Medical Volunteer Expectations

Medical Team Training and Requirements:

To be eligible for the medical team, volunteers must have completed at least 4 shifts on the care team.

You are required to undergo specific Parvo Medical Team training following a curriculum with trained members. You will become an official volunteer once you are ready to treat alone, which depends on how fast you learn, how confident you feel, and how often you volunteer.

We ask volunteers to commit 3-6 hours a week to continually practice your medical skills so our puppies will be getting the proper medical attention they need. This is a huge commitment you're making to the puppies, the volunteer team, and APA! staff.  Treatments and patients require your full attention, so we ask that you balance your free time and ensure you have time to relax in addition to caring for our puppies. We value your mental and physical health like we value that of our animals.

Optional Tasks

Simply ask if you would like to learn how to do the following:

• Microchipping 

• Advance Vaccinations

• IV Catheters and Blood Draws

• Parvo Transport

• Prescriptions

Special Circumstances Tasks

• Discharge - For morning shift, you must know how to bathe a post-parvo puppy properly, as well as the rest of the discharge procedures.

• Test - Know how to perform and read a parvo test.

• Intake - Know how to intake a puppy into the ICU.

• Vaccinate - Know how to draw up, and give vaccines (DHLPP and Bordetella), including location to give vaccine. 

Expectations for Medical Team

As individuals responsible for critically ill patients, you are expected to take this position as seriously as you would your job. Thank you for understanding how important this position is!

• Abide by all disease procedures, including washing hands, spraying hands, scrubs, and feet down with disinfectant, and scrubbing in and out.

• Treat all puppies with love, compassion, and respect.

• Bring your cell phone into the ICU with you. You will find yourself having questions from time to time while here. 

• Check your email at least once a day - watch for important reminders, and updates in the ICU.

• Sign up for shifts regularly.

• Think critically. In the Parvo ICU, you must be aware of the purpose of everything you're doing, the effects of your actions, and the needs of the dog. 

• Be reliable and present.

• Be responsible. Always double check before you give medications. Try not to come into a shift tired or hungry.

• Be mindful of cross-contamination. Wash hands before entering or after leaving any Parvo room and clean any bowls or toys you remove from any Parvo room. Trifectant is your best friend in the Parvo ICU.

• Be mindful of sterile technique. Needles, catheters, fluid lines and medication vials should be capped. Anything going into the dog must be sterile.

• Be safe (do not treat aggressive puppies alone) and watch out for safety hazards in the ICU, such as keeping all wires off the floor.

• Be honest. We all make the occasional mistake. Notify a doctor if you gave a wrong medication/route/ time, etc. However, still be aware that giving a medication via the wrong route is often deadly.

• Be observant and detail oriented. Always assess general health of sick puppies and know when a doctor needs to be called immediately. Treat puppies in order of necessity.

• Be efficient and aware of the time. Puppies should be getting their treatment as close to the time they were scheduled. Consult the Triage Mode page for details on when the ICU is overcrowded.

• Be confident once you have completed training and have studied the relevant pages on this wiki. Apply your confidence while you're treating patients on your own.

• Be able to hold or constrain puppies as needed for treatments.

• Be able to identify all commonly used medications, requirements for each (give slowly, dilute in fluids, refrigerate) and know the strict routes each can be given. Giving medications via the wrong route may cause seizures, or even death. Storing medications improperly can be an expensive mistake.

• Be able to read a medical chart.  Note everything on each patient’s medical chart, including whether a puppy eats or drinks, especially if there is more than one puppy in a room.

• Know how to properly give PO, SQ, and IV medications.

• Know how to work and read an IV pump. This requires basic arithmetic!

• Know the meanings of medical terms and abbreviations.

• Keep an open line of communication