Do you have a passion for helping animals? Do you want to impact the lives of thousands of animals each year and be part of helping Philadelphia’s pets most in need? ACCT Philly is looking for a full time or part time staff veterinarian with a wellness (non-surgical focus) to help the nearly 18,000 animals who come through our doors annually. ACCT Philly does not provide medical services to the public, so your only clients are the four-legged ones!

The overall objective of this role is to help the organization save lives by providing proper medical care and to work closely with the medical leadership team to ensure a healthy animal population. It’s about flagging issues, problem solving as much as possible to address them, and working across departments to improve the health and well-being of animals in our care. While no two days tend to look the same, you can count on every day being able to help animals in need.

The staff veterinarian works with our two veterinarians (Wellness Director and Surgery Director) and Senior Medical Manager to ensure that ACCT Philly’s animals are provided with all aspects of veterinary care including physical exams, diagnostic tests as well as maintaining proper record keeping for sheltered animals.

Though a nonprofit organization whose practices will always be rooted in resource maximization and a shelter medicine approach, our team is focused on continually improving for the benefit of the animals and people we serve. Our average live release rate is 86 percent and we're committed to saving more lives while being responsible to both the animals and the public in how we place our animals. As part of our commitment we’ve greatly expanded our medical diagnostic capabilities over the last several years and are excited to welcome another veterinarian to our lifesaving team! 

Resources Available

• ACCT Philly has 17 full time veterinary nursing staff with varied background in animal welfare as well as three CVTs. The team provides direct animal care and treatments as guided by our two staff veterinarians and Senior Manager, Medical.
• In house diagnostic abilities include: Idexx Counter top ProCyte Dx Hematology Analyzer and two Catalyst One Chemistry Analyzer units, 9 Snap Pro test readers to use with FeLV/FIV and 4DX Snap ® patient side tests, microscope, diff quick stain and fecals via zinc flotation, in house MinXray HF100, Idexx rapid PCRs, portable handheld ultrasound.
• Thanks to generous donors and several external grant programs, the organization is able to utilize both emergency and specialized offsite medical care when warranted.
• Partnership with University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine includes no cost consults with teaching staff when on shelter campus for rotations and frequent communication with the U Penn Vet Shelter Medicine Program.
  
  

Benefits

• $135,000 to commensurate with experience and $10,000 sign on bonus for full time veterinarian
• Health, vision and dental insurance as well as STD/LTD, AD&D and life insurance
• ACCT Philly will reimburse the cost of your annual Veterinary License renewal and the cost of your AVMA professional liability insurance policy up to $1,000.00 per year
• Paid time off
• 401k
• Up to $2,500 in continuing education or professional development courses, in addition to those facilitated by ACCT Philly directly
• One on one confidential compassion fatigue coaching as well as employee assistance program
• Reimbursement for PA license
• Free parking (also easily accessible via public transportation) and transportation benefit program
• No on call nights
• Relocation assistance is available for this position
• Position is eligible for Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program

Job Duties

Direct Care

• Provide direct care to animals in ACCT’s care in whatever capacity required including but not limited to medical rounds, creation of treatment plans, participation in pathway planning, exams and euthanasia.
• Perform exams on shelter pets, including those who have been in foster care, to assess health, diagnose disease, injury or illness, and develop treatment plans or recommendations for outcome. Advise on when offsite medical is appropriate
• Document all pertinent medical information in animal records, using ACCT’s shelter management software, and according to standard veterinary practice
• Perform emergency euthanasia as needed.
• Review and address reports of concern and requests for vet checks from other medical and non-medical staff and volunteers
• Disease identification and surveillance, including daily rounds   
• Efficiently stabilize and manage a variety of trauma cases, including vehicular traumas, gunshot traumas,    
• Recognize, manage and treat a wide variety of medical conditions, with a particular focus on infectious diseases   
• Collect appropriate samples and perform and/or request appropriate laboratory tests, including decapitation for rabies testing   
• Interpretation of laboratory data and radiographs   
• Properly record all drug activity, DEA logs, and statistics as required by law and ACCT policy   
• Work with the Senior Manager, Medical to ensure compliance with relevant state law and city code   
• Other duties as assigned by the Executive Director   

Collaboration & Communication

• Upon diagnosis, coordinate with other ACCT personnel to provide recommendation and create pathway plans to facilitate animals leaving our care
• Coordinate with medical leadership team to ensure continuum of care for all ACCT animals
• Communicate, either directly or via other ACCT personnel with fosters, and rescue partners as it relates to animal health, treatment, or future medical needs
• As department grows providing coaching and mentorship

Essential Skills

• Knowledge of contemporary shelter medical protocols including vaccination on intake, risk assessment and infectious disease principles
• Knowledge of various species, primarily dogs and cats, and familiarity with symptoms of diseases common to dogs and cats
• Strong communication skills in a frequently challenging environment where multiple cases are managed concurrently and often communication with a foster or rescue partner is made through a third party such as nursing or lifesaving staff
• Comfortable with advising on euthanasia decision making to alleviate and prevent suffering but committed to explore all options for lifesaving to further ACCT’s commitment to live outcomes for all adoptable and treatable animals. The shelter veterinarian is NOT responsible for euthanasia decisions that relate to shelter capacity such as space and time constraints, however may advise the population management team of animals that are at risk of suffering or in need of care that is not easily provided in the shelter setting.
• Comfortable with electronic medical records, email communication and Microsoft office suite. The ideal candidate has experience with animal management software programs, and training is available on the job and through web-based programs.
• Comfort and ability to work with animals of unknown disposition and those who may exhibit medical and other problems, as well as aggressive tendencies. ACCT Philly prioritizes staff and community safety but does house some dogs who are aggressive and are serving out a stray hold
• Ability to lift and move objects and animals weighing up to 30 pounds for short distances and to humanely restrain an animal when necessary.

About ACCT Philly

About ACCT Philly ACCT Philly is a nonprofit organization that serves the City of Philadelphia by contract and is the only open intake animal shelter and animal care and control provider in the city. Located in North Philly, it takes in nearly 18,000 animals annually and is open every day of the year for emergency services. In addition to animal control it operates adoption, foster, rescue transfer and volunteer programs as well as surrender prevention. It does not provide medical services to the public.

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