Client Service: Creating First (and Lasting)
Impressions of the Veterinary Practice
Register for this course:


General Information

Date:
September 18, 2008

Conference Fees:
Early Registration: (before July 15, 2008) $249 CDN/US

After July 15, 2008:
$299 CDN/US

Fee includes notes, breaks, lunch and parking.

Full fee required with registration.


Location: Ottawa, ON

CE Accreditation:
Certificate awarded from the Ontario Veterinary College for 6 hours of CE credit.


Cancellation Policy:
90% refunds less deposit will be issued for cancellations up to 60 days prior. No refunds will be issued after that date except under special circumstances, when the maximum refund is 50%. Lifelearn reserves the right to cancel the course, in which case a full course refund will only be paid.

NB: Please do not make flight reservations until the course you are registering in is confirmed. Confirmation depends on the number of registrants which varies with each course. You will receive a confirmation either by phone, fax or email. Lifelearn reserves the right to cancel a course, in which case a full course refund only will be paid. All other costs will be paid by the registrant. For registrations that you wish to cancel, a 90% refund less deposit will be issued up to 60 days prior to the course. No refunds will be issued after that date except under special circumstances, when the maximum refund is 50%.


Each member of the veterinary health care team can help to merge the science with the soul in their clinic or hospital. The result is compassionate clinic culture in action. "Client service" becomes "client experience" with an emphasis on facilitating, enhancing, lengthening and strengthening the family-pet-veterinary bond.

Today's competitive veterinary market demands greater skill and more efficient interaction from all members of the team. This program is designed to help strengthen the role of every team member and increase overall practice productivity.

This seminar will help client care specialists and receptionists add value to each client's experience of the practice by:

  • Looking at emerging trends
  • Creating first – and lasting – impressions
  • Developing communication skills critical to success
  • Making the practice more user-friendly
  • Recognizing and assisting with the special needs of the disabled and elderly
  • Developing the skills, interests, and hidden talents of team members

Program Faculty
Robin Downing, DVM, CVA, DAAPM
Hospital Director
Windsor Veterinary Clinic, PC

Since graduating from the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1986, Dr. Downing has been blazing her own trail within veterinary medicine as well as her community. Her life as a leader in the veterinary profession began as the first (and only) woman veterinarian for a 100-mile radius in Worland, Wyoming from 1986 to 1991. Dr. Downing spent those years bringing sophisticated companion animal medicine into the homes of pet lovers. As well as building a successful veterinary practice, she was the 1988 National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Outstanding Young Career Woman for the state of Wyoming. An accomplished old-time fiddler, she has numerous trophies from competition at the Wyoming State Old-time Fiddle Contest.

In 1991, Dr. Downing purchased Windsor Veterinary Clinic, a stagnant practice in small-town Colorado. Achieving four-year accreditation status with the American Animal Hospital Association in 1994, Windsor Veterinary Clinic, PC, was named one of the first 10 Practice of Excellence Award® winners in the United States that same year. Her practice was featured in the January 1995 issue of Veterinary Economics® Magazine. In addition to creating an award-winning practice, Dr. Downing is committed to personal excellence. She was the 1995 Colorado VMA’s Up and Coming Veterinarian of the Year, and the 1996 Association for Women Veterinarians’ Outstanding Woman Veterinarian of the Year. In 1999 she received a regional Entrepreneurial Excellence Award® from Working Woman® Magazine, and was named the Hill’s Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award winner for the year 2000. In 2001 the World Small Animal Association presented Dr. Downing the Excellence in Veterinary Healthcare Award (Small Animal Veterinarian of the Year).

Dr. Downing passionately shares her vision for the bright future of veterinary medicine, and has been involved with organized veterinary medicine in both the Wyoming Veterinary Medical Association as well as the Colorado VMA.

Dr. Downing is an outspoken advocate of the precious nature of the Family-Pet Bond when the pet faces special challenges like chronic illness, cancer, or a physical disability. Dr. Downing is a pain management consultant and lectures internationally on the importance of pre-emptive pain management in the compassionate care of companion animals. Putting to good use her English degree from Loyola University of Chicago, Dr. Downing is a respected author on animal-related issues. She is a regular contributing author to Veterinary Economics® Magazine, was a featured weekly columnist in the Denver Post®, authored a selection in Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul®, and in 2000 finished a book for animal owners whose pets have cancer - Pets Living With Cancer: A Pet Owner’s Resource - published by the American Animal Hospital Association Press and recently translated into Dutch. Dr. Downing has been quoted in such popular magazines as Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, and Reader’s Digest as well as many newspapers around the United States.

Dr. Downing serves as a trustee for the Morris Animal Foundation. She is an affiliate faculty member at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and is the current President of the International Veterinary Academy of Animal Pain Management. Dr. Downing is one of only four veterinarians in the world to hold the Diplomate credential in the American Academy of Pain Management - the largest interdisciplinary pain management organization in human medicine. Dr. Downing shares her home with twelve cats, three dogs, and a cockatiel - all cast-offs, slated for euthanasia or abandonment - all thriving within a microcosm of unconditional love.