Thrive Urgent Care Assistant Guidelines/Expectations

1. Service Representative
a. To be able to answer and properly direct phone calls
b. To be able to perform basic medical record keeping
c. To be able to utilize basic medical terminology and abbreviations
2. Hospital Maintenace
a. To be able to properly disinfect and sanitize the hospital
b. To be able to properly stock treatment, exam rooms, and laboratory areas
3. Communication and Client Relations
a. To be able to understand ethical conduct in relationship to the day-to-day
operations of the hospital
b. To be able to understand the roles and responsibilities of each team member in
the hospital
c. To be able to understand and execute professional and appropriate appearance,
behavior, and language in the hospital
4. Small Animal Nursing
a. To be able to place/remove all patients in/from cages and tables
b. To be able to safely apply muzzles to all patients
c. To be able to safely apply an elizabeth collar to all patients
d. To be able to properly and safely restrain all patients
e. To be able to obtain accurate vitals (triage) on all patients
i. This includes weight, heart rate, respiratory rate, mucous membrane
color, capillary refill time, mentation, and temperature.
f. To be able to trim nails on all patients
g. To be able to have an understanding on how to take a brief accurate history and
report chief complaint
h. To be able to understand the basic anatomy of small animals
i. To be able to understand all the common diseases (zoonotic and not)
j. To be able to understand the euthanasia protocol and postmortem care
5. Safety Concerns
a. To be able to understand basic normal and abnormal animal behavior
b. To be able to utilize patient and personnel safety measures
c. To be able to understand the isolation protocol
d. To be able to understand hazardous waste disposal
e. To be able to understand OSHA standards
f. To be able to identify common disinfectants and cleaning supplies
6. Surgical Preparation and Assisting
a. To be able to prepare surgical equipment and supplies
b. To able to properly sterilize instruments and surgical supplies
c. To be able to operate and maintain the autoclave
d. To be able to identify common instruments, surgical equipment, and suture
material
e. To be able to assist the veterinarian and/or veterinary technician with
preparation of patients using aseptic technique
f. To be able to assist with positioning of surgical patients
g. To be able to perform post-surgical clean up
h. To be able to properly fold surgical towels, gowns, and drapes
i. To be able to properly wrap instruments and surgical packs
j. To be able to maintain operating room sanitation and care
7. Laboratory Procedures
a. To be able to identify the common blood tubes and what order they are to be
filled in
b. To be able to prepare for a blood draw, cystocentesis, and intravenous catheter
c. To be able to collect voided fecal and urine samples
d. To be able to determine physical properties of urine (color and clarity)
e. To be able to request bloodwork through Vetspire
f. To be able to properly run a sample on the Abaxis Hematology Machine and
Abaxis Vetscan (Chemistry)
g. To be able to prepare an ear cytology and ear mite slide
h. To be able to prepare a urine sediment slide
i. To be able to identify external parasites: mites, lice, fleas, and ticks
j. To be able to safely handle rabies suspects and samples
8. Radiology and Ultrasound Imaging
a. To be able to understand and demonstrate proper safety measures while taking
radiographs
b. To be able to accurately input patient’s information in the radiology software
c. To be able to properly position patients for radiographs
d. To be able to properly label radiographs
e. To be able to properly care for radiographic equipment
9. Pharmacy and Pharmacology
a. To be able to recognize legal issues involving drugs in the workplace
b. To be able to recognize general types and groups on drugs
c. To be able to understand the difference between prescription drugs and over-
the-counter drugs
d. To be able to identify proper prescription label requirements
e. To be able to store, safely handle and dispose of biological and therapeutic
agents, pesticides, and hazardous waste
f. To be able to properly read expiration dates
g. To be able to reconstitute vaccines and be familiar with proper protocols
h. To be able identify possible routes and methods of drug and vaccine
administration