Let Me Count the Ways

 I never knew when I started this job, (8 years ago on 02-27-15!) that there would be so many learning opportunities. Every day, we get numerous possibilities to have hands on learning. There’s also endless seminars, webinars and meetings to attend. Just last week, I attended a two day seminar for better business writing. The week before that, I attended a webinar that was about setting up promotional campaigns and sending them out through e mails. Later this month, the majority of my coworkers will further their knowledge with the biggest learning opportunity of all, by attending the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association’s (O.V.M.A.) conferences.

 O.V.M.A. runs February 19–22, 2015 and is held downtown at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. And let me tell you, this conference is huge and covers a very wide spectrum of topics regarding the veterinary field. Topics range from animal behavior, holistic medicine and working in an animal shelter to zoonotic diseases, social networking and stress management in the workplace. Some classes are for anyone in the animal industry and some are geared strictly for certain fields, e.g., radiology, anesthesia or dermatology.

 The speakers for these classes come in a wide variety as well. Of course there are plenty of veterinarians, but there is also an architect (in case you’re looking at building a new hospital), a couple of management consultants, college professors, a web designer and a business attorney that represents veterinarians.

 Then there’s the long list of sponsors. Some of the big ones you might know are:

Elanco- maker of Comfortis and Trifexis

Merial- maker of Frontline Plus and Heartgard

Hill’s- maker of Science Diet Prescription pet foods

ASPCA- American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The 150+ sponsors get to strut their stuff in the 98,000 square foot Exhibit Hall. They get to show off new products, the services they offer, the latest technology and new scrubs if you need them!

 As I stated earlier, the opportunities to learn are never ending with this job and those opportunities comes in all types of ways with O.V.M.A. conferences being the largest of them all. After the conference is done and gone, Gahanna Animal Hospital will have a two hour staff meeting, to share with one another what we learned, liked, disliked, agreed and disagreed with. I always look forward to this staff meeting more than any other; the learning never stops.