Continuing Education

Like doctors who work on the human species, veterinarians need to continually update their skills. For Dr. Karnia to renew her license, she must regularly attend seminars, conferences and workshops, demonstrating that she is keeping current with developments in technology, diagnostics and industry standards. That’s why we occasionally block out a day or two to allow the doctor to attend these functions.

On October 17th and 18th, Dr. Karnia attended a two-day conference at Scottsdale’s Valley Ho resort. “Feline Fine: A Marriage of Medicine and Well-Being” was organized by the North American Veterinary Conference and Dr. Margie Scherk, a board-certified* feline practitioner who lectures around the world. The complete life span of cats was addressed from neonates to end-of-life issues. In-depth coverage was given to a few medical topics, including diabetes, renal insufficiency, and lower urinary tract disease. Dr. Scherk also discussed various practice tips for handling cats and providing a less stressful visit to the clinic.

It’s just as important to us as it is to you that we are giving your cat the very best that the veterinarian community offers. And it’s not just Dr. Karnia that participates in continuing education. We make sure our staff are continually updating their skills. We regularly have meetings where we invite product representatives to let us know about new developments in their area. Representatives from Royal Canin, Purina and Hills recently visited the clinic to talk about the various diets we recommend. Merial, who provides us with most of our vaccines as well as Heartgard and Frontline products, talked to us about the extensive research they conduct for their vaccines.

For more intensive training, we send our technicians to seminars and workshops specifically focused on their role in the hospital. Even the front office gets into the act. We want to make sure we are running an efficient and enthusiastic business, so we study up on client relations, streamlining costs, and marketing (writing blog posts, for instance, to keep clients informed). This spring, nearly the entire clinic staff will attend the American Animal Hospital Association conference in downtown Phoenix. We’re fortunate to have the conference in central Arizona, and all of us will take advantage of the four days of lectures, exhibits and workshops.

We do this because we want you to be secure in the knowledge that your cat is receiving the best care possible at the Scottsdale Cat Clinic, and that you as our client are treated with the utmost respect.

*Board-certified means really smart and really knowledgeable. Basically, Dr. Scherk had to pass a horrifically difficult test and present a number of case studies in feline medicine to a bunch of strict, sober and decidedly unfrivolous ladies and gentlemen just looking to deny her accreditation. She now specializes in feline medicine—a top gun of the cat vet set.