Teaching Technician - Large Animal

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, the Large Animals Clinical Skills Teaching Technician (the technician) works with faculty involved in equine and farm animal clinical skills teaching, the clinical skills and bovine procedures course directors, and the Farm staff to support, schedule, and coordinate activities in the Large Animal Clinical Skills Laboratory (LA Clin Skills Lab) within Building 12 (Goat Barn).

Responsibilities as a Veterinary Teaching Technician include:

Oversight of the Large Animal Clinical Skills Laboratory (LA Clinical Skills Lab)

• Shares responsibility for LA Clinical Skills Lab in Building 12.

• Serves as the point of contact for the Lab and organizes scheduling of the space.

• Maintains large animal simulators and equipment.

• Orders supplies for teaching activities within the simulation lab and animal barns.

• Provides instruction primarily in the LA Clinical Skills Lab, but also within the animal barns 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 simulation laboratory.

• Helps to create and build new simulators for use in the program.

Organizes and delivers clinical skills laboratories

• Shares responsibility for scheduling, ordering supplies, setting up labs, and cleaning up after labs for equine and farm animal labs in the Clinical Skills and Communication courses.

• Collaborates with faculty on development and delivery of clinical skills labs and assessments and checks to make sure that pre-lab materials and assessments have been submitted and uploaded to Canvas.

• Works with staff from the Tufts Farm, the Hospital for Large Animals, Tufts Veterinary Field Service, and the Laboratory Animal Medicine Service (LAMS) to organize and oversee live animal experiences with horses and farm animals.

• May also provide assistance with didactic teaching and hands-on labs for other preclinical courses as required and time permits.

Administration of Clinical Skills Assessment

• Assists with clinical skills assessments during and outside of assigned class times as directed by the Associate Dean, Office of Professional Education, and Clinical Skills Course Directors.

• Records individual student assessment results in Canvas.

• Provides out-of-class practice sessions.

• Conducts additional skills assessments as required.

Oversight of outside of class Simulation Learning Opportunities and Live Animal Experiences with Large Animals

• Provides opportunities for students to practice clinical skills simulation experiences outside of scheduled class time.

• 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 large animal clinical skills labs are maintained and in compliance with IACUC and USDA requirements.

• Maintains IACUC protocols and contributes to annual reports.

• Shares responsibility for maintaining the health records of large animals used in teaching.

The technician works with other staff to support didactic teaching and hands-on labs with horses, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, and chickens teaching in other courses and in other locations as required.

Must be courteous, friendly, and patient with students with many different skill levels.

What We're Looking For

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and experience as typically acquired by a Bachelors Degree and minimum of 3 years working with large 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. Responsibilities

Reporting to the Educational Support Manager and Associate Dean for Professional Education, the Large Animals Clinical Skills Teaching Technician (the technician) works with faculty involved in equine and farm animal clinical skills teaching, the clinical skills and bovine procedures course directors, and the Farm staff to support, schedule, and coordinate activities in the Large Animal Clinical Skills Laboratory (LA Clin Skills Lab) within Building 12 (Goat Barn).

Responsibilities as a Veterinary Teaching Technician include:

Oversight of the Large Animal Clinical Skills Laboratory (LA Clinical Skills Lab)

• Shares responsibility for LA Clinical Skills Lab in Building 12.

• Serves as the point of contact for the Lab and organizes scheduling of the space.

• Maintains large animal simulators and equipment.

• Orders supplies for teaching activities within the simulation lab and animal barns.

• Provides instruction primarily in the LA Clinical Skills Lab, but also within the animal barns 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 simulation laboratory.

• Helps to create and build new simulators for use in the program.

Organizes and delivers clinical skills laboratories

• Shares responsibility for scheduling, ordering supplies, setting up labs, and cleaning up after labs for equine and farm animal labs in the Clinical Skills and Communication courses.

• Collaborates with faculty on development and delivery of clinical skills labs and assessments and checks to make sure that pre-lab materials and assessments have been submitted and uploaded to Canvas.

• Works with staff from the Tufts Farm, the Hospital for Large Animals, Tufts Veterinary Field Service, and the Laboratory Animal Medicine Service (LAMS) to organize and oversee live animal experiences with horses and farm animals.

• May also provide assistance with didactic teaching and hands-on labs for other preclinical courses as required and time permits.

Administration of Clinical Skills Assessment

• Assists with clinical skills assessments during and outside of assigned class times as directed by the Associate Dean, Office of Professional Education, and Clinical Skills Course Directors.

• Records individual student assessment results in Canvas.

• Provides out-of-class practice sessions.

• Conducts additional skills assessments as required.

Oversight of outside of class Simulation Learning Opportunities and Live Animal Experiences with Large Animals

• Provides opportunities for students to practice clinical skills simulation experiences outside of scheduled class time.

• 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 large animal clinical skills labs are maintained and in compliance with IACUC and USDA requirements.

• Maintains IACUC protocols and contributes to annual reports.

• Shares responsibility for maintaining the health records of large animals used in teaching.

The technician works with other staff to support didactic teaching and hands-on labs with horses, cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, and chickens teaching in other courses and in other locations as required.

Must be courteous, friendly, and patient with students with many different skill levels.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• Knowledge and experience as typically acquired by a Bachelors Degree and minimum of 3 years working with large 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