Location- The Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Beltsville, Maryland

CONTRACT PERIOD: 12 months contract with an option to extend contract

WORK SCHEDULE: Normal BARC business hours are five days per week, eight hours per day, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays, with core hours of 0730 to 1600 EST/EDT Due to the ad hoc needs of researchers and associated BARC programs, some services may be required before BARC core hours, on weekends and holidays, as well as emergency call-backs or emergency response to situations endangering structures, personnel, animals, or research. The contractor veterinarian shall offer flexibility to comply with these work scheduling requirements to meet BARC mission needs.

DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES: BARC requires routine and emergency veterinary services. Contractor veterinarian must possess a Veterinary Medical Degree (DVM or VMD) from an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredited or approved veterinary medical college or school or have passed the Foreign Veterinarian Equivalency Examination, a current Maryland state veterinary license, and be APHIS accredited in the state of Maryland and maintain accreditation. The contractor veterinarian must have experience in the veterinary care of livestock and be willing to perform services within a federal research facility. It is preferred that the contractor possesses a Diplomate, American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (DACLAM) certification.

QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS:

• Possesses a Veterinary Medical Degree (DVM or VMD) from an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredited or approved veterinary medical college or school or have passed the Foreign Veterinarian Equivalency Examination, and a current state veterinary license in the state of Maryland;
• Preferred to be DACLAM certified;
• Must be an APHIS accredited veterinarian in the state of Maryland within 180 days after the start of the contract and maintain accreditation;
• Potential to serve as a non-voting member on the BARC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) providing subject matter expertise related to the role of an Attending Veterinarian as needed;
• Maintains a valid DEA license for the dispersion of controlled substances needed for the care and treatment of research animals;
• Experience and expertise in the veterinary care for a variety of agricultural species (cattle, small ruminants, swine, chickens, and turkeys) used for a wide range of federal research projects that focus on genetic improvement, infectious disease transmission, animal health, reproductive physiology, food safety, waste management, and human nutrition;
• Experience and expertise to provide veterinary care for traditional laboratory animal species (e.g., mice, rats, hamsters, etc.) used in agricultural and/or public health research at a federal facility IAW references.

DUTIES:

• Conducts scheduled on-site rounds and routine care for agricultural and/or traditional laboratory species at minimum seven days per week;
• Provides on-call response to the authorized BARC POC or alternate for the emergency care and treatment for agricultural and/or traditional laboratory species seven days per week, including after normal business hours, on weekends, and on holidays;
• Collects specimens and conducts testing to confirm health or disease status of agricultural and/or traditional laboratory species at the time that the animal has been identified with a questionable health status
• Performs routine (surgeries needed for research purposes) survival surgeries involving agricultural and/or traditional laboratory animal species with a success rate of 98%;
• Performs emergency surgeries involving agricultural and/or traditional laboratory animal species with a success rate of 80%;
• Performs obstetrical assistance for agricultural species within 1 hour of being notified;
• Performs necropsies/post-mortem procedures, clinical observations, histopathological examinations, and biochemical tests as necessary to support research studies;
• Maintains accurate and complete on-site health records for all animals provided routine, sick, or emergency care that includes examination findings, list of medications, treatments administered, withdrawal times (as applicable), and prognostic assessments IAW references listed in Appendix A;
• Provides consultation in the design, planning, and performance of research studies involving agricultural and/or traditional laboratory animals;
• If tasked to serve as Attending Veterinarian, serves as an ad hoc, non-voting member on the IACUC and performs other duties associated with the Attending Veterinarian position including, but not limited to protocol review;
• Plans and implements strategies, biosecurity measures, policies, and procedures to prevent introduction of infectious agents into the facilities and maintains the knowledge and awareness of active research that involves ABSL-2 agents and/or infected animal models, including designated areas where these studies can be performed, environmental requirements, proper donning and doffing of uniforms and other personnel protective equipment (PPE), safe work practices, and any other specialized procedures relevant to research program operations;
• Adheres to BARC’s physical security and biosecurity measures, and recommends improvement to POC;
• Reviews and/or drafts standard operating procedures (SOPs) and job hazard analyses (JHAs), that involve the use of animals including care procedures and equipment to ensure compliance with animal care and use regulations, policies, and guidelines;
• Monitors the safety program for RAS through review, development, and offers recommendations for procedural updates (includes incident reporting, SOPs, and job hazard analyses) and biosecurity plans for animal facilities to minimize injury or illnesses of animal husbandry staff;
• Consults with BARC POC or alternate as needed to provide recommendations that may be used in the development of budgets.
• Organizes and prioritizes conflicting urgent needs, meet deadlines and effectively adopts new practices and procedures;

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $43.00 - $50.00 per hour

Expected hours: 40 per week

Schedule:

• 8 hour shift
• Day shift
• Monday to Friday

Education:

• Bachelor's (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• APHIS accredited (Required)
• DEA Certification (Preferred)
• Veterinary License (Required)
• DACLAM certificate (Preferred)

Work Location: In person