Veterinary Assistant/Client Service Rep

Veterinary Assistant

As a Veterinary Assistant of Valley Veterinary Hospital, you are part of a team that celebrates the Human-Animal Bond through exceptional and compassionate care of the physical and emotional wellbeing of our patients and clients.

To assist veterinarians, veterinary technicians and receptionists in their daily tasks as a member of a supportive team in order to achieve the following measures of success for Valley Veterinary Hospital:

• Memorable client experience that creates longstanding trust and loyalty
• Patient-centered care that reflects individual needs and best medicine practices
• Effective, efficient, skilled and valued hospital team
• Positive workplace culture that is productive and fulfilling
• Ongoing success and sustainability of the practice

OUTCOMES

• Efficient workflow by anticipating and providing the assistance required by the veterinarian, technicians and receptionists.
• Compassionate nursing care for all patients
• Clean and organized treatment area, surgery suite, imaging suite and kennel area.
• Strong “client confidence” in the services of the practice.
• Clinic communication based on transparency and integrity with clients and colleagues.
• A positive, supportive, safe work environment.
• Energetic, courteous, timely and professional interactions with clients, in person or on the telephone.
• Key pet health messages of the Practice are actively supported and promoted.
• Efficient and effective communication between client and pertinent hospital team members
• Accurate and comprehensive documentation of patient care, radiology log, surgery logs and controlled substance records.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Assist receptionists with client interaction tasks including appointment scheduling, appointment check-in, patient admission, preparation of invoice, invoice payment, and patient release.
• Assist receptionists in keeping the facility’s reception area and examination rooms clean and stocked.
• Be able to discuss with clients: general pet healthcare information regarding parasite control, diets, over-the-counter products, vaccination protocols, neuter/spay surgery, routine dental protocol, and common. Refer questions you cannot answer to appropriate colleagues.
• Ability to graciously deal with client complaints, billing questions and to successfully communicate with diverse personality types.
• Calm under pressure to maintains stable performance when under pressure or stress.
• Basic computer literacy, including typing and experience with general office equipment and software such as Microsoft Windows, Word, and Excel.
• Has an Interest in animal welfare and able to handle animals that are ill, stressed or in pain.
• Assist Veterinarians and Technicians with patient care and medical treatments including but not limited to: medication administration, vaccine administration, acquiring laboratory samples, processing in-house and reference lab samples, surgical preparation, hospitalized patient care and radiology positioning.
• Assist Veterinarians and Technicians in performing medical procedures such as restraint for administering IV, IM, SQ, and oral medications; assisting with wound dressings and treatments; monitoring, adjusting, and maintaining IV infusion pumps; restraint for venipuncture to obtain non-hemolyzed samples.
• Be able to measure and record each patient’s weight, temperature, pulse rate, and respiratory rate.
• Work confidently with small animals to provide quality care and able to restrain pets in a manner that allows necessary work to be performed, minimizes patient stress, and ensures your safety and that of other people.
• Assist with humane euthanasia as requested.
• Maintain proper documentation in the electronic medical record and record doctors’ and technicians’ notes in patients’ computer records or on paper records.
• Know and use standard medical and business abbreviations.
• Accurately prepare medications and prescriptions for dispensing as directed by the veterinarian after probationary period.
• Ensure that medical supplies are always available, stock hospital supplies and pharmaceutical, pet-food, and over-the-counter products.
• Assist in cleaning the hospital including but not limited to: laundry, floors, taking out the trash and recycling, cleaning treatment areas, surgery, exam rooms, kennels, bathrooms and kitchen understanding the basic standards of asepsis.
• Walk patients as required using safety measures to ensure they are restrained and under control.
• Prepare meals and feed animals as directed by the veterinarian or technician.
• Self-awareness of personal strengths and weaknesses.
• Emotional intelligence to recognize the emotions of self and others.
• Must be able to make independent, common sense decisions and to observe abnormal behaviors and physical problems in patients in order to alert the veterinarian to significant changes.
• Resilient and flexible to manage adversity and ability to multi-task and prioritize in a rapidly changing environment.
• Dependable, accountable and self-motivated.
• Value continual personal development in self and others.
• Reaches out to peers and cooperates with supervisors to establish collaborative working relationships.
• Adherence to established Practice policies and procedures

Education Requirements

• Completion of a recognized Veterinary Assistant program

Reporting

• The VA works under the direct guidance and supervision of the Veterinarians and RVT’s.
• Directly reports to the Practice Manager

CSR OVERVIEW: ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Professionally administer all phone calls - answering client inquiries in a prompt and friendly manner, scheduling appointments, recording messages.
• Requires strong communication and client service skills. Considerable tact and diplomacy is required. Ability to greet clients in a professional, friendly, hospitable manner - check clients in, discharge patients.
• Collect client fees, post, and record payments, make change, process credit card transactions and run end of day transactions.
• Input data into computer software system.
• Open and close the practice.
• Perform a variety of clerical duties, mailings, cleaning, organizing reception area, client correspondence, reports, and other documents.
• Ability to multi-task and work in a team environment.
• Regular attendance and timeliness are an essential function to fulfill the requirements of this position.
• The employee must be able to occasionally / frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

CSR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide friendly, enthusiastic & quality client care to the patients and clients of CBS Animal Hospital.
• Receive incoming calls, screen those that are handled by other health care team members and take care of routine calls. The routine calls include those seeking information about veterinary services (“telephone shoppers”). Provide knowledgeable & clear professional advice concerning the care and treatment of animals.
• Work alongside the Communication Center to provide excellent client communication.
• Follow established hospital policies and procedures. Determine nature of injury/illness and attempt to reassure distressed pet owners. Determine whether immunizations and/or tests are current. Discuss and understand immunization schedules.
• Schedule appointments, obtaining all necessary data concerning the patient and owner. Prepare all required forms in advance, when possible.
• Prepare to receive appointments by retrieving client records, preparing needed forms in advance of clients’ arrival. Complete required forms such as new client form, patient visit form, client report, consent forms, estimates, payment agreements, etc and obtain all necessary information.
• Check clients in - Greet clients in a professional, friendly, hospitable manner.
• Discharge patients. Review charts of patients being discharged from the clinic, make new appointments, or note changes in patient status as necessary. Ensure charges are entered and set up future reminders in Avimark. Present clients with medications, instruction, common side effects and follow up information.
• Ensure that all financial obligations are met by owners. Collect client fees, make change, process credit card transactions, and assist in counting end of day deposits, run end of day transactions.
• Perform over-the-counter selling of specialty merchandise comprised of pet grooming aids and other veterinary items. Exercise technical knowledge of products sold and demonstrate salesmanship abilities. Explain and demonstrate products, answer questions concerning products purchase/ use.
• Fill veterinary prescriptions with appropriate medication; provide routine instructions to owners concerning prescriptions for medications.
• Collect lab specimens from pet owners, match patient record to the sample and submit samples to veterinary technician. Ensure samples are properly labelled, written on the lab board and client information is complete.
• Assist in the updating of client files; Follow-up with clients when clinic records indicate no recent visits.
• As required, enter data into the computer system, retrieve and modify computerized records. The practice management software (Avimark) includes, but is not limited to, such areas as reminder list of patients for periodic notifications, receipt and/or invoicing to update medical/financial records; accounting to include accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing of accounts, inventory control, client/pet/medical chart word processing to produce letters for general correspondence and special mailings to clients, etc.
• Perform a variety of clerical duties, receiving, sorting, distributing mail, sending out mailings, cleaning, organizing reception area, reports, and other documents. Assist in the ordering, receiving, stocking and distribution of supplies.
• Work well with all employees and ensure that your actions support the hospital core values.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

• Possess strong organizational skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Possess exceptional interpersonal
• communication skills.
• Knowledge of hospital procedures and operating instructions for making appointments,
• assembling patient medical records, attaching test results, relaying information regarding patient’s condition, and insurance claims/forms.
• Knowledge of the spelling and meaning of commonly used terminology of veterinary
• medicine to accurately record results of tests and file veterinary medical reports appropriately.
• Requires strong client service skills. Personal contacts are with pet owners affected by a variety of problems, visitors, and other healthcare team members. Considerable tact and diplomacy are required. Must accurately relay owner’s account of the medical complaint(s) of the pet(s) involved to the healthcare team member who will be involved in treating the patient(s).
• Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Ability to work independently on assigned tasks as well as to accept direction on given assignments.
• Knowledge of computers and relevant software applications including MS Office (Word).

PHYSICAL EFFORT

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the primary functions of this job.
• Frequently position self and move about the reception area to organize, use office machinery such as fax machines and computer, and assist clients with merchandise.
• Frequently transports inventory to stock shelves. Frequently handling 30 pounds and occasionally handling 50 pounds.
• Often transports or assists patients to weigh on scales.

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