Licensed Veterinary Technician
Demonstrate excellent representation of the aquarium at all times through a positive, energetic, and teamwork focused work ethic.
Provides hands-on veterinary medical technical care to the Mystic Aquarium animal collection and marine mammals and sea turtles undergoing rehabilitation in the Animal Rescue Program. The veterinary technician is responsible for the day-to-day operations and general organization, maintenance, and cleaning of all veterinary areas including the veterinary hospital and all medical equipment. Responsibilities include providing technical and medical assistance to veterinarians in the care and daily treatments of all animals maintained by Mystic Aquarium and the Animal Rescue Program, coverage in the clinical laboratory as requested, and other duties as directed. Maintains preventative medicine schedule for collection animals and coordinates routine physical and clinical exam appointments. The veterinary technician will also perform or assist with animal necropsies as requested. Inter-departmental duties include participation in the Mystic Aquarium Dive Program serving as staff diver and main contact in the Dive Safety Officer’s absence and provides for coverage in the Animal Rescue Clinic as main contact for operations and animal care. Field response duties may include, but are not limited to, animal stranding and large cetacean necropsy. The veterinary technician also provides training and guidance on aquatic animal health to aquarium volunteers, students, and other personnel, as requested.
Functions & Responsibilities
Essential Functions
Must be willing to consistently provide internal and external customer service above and beyond expectation.
- A Baccalaureate degree in Veterinary Technology from an AVMA-accredited program or Bachelor of Science degree in related field required.
- Current national and state licensure/certification required.
- A minimum of 5 years of experience as a veterinary technician and a minimum of 2 years at an aquarium, zoo, wildlife or other non-domestic institution preferred.
- Experience working as a veterinary technician in an aquarium setting with aquatic animals strongly desired.
- Must have a valid driver’s license
- Must have technical skills in procedures common to veterinary medicine and experience with a variety of medical equipment and innovative medical techniques.
- Must have a confident understanding of anesthesia, radiograph science, veterinary terminology, safety, and animal anatomy.
- Expertise with hematology, including manual processing of non-mammalian samples, and other clinical testing is necessary.
- Must be proficient in Microsoft Office.
- Must be able to work independently as well as part of a team, possess strong written and verbal communication skills, and have flexibility, a high attention to detail, strong organization and time management skills, a positive attitude, and a willingness to learn and accept feedback.
- Must be able to meet the physical demands of the position which include prolonged standing and kneeling, lifting objects, and working in outdoor conditions.
- Must be willing and able to work a flexible schedule, as hours may include evenings, weekends, and holidays.
- Long workdays and workweeks may be necessary, depending on caseload and animal rescue clinic demands.
- On-call coverage is expected and required.
- SCUBA certification is required.
- Multilingual; Spanish speaking preferred.
Other Duties & Responsibilities
Perform and/or assist veterinarians with clinical procedures and injections, fluid therapy, collection of diagnostic samples, tube feeding, wound debridement, exams, and special projects.
- Assist veterinary staff with surgical procedures and anesthesia.
- Coordinate or assist in animal stranding operations (feeding and caring for rehabilitating animals, delivering medications and supplements, cleaning and maintaining animal units, maintaining quarantine protocols, and record keeping), including field response.
- Assist with emergency response for collection and stranded animals.
- Perform or assist veterinary staff with gross necropsy, tissue sample collection and processing.
- Participate in marine mammal desensitization appointments under direction of the Husbandry team to facilitate the training of medical behaviors.
- Coordinates and schedules all animal care appointments including routine and clinical appointments, desensitization sessions for veterinary staff, and other requests including educational hospital tours.
- Cross-trains with other Zoological Operations departments as approved by supervisor
- Perform appropriate techniques in the clinical laboratory unsupervised and with a high level of quality, including a high volume of mammalian and non-mammalian hematologies, chemistries, cytologies, serological testing, chemical analyses (proximate analysis). Perform send out tests, as requested.
- Participate in quality control/assurance protocols in the clinical laboratory.
- Fill prescriptions generated by veterinarians, liaison with Husbandry staff for special instructions.
- Perform data entry for clinical results.
- Perform maintenance of medical equipment and clinical lab equipment including endoscopy, laser, electrocautery, anesthesia machines and ventilators, ultrasound, digital radiography, suction, surgical instruments (instrument cleaning, surgical pack wrapping, and sterile processing), hematology, chemistry and iStat equipment, and dart pistol.
- Order, stock, and keep inventory of supplies and medications for the clinical laboratory and veterinary hospital, as well as stock veterinary kits
- Develop and maintain SOPs and protocols for veterinary equipment, procedures and veterinary hospital functions.
- Participate in Mystic Aquarium Dive Program as staff diver; maintaining all necessary certifications and physical exam requirements.
- Develop and conduct research projects as approved by Mystic Aquarium’s IACUC and supervisor for publication and presentation at relevant professional conferences.
- Provide technical support for veterinarians’ collaborative research projects or other special projects when needed, including participation in in-house and field research and managing data.
- Provide mentorship to interns/externs/volunteers who are assisting/working with the veterinarians or within the clinical laboratory, and to veterinary technical students enrolled in aquarium practicum.
- Provide departmental representation at Mystic Aquarium committee meetings when requested by supervisor.
- Maintain licensure through continuing education courses and conferences.
- Enthusiastically participate in public outreach, special tours, and educational programs.
- Perform all other duties as assigned by supervisor.
