Practitioner-Focused Course Development Program

The goal of the practitioner-focused grant program is to create CE offerings that empower primary care practitioners to provide quality canine care at multiple price points. Thus, these courses might focus on cost-saving diagnostic approaches or prescribing strategies, new methods, or new skill sets that allow primary care practitioners to treat more patients rather than referring them to specialists. This course development work may be done by experienced primary care practitioners, specialists with cost-savings techniques for traditionally expensive procedures, or clinical faculty at schools of veterinary medicine. We imagine the audience to primarily consist of veterinarians working in privately-owned offices serving their local community. Team submissions are welcome.

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, an applicant (or team) must have:

• Deep medical knowledge and experience in private practice;
• Demonstrated interest in treating an economically diverse clientele;
• Some experience sharing their knowledge with other veterinary professionals.

Note that the Foundation will waive any ownership claim to the course materials but will ask to post the course outline on its website (PowerPoint presentations are an acceptable alternative) .

Additionally, the proposed course must be:

• Aimed at improving canine health. Courses dealing with diagnostic approaches or procedures applicable to other species that address a common canine condition will be considered.
• Designed to build primary care skills in achieving good results without the use of high-cost diagnostics or treatments.
• Be offered at an accredited institution or recognized continuing education platforms.
• Be offered multiple times, potentially across conferences or platforms.

Courses that deal with common canine conditions or emergency/urgent cases are preferred. The strongest applications will provide specific course objectives and evidence (which may be practice-based) of the effectiveness of the suggested approach.

Please note that the Foundation considers primary care practitioners engaged in for-profit business serving their local community to be its primary audience. Applications to support shelter medicine initiatives or the like are beyond the scope of this grant program.

Finances

The Foundation's maximum budget for this program is $5,000 per course, with a maximum of $3,000 allocated to the first year.

Timeline

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and decisions will be made as quickly as possible, not to exceed two months from initial submission.