Exclusively Cats Veterinary Hospital Residency Program

Exclusively Cats Veterinary Hospital is proud to have an American Board of Veterinary Practitioner approved residency program.

The objective of ABVP-approved residencies is to promote expertise and proficiency in species specialty veterinary medicine by providing instruction and guidance through a structured residency program.

Dr. Steven Bailey, an ABVP Diplomate in Feline Medicine, supervises Exclusively Cats Veterinary Hospital?s residency program.

 Requirements for the Exclusively Cats' ABVP residency program:

•        The program consists of a minimum of two years of supervised training and clinical experience in the science and practice of all disciplines in feline specialty.
•        Resident applicants will be required to have completed at least 12 months of training in clinic veterinary medicine and surgery in a rotating internship or clinical practice prior to the residency.
•        Graduate studies may be included in the residency program for achievement of an advanced degree; however, a total of 100 weeks (2 years minus 2 weeks of vacation per year) must be devoted specifically to clinical training in the species specialty area including case responsibility.
•        The program advisor shall perform evaluation of the resident at 6 month intervals.
•         Residents are also required to submit logs and other information to the ABVP Residency Committee every 6 months for evaluation of the progress of the resident.
•         Application for credentialing to sit for the appropriate species examination can be made during the second year of the training program.
•         The examinations are given in November each year and all residency requirements must be completed and approved prior to examination.
•         Residents must make a minimum of four presentations of at least 15 minutes duration in a formal setting during their residency.
•         Formal rounds, case presentations, journal clubs and lectures are required and it is recommended that there be a minimum of one of the preceding per week during the residency.
•         Residents are required to obtain a minimum of 100 hours of continuing education in feline specialty area during the course of their residency.
•         Development of one or more research projects related to the species category is encouraged.

Feline residency training involves all phases of practice i.e. medicine, anesthesiology, dermatology, surgery, radiology/diagnostic imaging, ophthalmology, theriogenology, population based preventative medicine, and clinical and gross pathology.

The resident will be expected to participate in all aspects of case management including receiving, examination, diagnosing, daily management, client communication, discharging, and follow-up communications. Residents are expected to participate in emergency case management. Residents in some species categories are responsible for population-based case studies, client contact, investigation, diagnosis, follow-up communications and recommendations.

Duration and Distribution of Time

The ABVP Residency Program is based on the common clinical residency duration of 2 years (104 weeks), with 2 weeks of vacation per year. A minimum of 70% of the resident?s time must be devoted to rotations crucial to advanced training in feline specialty (core rotations); the remaining 30% of time can consist of related rotations. Since the 104-week program includes a total of 4 weeks of vacation, the program must contain at least 70 weeks of core training and 30 weeks of related rotations for a total of 100 weeks of supervised clinical training and practice.

Residencies with advanced degree or concurrent residencies (minimum of 36 months) should likewise base calculations on a minimum of 100 weeks of clinical training even though various disciplines may be scheduled over the entire three-year period.