Veterinarian

Dr Kathrin Brinker

PhD, FTA

I graduated from the renowned Hannover University in Germany as a veterinarian in 1998 and finished a PhD in 2000 where I conducted a significant study on congenital sensorineural deafness in Dalmatians. After my PhD, I commenced a specialist training and became a German national board-certified Small Animal Specialist (FTA Small Animals) in 2006. Additionally, I published three scientific papers during these years and worked as specialist for four years in Germany before I moved with my family to New Zealand end of 2010.

The German Veterinary Specialist Title (FTA) has been introduced in the 1920s and is acknowledged in central Europe. There are FTAs in areas like small animal surgery, ophthalmology, dermatology and others – similar to the American and European Diplomate specialist titles. Not all areas of FTAs have an international specialist counterpart, eg like the “FTA for Small Animals”, which I acquired. To achieve this title, a total of at least 500 case studies plus 30 case studies for ultrasonographic diagnostics must be carried out, reported and signed off over at least four years of training. These cases cover a broad area of small animal medicine and surgery including sub entities like cardiology, ophthalmology, surgery and others. It is also a requirement to work for this time at accredited training institutions under the guidance of specialists. In addition, either a dissertation for a PhD or alternatively, three scientific papers must be published before starting the training. Participation in subject-related CPD for a certain number of weeks every year is also mandatory.

Unfortunately, my specialist title is not acknowledged in New Zealand, so it is important to understand that I cannot call myself specialist here in New Zealand.

In 2015, I started Ellerslie Veterinary Clinic in Auckland from scratch, which has always been known as a top level vet clinic and which grew quickly, offering a one stop veterinary service in Auckland. In 2022, Ellerslie Vet Clinic was awarded “clinic of the year” (in service) out of almost three hundred veterinary clinics in Australasia.
I left Ellerslie Vet Clinic only to move down here to beautiful Christchurch, which is a dream my family and I wanted to pursue for a little while.

When I am not caring for our furry friends, I embrace a diverse range of interests. In my downtime, you will find me enjoying various sporty activities like horse riding, hiking, swimming and exploring local natural highlights.  We are a family of four, avid horse lovers and we are accompanied by our dog Summer, our cat Ossi and our horses Angus, Rocky and Brian. I also love guinea pigs and rabbits (not the ones in my vegetable garden, but pet rabbits!).

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