Bayer HealthCare Awards Veterinary Students $72,500 in Scholarship Funds for Communications Excellence

SHAWNEE, Kan., Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Bayer HealthCare LLC, Animal Health division announces the launch of the 2014 Bayer Excellence in Communication Award. Rolled out to veterinary students at 28 schools across North America, the award is designed to encourage development of effective communication skills among future veterinarians. The program offers eligible students the chance to compete for one $2,500 scholarship at each participating school by demonstrating strong communication skills with a client in a clinical setting. To compete for the national award, school winners must submit a video of their client interview. The national winner will receive an additional $2,500 scholarship. Scholarships totaling $72,500 will be awarded by Bayer.

The Bayer Excellence in Communication Award was created in response to findings from the Bayer Veterinary Care Usage Study that revealed a communication gap between veterinarians and pet owners, especially as it relates to the value placed on regular veterinary care. Effective communication with pet owners is imperative to becoming a successful veterinarian^.[1]

"The purpose of the Bayer Excellence in Communication Award is to help develop strong communications skills among veterinarians that will in turn, result in healthier pets," said Cristiano von Simson, DVM, MBA, director of Veterinary Services, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health. "The overwhelmingly positive response to the award last year, our inaugural year that involved seven veterinary schools, led to our expanding to 21 additional schools. We are confident that student submissions will help encourage other veterinary students to sharpen their veterinary communications skills."

Shaping communications skills from the beginning
In 2001, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health partnered with the Institute for Healthcare Communication to develop the Bayer Communication Project. This collaborative partnership led to the development of a communication skills training module offered to colleges of veterinary medicine. Selected faculty from all U.S. veterinary colleges, trained via the Bayer Communication Project "Train the Trainer" development program, have, in turn, incorporated this training into their curriculum.

Participation in the 2014 Bayer Excellence in Communication Award is open to juniors and seniors enrolled at the participating veterinary colleges. Judging and selection of school-level winners is determined by faculty at each respective college. The national winner will be selected by an independent panel of Bayer Communication Project-trained faculty using a standardized score sheet to evaluate each submission. School-level winners will be selected by March 1, 2014, while the national winner will be chosen by May 1, 2014.

About Bayer HealthCare
The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of €18.6 million (2012), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55,300 employees (Dec 31, 2012) and is represented in more than 100 countries. More information at www.healthcare.bayer.com.

Contact:
Staci Gouveia, Tel. 913.268.2577
Email: [email protected]

Lauren Dorsch, Tel. 913.268.2747
Email: [email protected]

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Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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^[1] International Veterinary Communication Institute, "What is the International Veterinary Communication Institute (IVCI)?" http://www.iccvm.com/index.html. Accessed September 4, 2013.

SOURCE Bayer HealthCare LLC