Surgical Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)

Job Description

Job Description

Why You’ll Love this Surgical Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT)  Job!  

Are you looking to grow a successful career based on your love for animals?

When you join Manlius Veterinary Hospital Hospital, an EverVet Partner, you will be welcomed into a supportive community motivated by the genuine desire to make a meaningful difference for pets and their owners. As a critical member of our team, our Licensed Veterinary Technicians enable us to deliver excellent service and top-quality care to our clients. You will directly support veterinarians in medical and surgical procedures and may independently handle appointments when veterinary oversight is not necessary.

Pay Range : $29 - $25 / hour

The Surgical LVT runs the technical side of our surgery suite. Prepare patients, induce and monitor anesthesia, assist the surgeon, and manage recovery. Keep the OR, instruments, and surgical supplies ready and compliant. You will work under the direction of our veterinarians and partner with the medical team to deliver safe, efficient surgical care. 

Benefits:  

• Paid Time Off  
• Medical, Dental, Vision with a Health Savings Account*  
• Employee Assistant Program available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week*  
• Supplemental Life Insurance & AD&D Insurance*  
• 401K Plan with Generous Employer Match   
• Maternity Leave *  
• Bereavement Leave   
• Life, Short Term, & Disability Insurance*  
• Discount Programs   
• Discounted Veterinary Care   
• On-Demand Pay Options   
• Referral Bonus   
• Scrub allowance

Responsibilities Key Responsibilities 
Pre-operative care

• Review the surgery schedule each morning and confirm patient readiness with the veterinarian.  
• Admit surgical patients, obtain weights and vitals, and confirm fasting status, medications received in the last 24 hours and consent forms, treatment plans and premedication medications.  
• Place IV catheters, draw and run pre-anesthetic bloodwork If needed, and flag abnormal results.  
• Calculate drug doses and fluid rates per the veterinarian's anesthetic plan.  
• Clip and perform aseptic prep of surgical sites.  
• Set-up and leak test anesthesia machines 

Anesthesia  

• Induce anesthesia and intubate as directed by the veterinarian.  
• Operate anesthesia machines and monitoring equipment.  
• Monitor and record heart rate, respiration, SpO2, ETCO2, blood pressure, ECG, and temperature every 5 minutes.  
• Adjust anesthetic depth and fluids within the veterinarian's orders and report changes right away.  
• Administer local and regional nerve blocks as allowed by state law and hospital protocol.  

Surgical assisting  

• Scrub in, gown, and glove to assist the surgeon when needed.  
• Maintain the sterile field and hand off instruments.  
• Assist with soft tissue, and emergency procedures as the caseload requires.  

Post-operative care  

• Monitor patients through extubation and recovery, including pain scoring and temperature support.  
• Give post-op medications and treatments as ordered, consistently updating medical records 
• Prepare discharge instructions and go over home care with clients.  Relay surgery discharge to team members. 
• Make next-day post-op check calls.  

Dentistry  

• Take and position dental radiographs.  
• Perform dental scaling, polishing, and charting.  
• Monitor anesthesia on dental cases.  

Sterile processing and OR management  

• Clean, wrap, and autoclave instruments, gowns, and drapes.  
• Run and log autoclave indicator and spore tests.  
• Keep the OR and prep areas stocked, clean, and inspection-ready.  
• Track surgical supply and anesthetic inventory and report reorder needs.  
• Maintain equipment logs and report repairs.  
• Prepare emergency drugs if needed. 

Records and compliance  

• Complete anesthesia records, surgical logs, and controlled substance logs accurately and on time.  
• Follow DEA and state rules for controlled drug handling and waste documentation.  
• Charge and document all services in the practice management software – ImproMed. 
• Follow OSHA, radiation safety, and waste anesthetic gas protocols.  

Team support  

• Train and mentor veterinary assistants and new technicians on surgical protocols.  
• Help build and update surgical and anesthesia SOPs.  
• Cover general treatment and appointment duties when the surgery schedule allows.  

Required Skills Required  

• Associate or bachelor's degree from an AVMA-accredited veterinary technology program.  
• Passing VTNE score.  
• Current, active license, registration, or certification as a veterinary technician in [State] (LVT, RVT, or CVT), in good standing.  
• 2+ years of experience as a credentialed technician in a small animal hospital, with at least 1 year focused on surgery and anesthesia.  
• Confident with IV catheter placement, intubation, and multiparameter anesthetic monitoring.  
• Working knowledge of anesthetic drugs, analgesia, and emergency protocols including CPR (RECOVER guidelines).  
• Sterile technique and instrument processing experience.  

Preferred  

• VTS in Anesthesia and Analgesia, Surgery, or Dentistry, or active progress toward one.  
• Fear Free or Low Stress Handling certification.  
• Dental radiography experience.