Education

“A well-educated mind will always have more questions than answers.”
Helen Keller

The gift of education is one that keeps on giving and can create intrigue regardless of subject matter. I have always been grateful and credited my parents for my love of learning. The opportunities this has afforded me in every aspect of my life is infinite. I love researching, finding different perspectives, and ultimately teaching topics of any sort to anyone. Discovering pearls of wisdom or hidden facts is just plain fun for me. Veterinary medicine has provided the ultimate learner’s playground and I have tried to take advantage of this for myself, our business, and my team.

Continuing education for team members. We provide as a benefit and encourage our staff to take advantage of continuing education. Our goal is to enhance people’s lives. We tell our team that while we want to keep them with us forever, the true gauge of our success is if when they leave they are more qualified for success then when they started. We rely on our team to question, push for a better understanding of things that do not make sense, and have the desire to solve problems. Empowering them with education opportunities is a key way we do this. Additionally we bring a variety of professional resources to our hospital to do on site training. Specialists in anesthesia, dentistry, grief, cytology, nutrition, immunology and behavior, to name a few, are all part of our extended team of educators.

Continuing education for myself. The world, technology, and medicine are all changing so fast. Fortunately, access to resources and reference material have afforded us many new and great options in our medical treatment of pets. While I attend formal veterinary conferences annually, my real continuing education happens daily. I take full advantage of a multitude of specialty consults for my patients. Whether it be an online professional veterinary forum, a local specialty hospital doctor, or over the phone using our laboratory consultation services, I fully utilize these resources to expand the scope of care I can provide, and all at no fee for the client. All while learning more myself. Truly a win \-win situation for all.

Continuing education for clients. We love educating clients. At times we almost have to reign it in as we know that information overload is a real thing in particular if a client is worried about their pet. For this reason we work diligently to communicate effectively in the exam room, over the phone with follow up calls, and in writing with handouts. We want our pet owners to feel like partners with us in making the best decisions for their pet. This can only be successful if we do our part by educating our clients first.

Dr. Karen Burgess
Head Veterinarian 
Healthy Paws Animal Hospital

Now Accepting New Patients
Call (815) 322-5400 for appointment.

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