The Office

1.1 The Veterinary Team

Receptionist

  • First person to greet client

  • Duties include the following:

    • Answers phone calls

    • Schedules appointments

    • Creates and maintains charts

    • Cashes out clients

    • Handles billing

  • Lowest education requirement

    • High school diploma/GED

  • Duties ALSO include:

    • Distributes preventative medications

    • Educates clients

    • Keeps waiting room neat and clean

    • Assists customers with pet food purchases

  • Average salary is $23,800 (outdated numbers)

    • Modern day in Illinois it averages between $33,000-$46,000

Veterinary Assistant

  • Assists either the technician or the veterinarian

  • Duties include the following:

    • Restrains animals

    • Provides nursing care

    • Fills prescriptions

    • Bathes and exercises patients

    • Sanitizes and cleans equipment

    • Prepare equipment and supplies

    • Educates clients

    • Cleans kennels

  • Average salary is about $24,000 (outdated numbers)

    • Modern day is $29,890-$31,000 in Illinois

  • Certification or associate’s degree is needed (not in Illinois)

Veterinary Technician

  • Professional who assists the veterinarian

  • Duties include the following:

    • Educates clients

    • Administers medications

    • Administers and monitors patients under anesthesia

    • Performs physical exams

    • Assists in surgery

  • Duties ALSO include:

    • Administers boosters (not rabies)

    • Maintains records and legal documents

    • May take and develop x-rays

    • Collects and tests lab samples

  • Associate’s (two-year) degree or bachelor’s (four-year) degree is needed

  • Average salary is $31,000 (outdated numbers)

    • Modern day is $43,746-$47,860 in Illinois

Veterinarian

  • A doctor who is qualified and authorized to treat diseases or injured animals

  • Duties include the following:

    • Diagnoses disease

    • Provides a prognosis

    • Prescribes medication

    • Performs surgery

    • Maintains patient records

    • Euthanizes animals

  • Duties ALSO include:

    • Administers vaccinations, including rabies

    • Treats trauma-based injuries

    • Determines cost estimates for procedures

    • Takes cell and tissue samples from animals

    • Educates clients

  • Doctorate of veterinary medicine (eight-year+) degree is needed

  • Salary is $87,500 (outdated numbers)

    • Modern day is $125,000-$133,000 in Illinois

Other Possible Team Members

  • Kennel attendant

    • Cares for animals staying at hospital

      • Duties include:

        • Cleaning cages

        • Feeding and watering patients

  • Bookkeeper

    • Does the accounting

      • Duties include:

        • Payroll

        • Paying bills

        • Ordering supplies

  • Practice manager

    • Maintains internal workings of hospital

      • Duties include:

        • Hiring new employees

        • Scheduling staff

        • Maintaining practice manual

        • Maintaining inventory

        • Facilitating hospital meetings

        • Communicating with drug representatives

        • Maintaining hospital equipment and machines

OSHA: Occupation Safety and Health Administration

  • OSHA Acronym

    • Occupation Safety and Health Administration

  • A government agency of the United States Department of Labor to ensure workplace safety

  • Initiated by the Occupation Safety and Health Act of 1970

    • Under President Richard Nixon

  • Fatalities have dropped from 38 fatal injuries per day in 1971 to 12 per day in 2016 (OSHA 2017)

  • Fatalities in 2016 included the following

    • Crushing

    • Falling

    • Electrocution

    • Insect Stings

    • Being hit by or thrown from equipment

  • NIOSH

    • The National institute for Occupation Safety and Health

    • Federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness

    • Located in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

    • Not a legal enforcement agency

      • OSHA is a legal enforcement agency

    • Works with OSHA to make recommendations

  • Protection

    • Most private sector employers and their workers are covered by OSHA

    • OSHA helps by educating employers and employees about the following

      • Toxic chemicals

      • Deadly safety hazards

      • Job hazards of high risk jobs

      • Best practices through compliance assistance

  • Who is covered under OSHA?

    • Most private sector employers

    • Federal Government workers

  • Who is NOT covered under OSHA?

    • Immediate family members of farm employers

    • Self employed individuals

    • People with workplace hazards that are regulated by other agencies

      • Mine Safety and Health Administration

      • The Coast Guard

  • Workers Rights

    • The right to a safe workplace

    • The right to raise safety or health concerns with the employer or OSHA

    • The right to report a workplace injury without fear of retaliation

    • The right to request an OSHA inspection of the workplace

    • The right to participate or have a representative participate in an OSHA inspection

    • The right to file a complaint with OSHA

  • Employer responsibilities include

    • Providing workers with a workplace free of recognized hazards following OSHA Safety and Health Standards

    • Finding and correcting safety and health problems

    • Trying to eliminate or reduce hazards through reasonable changes in working conditions

      • Ventilation systems

      • Less harmful chemicals

    • Displayed “It’s The Law”

      • The official OSHA job safety and health poster

    • Reporting to OSHA all work-related fatalities within eight hours and all inpatient hospitalizations, amputations and losses of an eye within 24 hours

    • Providing required training to all workers in a language and vocabulary that they can understand

    • Posting OSHA citations at or near the site of the alleged violation

  • Employers must…

    • Provide fall protection for employees

    • Prevent trenching cave-ins

    • Prevent exposure to some infectious diseases

    • Ensure safety of workers entering confined spaces

    • Prevent exposure to harmful chemicals

    • Put guards on dangerous equipment

    • Provide safety equipment, such as respirators

    • Provide training in an understandable language for dangerous jobs

Hazards

  • OSHA recognizes six main types of hazards

  • They include the following

    • Biological (bio) hazards

      • Composed of living organisms that pose a threat to other living organisms, usually humans

      • Primarily include

        • Viruses

        • Fungi

        • Prions

        • Bacteria

        • Parasites

      • Usually transmitted bodily substances

        • Blood

        • Urine

        • Feces

        • Saliva

        • Vomit

      • Protective measures

        • Barriers

          • Gloves

          • Gowns

          • Eye protection

    • Chemical hazards

      • Toxic substances that can cause a wide range of health effects when humans are exposed to them

        • Effects range from mild irritation to death

      • Methods of absorption

        • Absorption through the skin or membranes

        • Inhalation

        • Ingestion

      • Examples

        • Cleaners/Disinfectants

        • Agricultural crop chemicals

        • Bleach

        • Chlorine

        • Ammonia

      • Users of chemicals should consult a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for safe handling, disposal and First-Aid procedures

    • Ergonomical hazards

      • Injuries usually caused by repetitive work (carpal tunnel syndrome from typing), being in an awkward position to perform a physical task (cleaning inside a cafe), lifting heavy objects (dog onto an exam table) or a combination of all these factors

      • Simple changes can be made by…

        • Using correct posture to lift

        • Obtaining ergonomically friendly tools

          • Mops that swivel

        • Using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

          • Wearing gloves

        • Requiring multiple people for a task or using tools to lift heavy objects

          • Electric grooming table

    • Physical hazards

      • Hazard caused by factors in the environment that can cause injury to the body without necessarily touching the body

      • Physical hazards may include ergonomic injuries

      • Examples include

        • Loud noises injuring the ear

        • Radiation

        • Ultra-Violet exposure

        • Temperature extremes

    • Safety hazards

      • Unsafe work conditions that may cause injury

      • Examples include

        • Unguarded machinery

        • Slips on wet floors

        • Electric shock injuries

        • Forklift injuries

    • Workplace hazards

      • Injuries from emotional and mental stressors can cause health problems, especially when the employee is exposed to them long-term

      • Examples include

        • Harassment

        • Workplace violence

        • Workload demands

Hand Washing

  • Good hand washing is one of the most critical parts of infection control

  • Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can be used occasionally, but high quality hand washing is hard to substitute

  • The basic hand wash can eliminate a significant number of pathogens

  • Hand washing should occur after working with each patient

  • Taking it one step further, performing a surgical scrub hand wash is critical to infection control in the operating room

Basic Hand Washing

  1. Wet hands with water

  2. Apply enough soap to cover all hand surfaces

  3. Rub hands palm to palm

  4. Rub back of each hand with palm of other hand with fingers interlaced

  5. Rub palms with fingers interlaced

  6. Rub back of fingers with opposing palms with fingers interlocked

  7. Rub each thumb clasped in opposite hand using a rotational movement

  8. Rub tips of fingers in opposite hand using a rotational movement

  9. Rub each wrist with the opposite hand

  10. Rinse hands with water

  11. Use elbow to turn off tap

  12. Dry thoroughly with a single-use towel

  13. The entire process should take 15-30 seconds