Veterinary Assistant – Large Animal (Levels 1‑3)

About the role

The Large Animal Hospital at LSU provides 24/7 patient care and seeks Veterinary Assistants at three competency levels to support faculty, house officers, and students. The role involves hands‑on animal handling, clinical assistance, and ensuring a safe, biosecure environment for equine and livestock patients.

Key responsibilities

• Assist with daily operations, including appointments, emergency cases, procedures, and inpatient treatments across the Isolation Unit, ICU, teaching herd, surgery, internal medicine, and food‑animal services.
• Provide safe handling, restraint, monitoring, hourly assessments, and treatment administration for equine and livestock patients.
• Prepare, clean, disinfect, and restock examination and treatment areas before and after procedures.
• Communicate with clients, collect accurate patient information, maintain medical records, and track charges for in‑ and out‑patients.
• Support clinical teaching by training students and new staff on handling techniques, biosecurity, and equipment use.
• Maintain and clean technical equipment such as endoscopes, ultrasound machines, ECG units, and oxygen tanks.
• Participate in holiday, weekend, and on‑call emergency coverage as required.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree, OR associate’s degree in veterinary technology, OR credentials as a veterinary technician, OR relevant experience (3‑5 years) in a similar setting.
• Extensive experience with safe handling and restraint of horses and livestock.
• Ability to work with minimal supervision while adhering to hospital policies, safety, and biosecurity protocols.

Required skills

• Animal handling and restraint techniques for large animals.
• Clinical procedures: bandaging, sample collection, blood transfusions, ultrasonography, joint injections, intravenous catheter placement.
• Equipment maintenance: endoscopes, ultrasound, ECG, oxygen systems.
• Client communication and accurate medical record keeping.