Overview

The Office of Professional Education (OPE) at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton, Massachusetts supports faculty and student endeavors in the classroom and across campus. The OPE ensures excellence in teaching in collaboration with academic and clinical departments, manages curriculum and program development, facilitates faculty development, maintains student information, scheduling, and grading systems, and provides support for the university learning management system and education tools. The OPE is currently engaged in development and implementation of a new Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) curriculum that will replace the current curriculum in August 2024.

What You'll Do

Reporting to the Educational Support Manager and Associate Dean for Professional Education and working with faculty involved in small animal clinical skills teaching, the Small Animal Teaching Technician (SATT) works in the Clinical Skills course and the Simulation Laboratory (Sim Lab) with 3 other teaching technicians. 

Cummings School is planning to introduce Objective Structured Clinical Examinations to the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) curriculum and the SATT is responsible for helping to set up assessments, directly assessing students, and recording results. They participate in all aspects of teaching hands-on skills with cats, dogs, and exotic animals including scheduling, ordering supplies, maintenance of IACUC protocols and animal health records, setting up labs, student instruction, and cleaning up after labs. 

Responsibilities as a Veterinary Teaching Technician include:

Oversight of the Simulation Laboratory

• Participates in managing activities in the Sim Lab adjacent to the Lerner Clinic.
  
• Serves as a point of contact for the lab and co-manages scheduling of the space.
  
• Maintains small animal simulators and equipment.
  
• Orders supplies for teaching activities within the Sim Lab.
  
• Provides instruction within the Sim Lab to all DVM students, including clinical-year students who are practicing clinical skills and completing clinical procedures requirements.
  
• Produces and updates written instructions and instructional videos on Canvas for using simulation models, and hard copies within the Sim Lab.

Administration of Comprehensive Milestone Assessment

• Assists in administration of hands-on practical examinations for Clinical Skills.
  
• Records individual student assessment results in Canvas.
  
• Provides out-of-class practice sessions for Year 1 – Year 3 students.
  
• Conducts additional skills assessments in Years 3 and 4 as a new Clinical Skills and
• Communication III course is introduced and practice sessions are included in the clinical year.

Organizes and delivers laboratories

• Responsible for scheduling, ordering supplies, setting up for labs, and cleaning up after small animal labs.
  
• Directly instructs DVM students on clinical skills required for veterinary practice.
  
• Collaborates with faculty on the development of clinical skills labs and assessments.
  
• Works with the Laboratory Animal Medicine Service (LAMS) and Lerner Clinic staff to organize and oversee live animal experiences with cats, dogs, and exotic animals for courses, electives, and extracurricular clubs. Must be courteous, friendly, and patient with students with many different skill levels.

Assists with Live Animal Experiences with Small Animals

• Schedules use of teaching dogs with LAMS staff for DVM courses and extracurricular activities.
  
• Provides opportunities for students to practice handling techniques with live animals outside of scheduled class time.

Maintenance of Animal Use Protocols and Health Records

• Ensures that teaching facilities for small animal clinical skills labs are maintained and in compliance with IACUC requirements.
  
• Maintains IACUC protocols and contributes to annual reports.
  
• Shares responsibility for maintaining the health records of small animals used in teaching.
  

What We're Looking For

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and experience as typically acquired by a Bachelor’s degree and minimum of 3 years working with small animals
• Able to work on-site and in-person at the Grafton campus.
• Excellent knowledge of Word, PowerPoint, and other Microsoft Office programs.
• Ability to prioritize and organize workflow and effectively change priorities and direction.
• Must be an effective communicator with a keen sense of how to maintain excellent relationships.
• Ability to work in a dynamic environment and balance multiple stakeholders.
• Must be committed to a culture of diversity, equity, respect, and inclusion; demonstrated ability to build working relationships with people having a wide variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences different from one's' own.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Certified Veterinary Technician
  • Master’s degree in animal science or related discipline
  • Teaching experience
  • Experience producing instructional videos
  • Familiarity with the learning management system Canvas

Pay Range

Minimum $26.70, Midpoint $31.80, Maximum $36.80

Salary is based on related experience, expertise, and internal equity; generally, new hires can expect pay between the minimum and midpoint of the range.