The Veterinarian’s Oath:

Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge.

I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics.

I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.

As veterinarians, it is our responsibility to continually improve ourselves through lifelong learning, as exhibited by our oath upon graduation. Medicine is not the same as it was thirty years ago and perpetually evolves with scientific advances. Continuing our education through conferences and workshops is how we stay current on the most appropriate medical practices available to treat our patients. Without it, we would be forever stuck practicing the medicine bestowed upon us at graduation.

These continuing education opportunities can take on a variety of different forms. One of the more common forms of continuing education is a conference where thousands of veterinarians gather in one location with knowledge experts and vendors to learn together. Sounds like fun, huh?! It is! Veterinarians attending conferences are given a list of lectures on a myriad of topics and must choose which ones to attend in the given time constraints. Often, there are more than one lecture of interest at a given time and prioritizing learning opportunities is necessary. Prioritizing isn’t as fun – veterinarians are notorious multitaskers and if we could teleport back and forth between lectures, we would! Conference notes are usually available in the likely event you couldn’t attend all of the lectures you wanted.

I attended the New York Vet conference in New York City this week earning 16 hours of continuing education credits! I attended lectures furthering my knowledge in veterinary dentistry, tick borne diseases, kidney disease, canine allergies, technician training skills, and rehabilitation. I’m very excited to share my new knowledge and skills with my patients and veterinary technician team at my hospital to further advance the medicine that we practice on a day-to-day basis.

For now, it’s back to Connecticut until the next continuing education event!

On a side note – traveling to other cities for these continuing education opportunities allows me to pursue one of my all time favorite pastimes of eating yummy food! If you are visiting the New York City area, I recommend stopping for dessert or an afternoon snack at the Black Tap restaurant for epic milkshakes! I promise, you won’t be disappointed!