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SpanishThe American Association of Feline Practitioners, trusted leaders in feline health and welfare, achieve coveted award for educational program.
BRIDGEWATER, NJ (June 16, 2021] The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) is excited to announce it has been named a 2021 Gold Circle Award recipient presented by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). In the category of New Product/Service Launch, the AAFP’s Cat Friendly Certificate Program displays exceptional creativity and quality education, as well as builds knowledge and skills for all veterinary professionals in order to deliver an elevated experience and care to feline patients.
ASAE’s Gold Circle Awards are the premier competition in association marketing, membership, and communications which denotes excellence, innovation, and achievement. This year’s competition received a record-breaking 300 submissions across 15 categories and the Cat Friendly Certificate Program earned a top honor. Over 100 Gold Circle Award judges were highly impressed with the extraordinary creativity and innovation of the Cat Friendly Certificate Program and recognized the importance of this specialized program offered by the AAFP.
About AAFP and the Cat Friendly Certificate Program
As leaders in feline health and welfare, the AAFP supports veterinary professionals by offering science-based educational programs and resources to further their feline-specific knowledge. “The AAFP identified that some veterinary practices were not ready to become an AAFP Cat Friendly Practice®, but individual veterinary team members had a strong desire to learn more cat friendly ways in which to practice,” stated Kelly St. Denis, MSc, DVM, DABVP (Feline), AAFP President. “The AAFP created the Cat Friendly Certificate Program in order to offer this education to veterinary professionals so they could enhance the experience and care provided during feline appointments.” The Cat Friendly Certificate Program launched in October 2020 to the veterinary community and offered a concise educational package focusing on the special needs of felines. It provides much need training about cat friendly techniques to elevate the environment and experience for the cat, caregiver, and veterinary team.
The Cat Friendly Certificate Program consists of three uniquely designed certificates for each person in the practice – Cat Friendly Veterinarian (CFV), Cat Friendly Veterinary Professional (CFVP), and Cat Friendly Advocate (CFVA). Each program contains a series of modules exploring aspects in feline behavior, the veterinary experience, and healthcare. The benefits of the program allow veterinary professionals to enhance their ability to fulfill client and patient needs, build confidence in working with cats, demonstrate a personal commitment to feline health, help develop talent, and offer transferable tools and knowledge. The program is approved to provide veterinary professionals continuing education hours in order to meet yearly compliance obligations.
Since its launch in October 2020, over 2,500 individuals have registered for the Cat Friendly Certificate Program, with over 1,700 having earned their certificate so far. The response and feedback from the veterinary community has been overwhelmingly positive. “The Cat Friendly Certificate Program is fantastic! Every veterinary professional can benefit from this program. It helps improve understanding of feline behavior, feline handling and the common but complex feline diseases. I would recommend this program to everyone!” Comments on the program go on to say, “AAFP educational programs continue to inspire and motivate our entire team, and support our continued dedication to excellence with respect to feline patient care.” Veterinary students also find the Cat Friendly Certificate Program valuable. “As a veterinary student, I found this program to be very beneficial. It prepares you well to enter clinics, whether as a new grad or for senior clinical rotations. It also brings a fresh perspective to managing and handling feline patients, which can be lacking in some veterinary curriculums.”
“We have received amazing feedback from so many veterinary professionals noting how the content within the modules has been invaluable in helping provide for more positive feline appointments, and giving team members a deeper understanding of the complex cat, as well as more confidence in working with cats,” noted Heather O’Steen, CAE, AAFP Chief Executive Officer. “We are extremely proud that the hard work put into the Cat Friendly Certificate Program by so many talented veterinary professionals has been awarded one of the ASAE’s highest honors – a 2021 Gold Circle Award.”
The Cat Friendly Certificate Program is sponsored by Zoetis Petcare, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ceva, Elanco,
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Merck Animal Health, Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diets, Royal Canin, and is supported
by Wedgewood Pharmacy.
Veterinary professionals interested in learning more about the AAFP’s Cat Friendly Practice Program including program module descriptions, enrollment fees, discounts for multi-individuals in a practice, students and faculty discounts, visit www.catvets.com/certificate.
For more Cat Friendly Certificate Program Testimonials, visit www.catvets.com/certificate-testimonials.
“The Certificate Program is a fantastic, compact, efficient way to boost your knowledge of general feline handling and medical practice. Every bit of information provided is practical to our general practice setting and will greatly impact the care we able to provide for our feline patients for years to come.”
“A must for ALL small animal practitioners! This program is filled with a wealth of information about cats and how veterinary practices can do their part to provide excellent care and recognize their unique needs. Our feline patients deserve better and are counting on it.”
“Informative, direct, and perfectly paced course that should be the foundation for feline care in every veterinary practice!”
“This program provided great information on making our feline patients’ experiences calmer and safer for everyone involved. We are able to provide top of the line care tailored to the personality of each cat we see with the tools and techniques gained from the modules in these lessons.”
About the American Association of Feline Practitioners
The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) improves the health and welfare of cats by supporting high standards of practice, continuing education, and evidence-based medicine (catvets.com). As a trusted leader in the veterinary community, the AAFP has a long-standing reputation and track record for facilitating high standards, including guidelines for practice excellence and educational resources. Over the years, the AAFP has encouraged veterinary professionals to continuously re-evaluate preconceived notions of practice strategies in an effort to advance the quality of feline medicine practiced. Launched in 2012, the Cat Friendly Practice® (CFP) Program (catvets.com/cfp) was created to improve the treatment, handling, and overall healthcare provided to cats. Its purpose is to equip veterinary practices, teams, and individuals with the tools and resources to reduce stress associated with the visit and elevate the standard of care provided to cats. Launched in 2020, the Cat Friendly Certificate Program (catvets.com/certificate) now provides this education to individual veterinary professionals. Catfriendly.com, or Cat Friendly Homes, is the AAFP’s cat caregiver educational resource which is powered by feline veterinarians and includes a monthly newsletter, The Cat Column.