State of Maryland

A Veterinarian II, Agriculture Laboratory is the full performance level of professional veterinary activity in the Maryland Department of Agriculture.  Employees in this classification perform a variety of routine assignments with a minimum amount of supervision in the laboratory program specialty area.  Employees in this classification prescribe, perform or supervise various diagnostic tests and procedures, normally in a specialty area such as hematology, microbiology, histopathology, gross pathology or antigen production.  Employees in this classification must be familiar with all phases of diagnostic laboratory procedures. Employees in this classification may be assigned limited duties in options other than the one in which they are classified.  Employees in this classification normally supervise technical assistants, or Inspectors.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision and guidance from a higher-level Veterinarian Agriculture or other program administrators and are expected to maintain a level of professional competence through continuing formal or informal education activities.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work of the class specification.

The Veterinarian I, Agriculture and Veterinarian II, Agriculture are differentiated on the basis of the degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Veterinarian I, Agriculture performs the duties under close supervision.  The Veterinarian II, Agriculture performs the full range of duties and responsibilities in the area of field inspection or laboratory under general supervision.  The Veterinarian II Agriculture is differentiated from the Veterinarian III Agriculture in that the Veterinarian III Agriculture is the supervisory or one of four specialty areas of work in the field of veterinary medicine.

Conducts necropsies on various animals or birds submitted to the laboratory;

Performs or supervises lab tests and procedures using microbiological, hematological, serological, or histological techniques on materials submitted from the field;

Assists in field investigations or examinations;

Supervises assigned laboratory personnel;

Supervises the care of laboratory animals;

May perform limited duties in the Field Inspection option;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of elementary concepts of histopathology, hematology, serology, toxicology, fluorescent antibody studies and culture and antigen production;

Knowledge of gross pathology, microbiology and epidemiology of animal diseases;

Ability to effectively perform basic laboratory procedures, test and examinations;

Ability to supervise the work of others;

Ability to function effectively with a minimum of supervision;

Ability to establish and maintain effective administrative procedures and policies;

Ability to communicate effectively.

Education:   A Doctorate degree of Veterinary Medicine or a Veterinary Medical Doctor’s degree from a college or university accredited or recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Experience: One year of full-time experience in Veterinary Medicine.

Note: Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in veterinary preventive medicine classification or veterinary preventive medicine specialty codes in the veterinary medical science field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required education and experience.  

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Professional Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Professional Service positions.  Some positions in Professional Service classifications may be designated as Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit E- Health Care Professionals classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance level in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series, an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class, as defined by the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.