Courtesy of: Michelle

New advances are made in veterinary medicine every year. Breakthroughs in research and new scientific discoveries happen regularly. This allows for the development of more effective treatments for common diseases, novel procedures for a better prognosis, and an improved understanding of disease processes in general.

Did you know that veterinarians are required to have 40 hours of continuing education (CE) every two years in order to maintain their license to practice? Veterinary technicians are also required to complete 15 hours of CE every year.  There are several options for vets and techs to fulfill these hours. The first of these are veterinary journal magazines. Published on a monthly or bimonthly basis, these offer CE hours for reading articles on the latest research and completing quizzes found within the article.  Online webinars are a popular method to gain CE hours as well. Offered every few months, staff members can watch a webinar, usually in the form of an hour long lecture, from the comfort of their own home, or as a group in a clinic setting.  Regional seminars are offered a few evenings a year and focus on one specific topic of interest. These meetings are usually open to veterinarians and staff members in the area.

My favorite method of obtaining continuing education hours is by attending veterinary conferences. There are several large conferences offered across North America each year. In April, the Truro Vet Hospital closes for a weekend to allow the staff to attend the Atlantic Provinces Veterinary Conference in Halifax. This is a great opportunity for the entire staff- vets, techs, assistants, and receptionists – to attend lectures and learn something new!

Every year I attend either the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando, Florida or the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. While it may seem that these locations would make it hard to focus on anything educational with Walt Disney World and the Las Vegas Strip outside your doorstep, these conferences offer 5 days of intensive learning! Lectures are offered hourly from 8am-8pm and there are anywhere from 5-20 lectures to choose from during any given hour! It is usually quite difficult to decide which one to attend.  The lectures are delivered by board-certified veterinarians in their area of specialty. You can attend 10 lectures on 10 different subjects in a day, or you can focus on one subject such as dermatology or cardiology.

Stay tuned for a CE update after Joye and I attend the Western Veterinary Conference in February!  If you want to know more about our process for Continuing Education, please contact us at 893-2341.