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Animal Technician
UCI Series Concepts
Class Specifications - I.10
Animal Resources Manager - 9521
Animal Resources Supervisor - 9522
Principal Animal Technician - 9523
Senior Animal Technician - 9524
Animal Technician - 9525
Assistant Animal Technician - 9526
September, 1977
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SERIES CONCEPT
Incumbents in the Animal Technician series perform, supervise, or manage
the routine health care and/or environmental maintenance work directly
related to the collection receiving, housing and handling, evaluation,
breeding, nutrition, treatment, and disposition of a wide variety of
animals. Incumbents function in such areas as husbandry, livestock
production, herd management, disease recognition and control routine
animal nursing, and surgical assistance. They work with normal
experimental and/or large farm animals, as well as those receiving
hospital care, carrying infectious diseases, undergoing surgery,
receiving postoperative care, or receiving irradiation.
The Animal Technician Series is differentiated from the Animal Health
Technician Series in that emphasis is on the management, supervision,
and/or direct environmental and routine care of a specific group of
animals rather than on the performance of technical paraveterinary
health care and diagnostic procedures on a colony-, campus-, or
hospital-wide basis.
CLASS CONCEPTS
Animal Resources Manager
Under general direction, incumbents are assigned responsibility for the
overall operation of the largest/most complex animal facilities/domestic
animal production facilities. Incumbents typically coordinate
acquisition of animals, supplies and equipment; coordinate personnel
selection and training, assignment of space, and interdepartmental
liaison; represent the animal resources facilities in discussions with
departments and governmental agencies to assure that all animal
regulations are observed; conduct cost studies of the present system or
of the feasibility of changing or modifying the system; and recommend or
provide data for per diem rates in recharge areas.
The Animal Resources Manager is the technical supervisor of the animal
resources staff. Incumbents make technical judgments and
recommendations to the supervisor and to the business management staff;
and coordinate all of the technical activities with a business
management staff responsible for financial planning, budget
administration, payroll preparation, purchasing, and recharging for
services.
An example of an assignment allocated to this level of difficulty and
responsibility is: Manages several large and complex vivaria housing
colonies of experimental animals, with a daily average inventory of
20,000 animals comprised of 20 or more species, and a technical staff
of 20 or more employees; works with investigators to determine project
requirements for animal resources, housing and cage requirements,
experimental protocol, and safety measures for personnel; determines
personnel staffing and training requirements, selects staff members, and
supervises training of personnel; determines needs and plans for new
housing and caging and insures that caging meets required standards;
inspects facilities in company with the clinical veterinarians;
supervises record keeping involved in animal health, breeding, and
consumption of feed; and makes cost studies and provides data for or
recommends per diem charges.
Animal Resources Supervisor
Under direction incumbents are assigned responsibility for the overall
operation of animal resources facilities/domestic animal production
facilities. Duties and responsibilities are similar to those described
for Animal Resources Manager but on a smaller/less complex scale.
The Animal Resources Supervisor devotes full time to management and
supervisory responsibilities, above the level of working supervisor,
because of the size and complexity of the animal facilities. Factors
involved in measuring size and complexity are number of employees
supervised, amount and utilization of space, number of separate
geographical areas, number and variety of animals, nature of the animal
colony, number of investigators or veterinarians served, and medical or
biological conditions of animals. The typical assignments listed below
are intended to illustrate applications of these factors, without being
absolutely limiting.
- Experimental animal resources facility for medical research, housing
several thousand animals, of 10 or more species, serviced by a technical
staff of 10-20 employees.
- Radiobiology research facility, housing a colony of 1200 beagle dogs
on long term chronic studies, plus lesser numbers of other species on
short term experiments, serviced by a technical staff of 15-20
employees.
- Experimental animal resources facility for research in the life
sciences, housing several thousand animals, of 10 or more species,
serviced by a technical staff of 8 or more employees, providing animal
resources to 50-100 investigators.
Principal Animal Technician
Under general supervision, incumbents are assigned responsibility for
supervising limited technical and environmental control activities in
physically separate or organizationally distinct animal care areas
within the largest animal facilities, or in smaller facilities that are
independently operated. Incumbents typically make work assignments to,
and adjust the workload of three or more full time animal care
personnel; train these staff members; evaluate employee performance;
make or effectively recommend employment and termination decisions;
estimate and initiate orders for animals, supplies and equipment; ensure
compliance with health and safety regulations; review all area
operations and records; and perform other related duties as required. In
addition to these supervisory duties, incumbents may perform a number of
high level paraveterinary procedures including anesthetizing, bleeding,
administering medications and injections, euthanizing animals and de-
vocalizing dogs. Performance of these technical duties in the absence of
full supervisory responsibility will not warrant classification at this
level.
Without being absolutely limiting, examples of assignments allocated to
this level of difficulty and responsibility are:
Head technician in an animal surgery and/or reaching clinic, with
responsibility for animal preparation, scrub techniques for students,
surgical supplies, and the recovery room with a staff of three or more
Senior Animal Technicians and/or other technical staff personnel.
Supervisor of an experimental animal resource facility for medical
research in the life sciences, housing 500 or more animals, of five or
more species, serviced by a technical staff of three or more employees,
providing animal resources to 10 or more investigators.
Supervisor of a domestic animal production facility with 30-200 animals,
serving 5 or more investigators, performing all the duties associated
with such a facility, such as proper record keeping, feeding, and
nutrition for all stages of the life cycle, including breeding,
parturition, maintenance, herd health, etc. Works with students in
husbandry associated with large domestic animal production.
Assistant to an Animal Resources Manager or Supervisor, in experimental
animal resources facilities of such size and complexity, that a
full-time alternate supervisor is required in the management and
coordination of the technical staff.
This class is differentiated from Senior Animal Technician in that
incumbents are assigned full supervisory rather than lead
responsibility.
Senior Animal Technician
Under general supervision, incumbents act as section or area leaders
with responsibility for a small group (1-4) of animal care personnel.
This class identifies the lead worker who has day-to-day responsibility
for environmental maintenance, basic animal care, employee safety, and
the proper discharge of semi-technical procedures as requested by
supervisors, principal investigators, or veterinarians. In addition to
performing the Animal Technician task, incumbents may train, assign
work, and review the performance of subordinates; review record keeping
procedures; recommend design or modification of animal facilities and
devices for feeding, watering, and restraining animals; plan breeding
programs for production colonies; screen new animals prior to
introduction into the colony; ensure that safety standards are being
maintained; isolate infected animals; and perform other duties as
assigned.
Examples of assignments allocated to this level of difficulty are:
Section or area leader, for a designated portion of an experimental
animal facility, usually housing primarily a collection of animals of
one species, for example, dogs, or of one group, such as rats and/or
mice, with responsibility for screening new animals, recognizing
disease symptoms, isolating infected animals, giving prescribed
treatments, and requiring safety procedures for all staff members in the
areas.
Leader in an experimental animal resources facility, during regular
weekend assignments, with responsibility for inspection, observation,
and treatment of unusual or unexpected conditions that arise, requiring
immediate action and notification to higher level supervisors and
investigators, as well as responsibility for repetitive activities that
must occur daily.
Although the typical assignment is that of a leader, non-supervisory
positions may be allocated to this level where the performance of a
limited number of technical tasks is of primary importance. Examples of
non-supervisory assignments are:
Technician responsible for performing one or two specialized
paraveterinary procedures such as preparing surgical rooms including
preparing instruments, supplies, and the animal; anesthetizing;
assisting during operations; performing postoperative care; bleeding;
detecting equine estrus; independently assisting with large animal
parturition; giving medications and injections; euthanizing animals; and
performing minor operations such as devocalizing dogs.
Technician responsible for a collection of animals involved in long term
experiments, with complete control of breeding and record keeping on
successive generations over many years, where the investment is so
great that the most meticulous controls on animal environment and health
are essential.
Animal Technician
Under supervision, incumbents have proximate responsibility for a small
group of animals. In addition to performing the duties of Assistant
Animal Technician, typical duties include observing animal-appearance
and behavior, reporting subtle differences to appropriate personnel,
maintaining specified records on assigned animals; detecting bovine
estrus; giving intramuscular injections; performing artificial
insemination; restraining animals for various technical procedures;
collecting blood, urine, and fecal samples; shipping and receiving
animals; and performing other duties as required.
The Animal Technician class identifies the operational position within a
vivarium, animal hospital, or similar facility. The incumbent has
proximate responsibility for the physical environment for a group of
assigned animals and performs duties related to the care of these
charges.
Assistant Animal Technician
Under close supervision, incumbents perform routine animal husbandry
tasks. Typical duties include the cleaning, grooming, feeding, and
watering of common animals; the cleaning and repair of cages/enclosures
and related ancillary equipment; and the maintenance of animal care
areas.
Assistant Animal Technician is the entry level class in the series.
Incumbents are selected with the prospect of participating in on-the-job
training programs in preparation for promotion to Animal Technician.
Incumbents who successfully complete such training programs and who are
assigned appropriate duties may be promoted to Animal Technician. Other
incumbents, however, may continue to serve as Assistant Animal
Technicians performing the routine duties of cleaning, feeding and
watering.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Animal Resources Manager
Graduation from college with a degree in an area of biological science,
or high school graduation plus completion of a Veterinary Laboratory
Animal Training Program equivalent to the Laboratory Animal Technologist
certification of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science
(AALAS), and five years of related management and/or supervisory
experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience;
and knowledges and abilities essential to the successful performance of
the duties assigned to the position.
Animal Resources Supervisor
Graduation from college with a degree in an area of biological science,
or high school graduation plus completion of a Veterinary Laboratory
Animal Training Program equivalent to the Laboratory Animal Technologist
certification of the AALAS, and four years of related animal care
experience with demonstrated supervisory ability; or an equivalent
combination of education and experience; and knowledges and abilities
essential to the successful performance of the duties assigned to the
position.
Principal Animal Technician
Graduation from high school, completion of training equivalent to the
Laboratory Animal Technologist certification of the AALAS, and three
years of related animal care experience with demonstrated supervisory
ability; or an equivalent combination of education and experience; and
knowledges and abilities essential to the successful performance of
the duties assigned to the position.
Senior Animal Technician
Graduation from high school, completion of training equivalent to the
Laboratory Animal Technician certification of the AALAS, and two years
of animal care experience; or high school graduation and three years
of animal care experience in the care of animal species appropriate to
the particular job; or an equivalent combination of education and
experience; and knowledges and abilities essential to the successful
performance of the duties assigned to the position.
Animal Technician
Graduation from high school, completion of training equivalent to the
Assistant Laboratory Animal Technician certification of the AALAS, and
one year of animal care experience; or high school graduation and two
years of animal care experience in the care of an animal species
appropriate to the particular job; or an equivalent combination of
education and experience; and knowledges and abilities essential to the
successful performance of the duties assigned to the position.
Assistant Animal Technician
Graduation from high school; or an equivalent combination of education
and experience and knowledges and abilities essential to the
successful performance of the duties assigned to the position.
In all of the above Minimum Qualifications, work experience evidencing
reliability and the capacity to learn and assume responsibility for
the routine animal caretaking functions may be substituted for high
school education, on the basis of one year of work experience for one
year of education.
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