solutions; takes on additional responsibility when tasks need to be done.
• Integrity – Adheres to values and ethics; exhibits honesty and sound judgment.
• Cooperativeness – Willing to work with others; share information promptly.
• Flexibility – Open to changing situations and opportunities; performs all tasks as assigned.
• Independence – Able to perform duties without supervision.
• Tolerance for Stress / Resiliency – Maintains a positive attitude and composure under stress.

Work may require long periods at a computer; confidence around pets (dogs, cats, birds, reptiles); may require more than 40 hours per week including weekends and evenings. Requires reasoning, memory, mathematics and language abilities in English. Moderate noise, ambulatory requirements, ability to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, climb, and lift up to 50 pounds. Visual acuity and hand-eye coordination to operate equipment.

Potential exposure to…