Vets Now, Newport - Animal Care Assistant and Receptionist (November 2021 - Present)
Animal Care Assistant:
- Performing a variety of cleaning duties to ensure a clean, organized and well stocked clinic for staff, patients and clients, including cleaning and restocking of all areas including kennels, cattery, prep/triage area, X-ray, dental, reception, consulting rooms, theatre, laboratory, isolation, general staff conference/kitchen areas, bathrooms and laundry rooms.
- Ensuring clinical areas and consult rooms are adequately prepared for the arrival of emergency cases.
- Ensuring all equipment is functioning correctly, including monitoring and record keeping of equipment (such as ensuring clinical stock fridges, freezers and medication storage areas are within correct temperature ranges and oxygen/anesthetic machinery is running correctly and adequately stocked)
- Working with a variety of diagnostic equipment and performing laboratory tasks
- Following patient care plans and ensuring accurate records keeping of all activities, such as walking, toileting, feeding, bathing and general monitoring, ensuring communication with clinical staff of any changes/concerns.
- Ensuring patients are comfortable and clean with fresh bedding.
- Ensuring correct patient handling and restraint to keep staff and patients safe while aiding clinical staff through several procedures, ranging from general health checks and triage to assisting through surgery.
- Ensuring surgical equipment is thoroughly cleaned, neatly packed, labelled and sterilized ready for use.
- Being a present, comforting source for clients and patients during euthanasias, ensuring the process is done with care, kindness and compassion.
- Handling deceased patients with care and compassion, making mementos such as pawprints, nose prints, or fur clippings and preparing for cremation, ensuring the clients final wishes are respected and followed carefully.
Receptionist:
- Answering and making phone calls on a range of topics, from giving updates to owners, giving advice over the phone, reuniting lost pets, and admitting patients.
- Welcoming clients and patients into the practice, being a friendly face and helping with any concerns or questions.
- Ensuring the clinic runs smoothly, ensuring efficient communication across all areas of the team and clients.
- Being a link between clients and clinical staff.
- Performing banking duties, taking payments, going through payment plans and chasing debt.
- Aiding clients through insurance processes, reviewing documents and ensuring appropriate deposits are taken.
- Aiding clients through cremation processes and ensuring their final needs are met, including offering mementos such as pawprints, nose prints or fur clippings.
- Ensuring all documents and paperwork is scanned onto the system and correctly organized.
- Working alongside several teams and businesses, including charities and police.
Coleg Gwent, Usk — Volunteer Animal Care Assistant (2018 - 2022)
During my studies I had the experience of caring for a range of animals at their animal care unit which included small mammals, rodents, reptiles, cats, cows and avians. My role consisted mainly of following care plans which included:
- Preparing of food and feeding of animals.
- General grooming and bathing of animals.
- Handling, restraint and sexing of animals.
- Performing general health checks.
- Cleaning and maintenance of all animal enclosures.
- Monitoring and record keeping of equipment such as enclosure lamps, lights and temperatures.
- Performing accurate record keeping for all animals and cleaning duties.
Coleg Gwent, Usk — Volunteer Lambing Assistant (February 2019)
During my studies I had the experience of caring for ewes and their offspring before, during and after the labour process, this included:
- Cleaning of all areas, ensuring pens have fresh food and bedding.
- Feeding of ewes and their young, including ensuring lambs are latched on or bottle feeding when required.
- Assisting during the birthing process.
- Monitoring and record keeping of all animals
- Following care plans including simple procedures such as ear tagging, trying off and sanitizing of umbilical cords, etc.
