Veterinary Nurse in Training (Join our Training Program - Become Certified!)

Are you looking for a long-term career in animal care? 

Are you a fast learner who always wants to grow and learn new things? 

Does an energetic and changing workplace full of innovation and opportunities for leadership excite you? 

Are you confident, willing to get hands-on, and unphased by blood, vomit and other bodily fluids (let’s be honest - it’s a hospital and part of what we do!)?

Do you enjoy talking to people about their family pets to build long-term relationships? 

If so, then read on, we may have just the role for you.

Who We Are: Wise Owl Animal Hospital

Wise Owl is a fast-growing animal hospital devoted to creating a better life for the animals of Guam and the people who love them - today, tomorrow, and always. We started back in 2005 with a small, compassionate team and after almost 16 years, we’re in a great position to continue to grow. 

Because veterinary medicine is always evolving, so are we. We’ve made a commitment to our local community to be here. No matter the storm (or pandemic!) we show up: hosting drive-thru vaccine clinics to supporting an after-hours critical care line. Social responsibility and being a vital part of our island home is important to us. We are ecologically minded in our practices to support Mother Earth. 

Our success comes from a team that supports each other. We pair new “owlings” with experienced trainers who will teach, guide, and mentor you to build your knowledge and skills. We hold regular meetings to openly discuss what we can do better tomorrow from what we learned today. We share in each other’s successes, celebrate key events in one another’s lives, and have regular staff outings.  We invest in our staff because we don’t want this to be a “job”, we want you to build a career with us. Our team has attended international veterinary conferences around the world, earned nationally recognized certifications, and have helped to build areas of the hospital-based on their personal interests - some have even gone on to vet school! 

Throughout the years, this is what has made us Guam’s “Other” family doctor. We hope you’ll join us! 

About You:

You have a high-school diploma (or equivalent), a valid driver’s license, and a minimum of 2-3 years of experience in an animal care-related role. You have strong typing, spelling, and documentation skills. You’re the person who arrives at work 15-20 min early, has mad time management skills, and is able to adapt to last-minute changes in the day (emergencies happen when they happen!). 

You value getting to work with patients whether they are healthy or sick because deep in your heart you believe they all need the best quality care they can get - and that’s what you want to give each day. We expect every member of our team to pull their weight, so you’re someone who likes to take on difficult cases and works compassionately, thoroughly, and efficiently to care for each patient. You regularly communicate with your team, even about the smallest details, and double-check your work. You’re not afraid to ask questions, and quick to admit mistakes to supervisors for the wellbeing of your patient. 

You’re the type of person who enjoys being part of a team and playing an active role in helping the entire team succeed. We believe when you’re comfortable, you don’t grow - and the veterinary field is always evolving. So you’re not afraid to step outside your comfort zone and get hands-on experience expanding your skills in new areas.  

You look forward to the customer service aspect of animal care - helping educate pet-parents to take better care of their fur-babies.  The idea of sharing your knowledge and personal experience beyond the hospital at career days is rewarding. You are someone excited to take on leadership roles or projects like coordinating community events and fundraisers that make an impact on the animals of Guam and the people who love them.  

You’re familiar with mac products, GSuite, and Microsoft office. Knowledge of common medical terms, medical abbreviations, vaccine protocols, parasite preventions, how to take vitals and how to use an EMR are a plus but not required. Becoming BLS and ALS certified (for animals) will be required within your first year. 

The Role:

Full-time nurses are scheduled 34 - 40 hrs/wk, including at least one weekend day (Saturday or Sunday). All nurses perform on-call operator duties a minimum of twice a month for our after-hours critical care services. 

At our hospital, nurses get to perform a lot of hands-on experience. The day begins caring for the hospitalized patients, you will be taking vital signs, administering medications, checking fluid rates/catheters, feeding, watering, and walking animals. You will perform bandage and wrapping wounds, changing cages, cleaning cages, and observing for clinical signs of disease.  

Nurses are responsible for maintaining detailed and complete clinical records. You will begin appointments by getting patient histories from clients and discussing key standards of care from the pet’s diet and vaccinations, to educating about parasite preventions and dental health.  You’ll proactively ready the room for the doctor, inform the client what treatments and diagnostics the doctor will likely need, answer questions, and prepare estimates. 

Our nurses are proficient with handling animals of different sizes and behaviors in a way that keeps the animal and the team safe. Nurses perform many key treatments for patients including drain removals, suture removals, IV catheter placement, injections, blood transfusions and blood draws, running diagnostics (bloodwork and X-rays). Throughout the patient’s treatment and visit with us, you will be in regular communication with the client to give them patient status updates. Nurses will need to prepare required supplies, instruments, patients, and equipment for surgery. 

As our nurses become more experienced, Wise Owl offers many opportunities to expand your skills in our in-house laboratory, pharmacy, surgical assisting, dental hygienists, pet nutrition, end of life care, and more. 

The Package:

• Competitive pay
• Raise given upon successful and timely completion of training. 
• Opportunities for raises every 6-months after on-boarding period. 
• Increasing PTO each year PLUS additional accrued PTO with rollover
• One week of sick leave (separate from / in addition to PTO)
• Group Medical, Dental & Vision plan including discount gym membership
• Cafeteria Plan for supplemental insurance offered through Aflac
• 401k with 3% company match
• Animal Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support (BLS & ALS) Certification
• Employee rates on products and services
• Commitment to training you in the position and continuous development to design a career path in the animal care industry through company-sponsored training program(s). 
• 20 paid hours for continuing education every 2-years. 
• Ability to earn additional nationally recognized certifications.
• Free coffee runneth merrily in the office 
• Full kitchen in employee lounge - we do like to have a meal together
• Paperless practice using the latest cloud-based systems and technology 
• A dynamic, energetic team that learns and grows with one another

What’s the Next step? 

If after reading all of this you might be interested, then please click the "apply" button and submit the online application. We can’t wait to hear from you. :)