Career Center

Medical Director, Veterinary Hospital at CSU Spur

Purpose of Position: The Medical Director of the Dumb Friends League Veterinary Hospital at Colorado State University (CSU) Spur serves as a clinical veterinarian and provides oversight and direction of the Hospital’s team of veterinarians, veterinary interns, and externs. The League’s Veterinary Hospital at CSU Spur is a teaching hospital, providing services within a defined scope of care using an incremental approach, and seeks to increase access to veterinary care for underserved communities. Services include urgent care services for pets who are sick or injured, high quality high volume spay/neuter services, and community vaccine clinics.

The Medical Director is responsible for working in partnership with the Practice Manager to lead the hospital, providing mentorship to the doctor team, cultivating a culture of learning and teaching, and establishing strong external relationships with key partners including Colorado State University and community veterinarians.

Responsibilities

Providing Veterinary Services

• Empowers staff veterinarians to provide exceptional and accessible veterinary care through an incremental approach.
• Provides strategic direction that inspires evolution of community veterinary programs.
• Supports ethical decision making and facilitates resolution of ethical conflicts.
• Leads a team of veterinarians to have the greatest impact on underserved families and their pets while supporting the wellbeing of the veterinary team as a whole.

Performs and provides oversight of the duties of staff veterinarians, including but not limited to:

• Conducts physical examinations, diagnostics, and treatments.
• Conducts examinations and provides vaccinations at high-quality high-volume vaccine clinics located within the League’s priority neighborhoods.
• Participates in medical rounds.
• Performs surgical procedures including various soft tissue and orthopedic procedures, and dentistry; or HQHV spay/neuter surgeries.
• Documents, updates, and maintains thorough, accurate, and contemporaneous medical records. Adheres to all regulations regarding veterinary medical recordkeeping.
• Effectively and compassionately communicates with patrons.
• Maintains appropriate State and DEA licensing and completes required continuing education courses. Adheres to all applicable regulations, including the State Veterinary Practice Act, and all League policies & protocols.
• Supports the maintenance of drug and supply inventory while meeting and maintaining DEA requirements.

Leadership & Management

• Works in close partnership with the Medical Director of the Veterinary Hospital at Yuma to set medical protocols and make pharmaceutical inventory decisions for all Community Veterinary Solutions (CVS) services.
• Works in close partnership with the Practice Manager of the hospital to ensure the smooth functioning and provision of services to the community.
• Serves as a member of the CVS leadership team, working in partnership to formulate department objectives, practices, plans, and decisions to ensure efficient and impactful operations. Assists with the annual budgeting process.
• Monitors and assesses hospital performance against strategic benchmarks, proactively discussing related opportunities and challenges with Director of CVS.
• Collaborates with the Chief of Shelter Veterinary Services (SVS) to support the League’s internship program, including the VIRMP process and the overall intern experience.
• Manages the provision of veterinary services in an on-view educational environment at the League’s Veterinary Hospital at CSU Spur.
• Maintains a culture of collaboration and teamwork within CVS and the League broadly. Serves as a role model for the culture. Maintains a positive and professional attitude.
• Assists in case review for complaints that are medical in nature, and works towards resolution in a timely manner.
• Assists in the timely response to hospital related questions or concerns, when requested by the Practice Manager or other CVS leadership.
• Takes immediate action to address safety concerns or noncompliance of safety rules that could put an employee, volunteer, patron, animal or the organization at risk.

Teaching, Mentorship & Supervision

• Serves as the lead instructor in the provision of veterinary medicine within the League’s teaching hospital.
• Coaches and empowers CVS staff veterinarians on a day-to-day basis, specifically in their provision of veterinary medicine. Leads the ongoing assessment and development of staff veterinarian performance.
• Directly supervises, teaches, and mentors veterinary interns, particularly in their provision of veterinary medicine.
• Provides performance feedback, directly and/or via the respective program manager, to veterinary interns and externs, specifically in their provision of veterinary medicine.
• Collaborates with the Clinical Instructor Veterinarian (CIV) for effective implementation of extern experiences across the League.
• Cultivates a culture of learning for all staff within CVS.
• Partners with Practice Manager to recruit veterinarians and actively supports the orientation and onboarding of veterinarians new to CVS.
• Partners with Medical Director of the Veterinary Hospital at Yuma to plan and lead monthly CVS doctor team meetings.
• Leads critical incident review and debrief after every critical incident within the Veterinary Hospital at CSU Spur.
• Partners with shelter operations and shelter veterinary services as needed.
• Manages and develops an effective staff: providing effective communication, leadership, guidance, and resources. Determines staff qualifications and competency: recruits, interviews, selects, hires, trains, orients, mentors, evaluates, coaches, counsels, disciplines, and rewards. Establishes and monitors staff safety and regulatory compliance.

Community Engagement

• Leads the partnership with CSU Spur specifically in the provision of veterinary services in an on-view educational environment, providing subject matter expertise and other resources as needed.
• Builds and maintains a strong and supportive working relationship with referring veterinarians.
• Ensures quality service to both people and their pets is provided by the staff of the Veterinary Hospitals. Promotes good public relations in accordance with League practices.
• Serves as a veterinary ambassador, promoting the League’s mission, goals and strategic initiatives including Socially Conscious Sheltering and Communities to veterinarians, vendors, the public, and other animal welfare related organizations.

People Care

People are the key to fulfilling our mission. Making internal and external patrons and their needs a primary focus is expected in all situations. This position interacts with and collaborates with employees at all levels of the organization. Communication occurs through face to face, telephone, and electronic interactions and may also include contact with the general public and League business partners. Communication and contact must be clear, understandable, cooperative, professional, and respectful in all circumstances. Employees are expected to actively support a positive team environment, directly address conflict, and appropriately express concerns.

Competencies

Competencies are work behaviors and expectations necessary for successful job performance. They encompass knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, and actions. Additional definitions for competencies may be obtained from Human Resources

Organizational Key Competencies include integrity and ethics, adapting to change and ambiguity, customer and community focus, emotional intelligence, excellence.

Leadership Key Competencies include project and process management, delivering results, developing direct reports, building and leading effective teams.

Position Key Competencies include analytical thinking, community partnerships, conflict management, financial acumen, strong leadership, fiscal responsibility, innovation, team building, people development, project management, strong teaching and mentorship skills, strategic thinking, presentation skills.

Supervisory or Managerial Responsibility – Clinical instructor veterinarian, staff veterinarians, veterinary interns, veterinary externs, as needed.

Travel - This position requires travel to and from various worksites

Work Conditions and Physical Requirements

The League’s Veterinary Hospital at CSU Spur provides an “on-view” experience for visitors to the CSU Spur campus. Staff joining the CVS team should expect that they will occasionally or regularly, depending on their work assignment, be working in an exam room, surgical suite or dentistry suite that is on-view through windows to a public audience.

Handle and restrain animals of various sizes, weights, and temperaments. Subject to animal bites or scratches. Work performed in high noise level areas. Exposure to cleaning chemicals, fumes, dust, animal dander, and feces. Exposure to radiation in association with performing radiology procedures. Physical efforts require constant bending, stooping, standing, climbing stairs, and walking. Repetitive motion associated with medical and surgical care. Frequent lifting of animals and objects with reasonable accommodation.

Full Time Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, League-paid Life and Short-Term Disability Insurance, PTO (paid time off), holiday pay, 401(k), veterinarians are eligible for student loan reimbursement, and more!

Compensation: $120,000 - $140,000 annually (starting pay commensurate with market, experience, and equity)

https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/Details/1213974/Denver-Dumb-Friends-League/Medical-Director-Veterinary-Hospital-at-CSU-Spur

Position Qualifications

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Skilled and proficient diagnostician
• Skilled in both soft tissue and dental surgery
• Passionate about teaching and mentoring other veterinarians
• Strong interpersonal communication skills
• High emotional intelligence and humility
• Ability to effectively communicate both in writing and verbally
• Proficient in the use of practice software in the provision of veterinary medicine
• Effective time management skills with the ability to triage cases and workload
• Ability to work well within a fast-paced environment
• High attention to detail
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs

 Required

• Education: Doctoral degree in veterinary medicine
• Experience: Five years of clinical experience post-graduation which includes practicing veterinary medicine, teaching veterinary medicine and providing leadership for or managing a team
• Licensure: Current or eligible to obtain a Colorado Veterinary License and current or ability to obtain DEA license

Desired

• Experience practicing incremental veterinary medicine within a community model providing increased access to veterinary care for underserved communities
• Experience as a teacher or mentor of veterinary professionals or students
• HQHVSN surgical skills