Job Descriptions for Positions at UHAH
Employees at University Hills enjoy working in a team oriented practice where members function together in a family atmosphere. We have an extensive training program with frequent staff and team meetings to help keep everyone up-to-date. Team members learn how to provide excellent patient care along with excellent client care. The work is challenging but the rewards are great.

Out Patient Assistant (OPA)
Certified Veterinary Technician
Receptionist
Kennel Attendant
Employment Benefits
Employment Application
Volunteer Opportunities

Out Patient Assistant (OPA) Job Description

Outpatient Assistant is a client service position. The OPA works closely with the doctor in the exam room and interacts directly with patients and their owners. OPAs gain their specialized skills through in-hospital training programs. However, successful candidates for the OPA position must be individuals who care deeply about animals and their people and who possess excellent communication skills. The ability to learn quickly, think on your feet, listen closely to determine the needs of the client and help them to better understand the needs of their pet is paramount.
The OPA assists in all areas of the hospital.

Major job duties include:

• Educating Clients on responsible pet care, including weight control, dental disease with appropriate home care, heartworm and other parasite prevention, immunization needs, microchipping, new puppy and kitten care and housetraining, and many more subjects
• Computer data entry - invoicing, updating patient reminder needs, appointment book management, and medical records maintenance
• Managing the doctor’s time to allow them to address more efficiently, the needs of our patients
• Assisting our veterinary technicians - Helping with patient needs such as restraint, nail trims, obtaining blood and other laboratory specimens, processing lab samples, radiograph positioning and developing, and numerous other tasks
• Cleaning and stocking exam rooms, pharmacy and other areas
• Helping kennel assistants to care for boarding animals

As can be seen, our Out Patient Assistants fill one of the most important, varied and fulfilling jobs in the hospital.

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Certified Veterinary Technician Job Description

Our technicians must be graduates of an accredited veterinary technician program and be certified in the state of Colorado. Along with the required training, we look for individuals who are team players, good communicators, keen observers, and who are compassionate with both animals and their owners.

Job duties include but are not limited to:

• Anesthesia and Surgery - Induction, intubation, anesthetic monitoring, surgical prep, pack prep, assisting the doctor as needed
• Animal Nursing - Monitoring, administering treatments, and caring for hospitalized animals, recording and reporting patient status, venipuncture, emplacing IV catheters, performing procedures such as nail trims, microchip implantation, anal gland expression, suture removal, bandage and splint application
• Radiology - Producing diagnostic radiographs, filing and recording films, assisting with ultrasound procedures
• Laboratory - Performing tests on in-hospital chemistry machines, CBCs, urinalysis, fungal and bacterial cultures, fecal analysis, recording results in logs and patient records, preparing outgoing lab samples
• Client Care - Helping clients with medical questions on the phone, admitting surgical and dental patients, and discharging hospitalized patients and imparting appropriate client instructions
• Dental Care - Ultrasonic cleaning, hand scaling, polishing, charting dental treatments, performing intraoral radiographs, educating clients on home dental care
• Cleaning and restocking - Treatment area, clinical laboratory, radiology, and surgical areas of the hospital

Our Certified Veterinary Technicians are valuable partners with our doctors in the medical care of our patients as well as important team members in helping to educate our clients.

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Receptionist Job Description

Client service representatives are a valuable part of our team. Above all else, they must be client advocates. In addition, the ability to learn quickly, think on your feet, empathize, and communicate well with people are other necessary skills.

Two people are scheduled to work in the reception area at all times. Each receptionist has a slightly different duty.

The front office receptionist’s primary responsibilities:

• Greeting every client as they enter the hospital then checking them into the hospital in the computer and alerting the doctor’s assistant (OPA) to their presence
• Checking out clients by totaling their invoice and to taking payments
• It is crucial that our receptionist give the departing client a good final impression as they leave the hospital.

The back office receptionist’s primary responsibilities:

• Promptly and professionally answering the phone to give the caller a great first impression
• Between calls and helping with client check in and out, this employee is responsible for medical records file maintenance and various client communication tasks

In addition to routine client contact, both receptionists' responsibilities include:

• Monitor the appointment book
• Audit files to be sure each pet receives all the services they require
• Prepare patient files for surgery, boarding and outpatient appointments
• Make client calls
• Send reminders for routine services
• Maintain computerized animal records
• Help to communicate important pet care information to pet owners

As the first and last contact every client has with our hospital, in many ways we feel the receptionists are the most important team members. A person who likes creating relationships with many people and their pets can find this position very rewarding.

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Kennel Attendant Job Description

The boarding facility is small, and we strive to give each animal special care. Animal caretakers must not only have true compassion for the animals, but also be highly responsible, dependable, capable of working independently, and be willing to take cleaning chores seriously.

Daily duties of an animal caretaker:

• Walking, feeding, medicating, and observing the general condition of all animals
• Audit files to be sure each pet receives all the services they require
• Laundering bedding
• Maintaining the boarding building and hospital grounds
• Bathing animals as needed
• Keeping detailed records of an pet’s stay
• Communicating an animal’s condition with the hospital staff
• Communicating with clients about their pet’s experiences while boarding

Kennel attendants give the pets that board with us the high standard of care that is expected by our clients.

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Employment Benefits

1. Paid Time Off
2. Discounted Pet Care
3. Health Insurance
4. Pretax deduction for Dental Insurance
5. Pretax deduction for Retirement Plan
6. Pretax deduction for Dependent Care

Incentives and other benefits:

1. Bonus Bucks
2. Caught-ya Cards
3. Anniversary Gifts
4. Year-end profit sharing
5. Reliability Incentive
6. Uniform Allowance
7. Team Meetings
8. Concern Forms
9. Workers Compensation Insurance
10. Performance Reviews
11. Wage reviews; Wage and Benefit Statement
12. In office email
13. Business cards
14. Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year awards

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Volunteer Opportunities
University Hills Animal Hospital provides the opportunity for a select number of students to work in a busy, urban small animal veterinary practice. This employment is designed for the prospective veterinary or veterinary technician student and is intended to provide exposure to the detailed workings of a career in veterinary medicine.

It is our hope that this experience will help individuals decide if indeed veterinary medicine is the best choice for their future career.

Some Typical Volunteer Duties

1. Assisting with feeding and nursing care of patients
2. Helping with laundry
3. Kennel cleaning
4. Assembling new puppy and kitten home care kits and diet samples
5. Helping receptionists with filing of medical records
6. Helping with animal restraint on selected patients
7. Observation of laboratory sample collection, processing and interpretation
8. Observation of certain dental and surgical procedures
9. Observation of Ultrasonography
10. Observation of the physical exam process in the exam rooms

The exact duties assigned to a volunteer employee depends upon their experience level, maturity and the individual abilities of each volunteer

Volunteer hours are usually two hours one or two days a week, but we are happy to try to accommodate individual needs and schedules.

Requirements for Student Volunteers

• Must be at least 16 years of age; those under 18 must have written permission from parents (we can provide you with the proper form).
• Must provide written proof of medical insurance

If you are interested in joining the volunteer program, please contact the hospital at 303-757-5638 for more detailed information.

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