Veterinary Assistant and Scheduling Coordinator

Lerner Clinic Scheduling Coordinator

The Luke and Lily Lerner Clinic provides students at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine with opportunities for both pre-clinical and clinical surgical training while serving pets and people in need. The Clinic provides high level primary care surgical 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. The pre-clinical surgical training program run in the Lerner Spay Neuter clinic is Introduction to Anesthesia and Small Animal Surgical Techniques (ISAAST), which is a required class for all third-year students. We offer a fourth-year clinical elective, Primary Care Procedures (PCP), which has a focus on spay neuter, other primary care surgery, anesthesia, and dentistry. We also host periodic Community Cat Clinics. Finally, we assist with dental training labs and other clinical skills laboratories run by our colleagues.

What You'll Do

The Scheduling Coordinator is responsible for scheduling all clinic surgeries. Work with animal rescues, animal shelters, municipal animal control officers, and private individuals to promote the mission and activities of the Lerner Clinic. Field all communications (phone calls/emails) regarding medical conditions and appropriately answers medical and surgical related questions or relays the information to the faculty. Provide veterinary assisting and communications support for the junior spay lab (ISAAST) and for the Primary Care Procedures (PCP) clinical rotation. In addition to scheduling and communications, the Coordinator works in the electronic medical records to enter charges, fill medications, and complete required paperwork for patients. All staff within the Luke and Lily Lerner Spay/Neuter clinic support the dual mission of supporting veterinary student surgical education while helping pets in need.

Surgery Scheduling and Coordination:

• Communicates with animal shelters, rescues, animal control officers, and individuals across New England to procure eligible dogs and cats for participation in the spay lab, primary care surgery and dentistry electives, high-volume surgery days, and community cat clinics.
• Determine animal health status prior to inclusion in ISAAST to ensure they are appropriate patients to receive surgery in the Lerner Clinic for this programming
• Arrange for the timely delivery and discharge of animals
• Maintain medical records
• Track services provided and ensure charges are entered correctly into the electronic medical record
• Process payments and coordinate billing with accounting department
• Help complete medical record, including filling prescriptions, completing rabies certificates, and completing discharge instructions for each patient.

Veterinary Assistant functions:

• Assist in the operation of junior surgery course including orientation, the surgery course, and paperwork associated with the patients in the course
• Assist in operation of advanced surgery electives, high-volume days, and community cat clinics
• Assist in placing intravenous catheters, instructing students in animal restraint and husbandry, instructing students in anesthesia, surgical preparation and maintenance of sterile field

General Program Support:

• Monitor clinic voicemail and email for messages
• Communicate and promote the mission of the Lerner Clinic
• Modify day-to-day functions, as requested, to address emerging clinic needs
• Provide support for the Cummings School open house
• Other functions as assigned

What We're Looking For

Basic Requirements: Knowledge and experience typically acquired by:

• High School/GED degree or equivalent experience.
• 1-3 years veterinary clinic or shelter medicine experience.
• Excellent computer skills (particularly MS Word and MS Excel).
• Ability to communicate effectively and professionally in written and verbal expression.
• Outstanding organizational skills.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Associate or bachelor's degree, CVA or CVT strongly preferred.
• Experience working within an educational environment.
• An understanding of the organizational mechanics of animal shelters, rescue organizations, and animal control officers is an advantage in communication with students about the program.
• Experience working with dogs and cats in a clinical setting or desire for this training is preferred.
• Ability to safely and humanely handle canines, felines, and other small domestic animals (some may have limited socialization and unknown aggressive backgrounds).
• Experience as a veterinary technician, veterinary assistant, or veterinary receptionist is considered a strongly desired background.

Pay Range

Minimum $20.90, Midpoint $24.90, Maximum $28.90 Salary is based on related experience, expertise, and internal equity; generally, new hires can expect pay between the minimum and midpoint of the range.