Veterinarians are responsible for examining animals in order to diagnose disease, determine the severity of injuries or deal with other health conditions. They may perform surgery, dress wounds or administer medication or vaccinations. Veterinarians must be able to operate medical equipment and are sometimes required to euthanize animals that are too sick to recover. They also advise owners about proper care of their pets.
When writing your veterinarian job description, highlight the fact that veterinarians must be very compassionate when dealing with animals and their owners. They must also have excellent communication skills to convey treatment plans to the owners.
Veterinarians should be able to use critical thinking skills to make decisions quickly. Use the example below to help you further determine what to include in your veterinarian job description.
Veterinarian Job Summary
Are you a true animal lover? We would love to have you bring your talents as a veterinarian to our practice. You will lead a team of veterinarian assistants and other staff members and work together to ensure you do everything you can for each patient. Spend your days petting, loving and treating dogs, cats, reptiles, rodents and a range of farm animals at our full-service office. You will have access to the most advanced equipment in the industry so you can use new techniques to protect the health of our patients. Our goal is to make a positive difference in the lives of our patients and their owners, and we’d like you to share that goal with us.
Job Responsibilities
- Examine animals using your hands as well as diagnostic equipment and the collection of feces, blood or urine to check for injuries or symptoms of illness and determine a diagnosis
- Create a treatment plan that accounts for the type of animal, its injuries or illnesses and any allergies or other medical-related restrictions it has, and then administer the treatment by prescribing medication, setting broken bones, performing surgery and dressing wounds
- Vaccinate animals against diseases they may be susceptible to, which commonly includes distemper and rabies
- Advise animal owners on the proper care of their pets or livestock, including feeding, keeping them clean, general care and taking care of their medical conditions
- Euthanize animals who are too sick or injured to be rehabilitated, and counsel their owners during the process to help them make the best decision while maintaining a compassionate attitude for grieving clients
- Perform administrative and managerial tasks, including training and supervising new workers, scheduling appointments, collecting payment from clients and maintaining business records
- Attend classes, conferences and seminars as part of your continued education to keep abreast of new technology and techniques in the field of veterinarian medicine
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- Hold a current license to practice
- Doctoral degree
- Willingness to work with animals of all species
- Ability to stand, walk, sit and lift animals and equipment for long periods of time
Preferred:
- Experience in a fast-paced office
- Willingness to be on call overnight
Veterinarian Job Responsibilities
There are plenty of ways to write the veterinarian job responsibilities section in a relevant job listing that will attract the most qualified pool of applicants. For starters, you should not have any more than eight tasks because any more than that is likely to overwhelm the average jobseeker. You want to begin each point with an active verb so jobseekers can see themselves in the position. Use clear, concise language in order that candidates perfectly understand what exactly they will have to do.
You should spend a significant amount of time writing this meaty portion of the veterinarian job description. You can save yourself a lot of energy and hassle if you only focus on the tasks the veterinarian has to do daily or at least semi-regularly. One final tip is to avoid listing certain tasks as “strategic.” It tends to be a buzzword, and some perfectly qualified jobseekers may not apply if they feel the position is above their pay grade.
Here are some sample tasks that would work well for a veterinarian job description
- Treat injured and sick animals by dressing wounds, performing surgery and prescribing medications
- Counsel clients about how to take care of pets at home
- Train assistants and other workers about how to care for animals
- Collect urine, blood and additional samples for further examination
Veterinarian Job Specifications
No one benefits when hiring managers leave out important details about an open position. Jobseekers waste their time by sending in resumes and cover letters for jobs they have no hope of obtaining. Additionally, hiring managers waste their time by reading applications from people who simply lack the skills to do this job efficiently. Therefore, everyone is happy when veterinarian job specifications appear clearly on a job listing.
It is good to have no more than eight qualifications on a veterinarian job description. There may be more skills required, and in that case, it would be good to divvy this portion up into two separate lists. Hiring managers can list required skills and make it clear that anyone lacking any of those should not even apply. However, hiring managers can also list preferred skills, which can help certain applicants rise to the top if they possess them. Ultimately, you just want to be sure you receive a great pool of applicants to draw from.
Advantageous skills to list on a veterinarian job description would include:
Doctorate degree Minimum of 5 years of experience working in a medical setting License to work in the state Compassionate demeanor A love for all animals