Animal Health Technician

Full Job Description

About the Position: Serves as an Animal Health Technician for the Fort Carson Veterinary Center (VETCEN).

Duties include performing technical procedures involving diagnostic imaging, surgery, medicine, critical or general care in support of the VETCEN.

Responsible for medical care of Military Working Dogs (MWDs), Government Owned Animals (GOAs), and Privately Owned Animals (POAs) assigned to Carson Branch.

Licensed/Certified/Registered Veterinary Technician or Equivalent Licensure preferred.

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social).

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) performing technical procedures to facilitate small animal medical and surgical care; AND 2) maintaining supply inventory by monitoring stock, and ordering new supplies; AND 3) determining vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, hydration status, attitude, etc.) of animals presented for routine sick call or medical evaluation clinics.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-06).

OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as Animal Health and Behavior, Zoology, Biology, Chemistry, or agricultural subjects.

(Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%.

To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12.

Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. Major Duties:

• Determines vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, hydration status, attitude, etc.) of animals presented for routine sick call or medical evaluation clinics
• Administers medications topically, orally, or by parenteral injections (subcutaneous, intramuscular, or intravenous).
• Cleans, sterilizes, and maintains surgical instruments, equipment, supplies, and premises
• Operates and performs operator level maintenance on equipment and instruments.
• Calculates drug dosage based on accurate body weight (converts English to metric units as needed) and administers medication as prescribed by the attending veterinarian
• Prepares records and health certificates for domestic and international travel.