Client Care Technicians
The Client Care department is professional, knowledgeable, and dedicated to serving our clients and their pets. They are continuously educated about the evolving field of veterinary medicine through continuing education lectures and department meetings. Client care technicians assist Friendship clients at almost every step on the path to good health and long life for their pets– at our front desk, in our call center and in our dispensary.
Veterinary Technicians and Assistants
Veterinary Technicians and Assistants work in a variety of departments within the hospital. From the veterinary assistants that work with our primary care veterinarians, to those technicians working in specialty departments, seeing technician appointments, working in our Emergency/Progressive Care Unit or in our ICU, our technicians and technician assistants are all here to provide the best possible care to our patients. In addition to assisting in procedures and providing excellent nursing care, our technicians also play a vital role in communicating with our clients about their pets. If your pet is hospitalized, you can call 24-hours a day to get an update on how she/he is doing.
Currently Friendship Hospital for Animals employs about 90 technicians, tech assistants, and veterinary assistants. Keeping our skills up to date is a continuing and critical process. Training is very important to Friendship. Training for the technical department includes hands-on skill training as well as written tests for knowledge. We have regular lectures and labs in the hospital.
Specialty Coordinators
Friendship staffs highly trained and knowledgeable Specialty Coordinators equipped to handle any inquiries you may have about your pet’s specialty care needs. Trained extensively in their respective departments, these coordinators are here to ensure your pet’s stay is as stress free as possible.
Laboratory Technicians
Friendship has dedicated and specially trained Laboratory Technicians and a trained Medical Technologist. These specialized technicians work around the clock paying close attention to detail as they handle all of our lab specimens to ensure excellent quality controls and a quick turn around time.
Rotating Doctors (Veterinary Interns)
In the field of veterinary medicine, the title “intern” is only applied to a graduate veterinarian who has elected to pursue advanced postgraduate clinical training. This is commonly the case in human medicine where internships are required for licensure. In veterinary medicine, however, there is no such requirement and only about 25% of graduate veterinarians are motivated to seek an internship.
Those electing to pursue more training do so completely voluntarily. These are generally the most highly motivated and successful of the graduating class. In return for the advanced clinical training they receive, interns may work long hours and receive lower compensation than those classmates who do not do internships.
At Friendship, our Rotating Doctors spend one year with us broken into 12 one month long blocks. Each block concentrates on one or two specialties. They are required to attend teaching sessions and seminars, present research or scientific lectures, participate in professional journal reviews, as well as see patients under the guidance of our senior staff as an integrated member of the hospital team. Our program is a hospital asset of which we are very proud. Internships are highly competitive. At Friendship, we receive more than 120 applicants for our twelve Rotating Doctor positions making it one of the most competitive in the country.
Staff Doctors/General Practitioners
Staff doctors or General Practitioners are licensed veterinarians that are part of the permanent Friendship medical team. These veterinarians focus on general medicine in either our primary care (wellness) service or in emergency and hospitalization. We have over 25 general practitioners on staff at Friendship to help care for your pet throughout their lifetime.
Staff Specialist
Specialists are board-certified doctors in a particular area that have minimally completed a one year rotating internship and a three year residency program in their area of expertise. Often they have completed additional specialty internships, fellowships or other advanced training. They have passed the board examination and are recognized as an expert by the governing body of their specialty.
Friendship is proud to have twenty board-certified specialists in general medicine, anesthesia and analgesia, cardiology, clinical pathology, dermatology, emergency and critical care, internal medicine, neurology, oncology, radiology and surgery.
