Domestic Hospital Assistant | Wacol
What to expect
There are a number of roles available in our busy Veterinary Hospital with various shifts. These roles would suit applicants who love animals and are dedicated to improving their welfare; have great animal handling skills; people who wish to experience hands-on work with animals and want to learn about the care and health requirements for future work in the industry; or anyone considering a career in veterinary nursing.
These can be challenging roles as you may be faced with situations where animals are sick, uncomfortable or in pain. You might feel emotional about the animals you’re working with and may find this difficult, but ultimately the reward is that you’re making a huge, positive difference to their lives – and yours!
At this stage we are also unable to offer placements for Vet nursing students; please contact your course provider.
What are the benefits?
- Working hands on with animals
- Time to interact with and comfort the animals in your care
- Opportunity to gain new skills and learn about the vet care industry
- Becoming part of a friendly new community
What are the tasks?
Tasks may include:
- Providing enrichment to the animals under your care by taking them on short walks and toilet breaks around the campus, playing and spending time with them and providing them opportunities to interact with other animals and people where appropriate.
- The daily cleaning of the animals' enclosures which involves removing dirty bedding, cleaning litter trays, and providing clean bedding and toys.
- Assist with stock control and re-stocking of supplies where appropriate.
- Sweeping and mopping floors, removing rubbish, washing animals’ water and food bowls, replacing food and water.
- Hygiene control – this is critical as a shelter environment is a high-risk area for canine and feline diseases, some of which are communicable to humans or your own pets. This means ensuring appropriate sanitation and hand-washing after handling individual animals or enclosures, use of appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) such as gloves, aprons, etc, to prevent disease and avoid cross contamination.
- Assistance with ensuring the vet surgery environment and reception area is presentable, and general tidying up.
- Taking bins full of soiled linen/towels/bedding to the laundry and collecting clean bedding/towels etc to take back to your area.
- Undertake general laundry duties as part of each shift, including loading dirty laundry into the machines, loading and/or taking clean washing out of the dryers, and folding all clean items.
What skills and characteristics do I need?
- Confidence in working with animals
- Resilience – you will see and be required to care for animals with various illnesses or injuries and this can be confronting and upsetting
- Be able to work independently
- Be physically fit (able to lift 10kg) and able to stand for long periods
- Attention to detail and able to accurately follow instructions
- Enjoy working in a team environment
- Excellent communication skills
- Hard working and committed to the RSPCA
To help potential volunteers to fully understand the role requirements, we have created the Essential Capabilities of an Animal Care Volunteer document. Please read this before you apply to ensure you understand what we look for when reviewing applications.
When can I volunteer?
- *URGENT* Tuesday, Friday and Sundays across a range of shifts and Wednesday afternoons
- Specialisations and areas of interest: Domestic Hospital Assistant and Domestic Kennel Assistant (working with dogs who are recovering)
- We request a minimum commitment of 1 x four hour shift per week for a minimum of 3 months to ensure consistency and continuity with the animals.
PLEASE NOTE: It is a requirement that before handling animals at the RSPCA you have an up to date Tetanus vaccination.
For further information, please contact our volunteering team via volunteering@rspcaqld.org.au, or APPLY NOW below.
