Careers / Emergency Triage and ICU Veterinary Technician / Assistant

At Five Rivers Pet Emergency, we are proudly locally owned and operated. Because we are not bound by corporate mandates or distant decision-makers, our practice is shaped directly by the people who work here. We believe high-stakes emergency medicine is best practiced in a supportive, positive, and healthy working environment where every team member feels valued, heard, and empowered.

Every member of our floor team is cross-trained to excel in Emergency Triage, ICU Care, Anesthesia, and CPR. Whether you are a Licensed Veterinary Technician (LVT) looking to elevate your emergency skills or a passionate Veterinary Assistant eager to learn and expand your clinical repertoire, we are looking for people who bring enthusiasm, a strong growth mindset, and a commitment to maintaining a positive, collaborative work culture.

Locally owned and culture-first

• Local ownership, community focus: As an independent, locally owned hospital, our focus is entirely on top-tier patient care, client trust, and staff well-being - not corporate profit margins.
• A culture of continuous learning: We do not expect you to know everything on day one. We value curious minds, self-reflection, and team members who are genuinely excited to learn advanced emergency care, master new clinical skills, and grow alongside us.
• Psychological safety and support: High-volume emergency care requires a team that truly has each other's backs. We prioritize open communication, mutual respect, zero-drama teamwork, and a supportive environment where asking questions is encouraged.
• Balance and composure: In the chaos of ER, we take pride in being the calm in the storm - fostering a peaceful atmosphere for our patients and a positive, grounded workspace for our staff.

Schedule and availability

Because emergency medicine never stops, flexibility is essential to our mission. Emergencies happen 24/7/365, and keeping our hospital fully staffed ensures both excellent patient care and fair work-life distribution across the team.

• Candidates must have broad availability, including evenings, overnights, weekends, and holidays.
• As a local practice, we care deeply about our team's well-being and work together to create balanced scheduling so everyone gets dedicated time off to rest and recharge.

Core mission

To deliver immediate, life-saving care to incoming emergencies and provide exceptional, vigilant monitoring to our hospitalized patients - ensuring every second counts and every team member feels empowered to provide world-class care.

Key responsibilities

Emergency triage and rapid response

• First responder vigilance: Monitor arrival boards and parking lot continuously, meeting clients at their vehicles within one to two minutes of arrival.
• Patient assessment and prioritization: Perform rapid visual and physical assessments, assign appropriate color-coded triage levels, and determine whether a patient requires immediate stabilization on the treatment floor or can safely wait.
• Master of flow: Direct and delegate tasks during incoming critical cases to maintain seamless hospital workflow, ensuring the most unstable patients are seen first.
• Client and team communication: Act as the primary liaison between the lobby, medical team, and attending DVM. Manage client expectations empathetically during emotional, high-stress moments.

Advanced clinical skills: anesthesia and resuscitation

• Anesthetic management: All technicians and assistants receive training to prepare, monitor, and recover patients undergoing emergency surgical procedures and sedated interventions using advanced monitoring equipment.
• CPR and rapid resuscitation: Trained and prepared to jump into action during cardiopulmonary arrest, executing high-quality chest compressions, airway management, and emergency drug administration per RECOVER/hospital protocols.

ICU and inpatient care

• Vigilant patient advocacy: Execute scheduled treatments, medications, and diagnostic plans with absolute accuracy and on-time delivery.
• Trend analysis and intuition: Learn to track subtle physiological shifts (for example, subtle drops in PCV/TP, creeping body temperatures, altered mentation) and report trends to the DVM before a status becomes critical.
• Caseload management: Oversee ICU workflow during high-volume shifts, maintaining real-time accuracy on electronic treatment boards (Instinct) and utilizing support staff effectively.
• Fear-free healing environment: Maintain a calm, serene ICU atmosphere, providing gentle nursing care that minimizes hospital-induced stress and prioritizes patient comfort.

Continuity of care and team support

• Seamless hand-offs (rounding): Conduct thorough medical chart transfers and verbal rounds when transitioning patients between Triage, ICU, surgical recovery, and shift changes.
• Unified teamwork: Flex fluidly between roles - supporting the ICU floor when triage is clear, or stepping into triage when incoming emergency volume surges.
• Hospital readiness: Contribute to daily facility upkeep and cleaning protocols to ensure the hospital remains clean, organized, and ready for the next incoming emergency.

Key competencies

• Growth mindset: An eager, coachable attitude with a genuine desire to develop advanced clinical intuition, surgical/anesthetic monitoring skills, and resuscitation techniques.
• Positive culture champion: Bringing kindness, effective communication, and constructive energy to every shift.
• Decisiveness and situational awareness: Ability to read a patient's condition quickly, anticipate needs ahead of time, and act with confidence in high-stakes situations.
• Calm under pressure: Maintaining a quiet, composed demeanor regardless of noise, client stress levels, or peak emergency volume.

Position requirements

• Schedule requirement: Ability and willingness to work a flexible schedule that includes evenings, overnights, weekends, and holiday rotations.
• Experience: Minimum 1-2 years of veterinary clinical experience preferred, though motivated assistants/technicians with a strong foundation and high learnability are strongly encouraged to apply.
• Clinical and technical skills (or eager readiness to learn): Proficiency or interest in mastering IV catheter placement, blood collection, and diagnostic sampling; training/readiness in anesthesia setup, monitoring, and recovery; knowledge of emergency stabilization, drug calculations, and CPR response protocols; recognition of early signs of shock, respiratory distress, and subtle changes in mentation. (Technician vs. Assistant duties align with skill level and state credentialing scope.)
• Physical demands: Ability to move quickly between the building and parking lot in all weather conditions, stand for extended shifts, perform sustained physical compressions during CPR, and safely lift or position large, recumbent, or painful patients.