Overview
The Department of Clinical Sciences is responsible for providing didactic and clinical training of DVM students, conducting research pertaining to diseases of large and small animals, and providing health care services for large and small animals.
The section of Community Medicine and the Shelter Medicine Program work to improve the quality of life for homeless, displaced, abused or neglected animals through the education of veterinary students, veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals in the principles, core competencies and best practices of community and shelter medicine.
The Luke and Lily Lerner Spay/Neuter Clinic (LSNC) provides students at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine with opportunities for surgical training while serving pets in need. The mission is to instruct veterinary students in the best practices of small animal sterilization surgeries, to provide free or low-cost services to pets in need from the surrounding community, and to provide the surgical training component for Community Medicine.
The Lerner Spay Neuter Clinic provides high level spay neuter services to shelter and community animals while training veterinary students in the clinical competencies needed for anesthesia and surgery of healthy feline and canine patients. Several surgical training programs are run out of the Lerner Spay Neuter clinic with the main one being the Introduction to Anesthesia and Small Animal Surgical Techniques (ISAAST), which is a required class for all students. When staffing allows we also offer a fourth year clinical rotation, Primary Care Procedures, which has a focus on spay neuter, other basic surgery and dentistry. We also run an outreach clinic for clients living in public housing and period Community Cat Clinics. Finally, we assist with dental training labs and other clinical skills laboratories run by our colleagues.
What You'll Do
The Spay Lab technicians provide technical support for all of the clinical activities of the Lerner Clinic. All Lerner Clinic staff are responsible for the efficient operation of ISAAST: a core curriculum course. These responsibilities include:
- Communications with animal welfare shelters and private individuals regarding the clinic mission and activities.
- Unspayed female dogs are solicited for participation in the clinic where they undergo a spay procedure by third year veterinary students under the supervision of faculty veterinarians.
- Lerner Clinic technicians help to instruct students on principles of sterile technique and anesthesia, as well as providing technical and anesthesia support for doctors and students for all programs.
- Technicians also support wellness programming which includes preventative health care for qualified patients (ie routine vaccinations and dental procedures).
What We're Looking For
Basic Requirements:
- High School Diploma or the equivalent
- Minimum 1 year veterinary technician experience
- CVT
- Ability to lift up to 50 lbs. with or without accommodation
- A valid Driver’s License
Preferred Qualifications:
- Associate's degree preferred. 2+ years of related experience preferred.
- Individual should be highly organized with outstanding communication skills and experience in an educational environment.
- An understanding of the organizational mechanics of animal shelters and shelter medicine is an advantage in communication with students about the program.
- High level of anesthesia training and the ability to independently anesthetize dogs and cats.
- Ability to safely and humanely handle dogs, cats and other small domestic animals. Some of these animals may have limited socialization and unknown aggressive backgrounds.
