The ISFM International Feline Congress is the world’s first free virtual feline congress for vets, veterinary nurses and technicians, which will deliver over 30 hours of high quality CPD at no cost to attendees. Registration is open from today, June 10th, and the Congress begins on Saturday August 8th for 3 days of lectures and interactive events, with the content remaining available on-demand until September 11th.
This online event is the latest in a long stream of innovations from the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM), and its parent charity International Cat Care (iCatCare), in distributing high quality information on feline medicine and welfare to as wide an audience as possible. The topics covered have been carefully chosen to represent the current areas of practical interest for veterinary professionals, and span from ethics and behaviour to critical care and pain assessment.
Over sixty years ago, when the charity was founded, an obvious way to push feline medicine forward as a discipline was making the literature available and accessible to those who wanted to learn more. This was done through a physical lending library of papers, which despite the huge amount of labour, was essential in spreading knowledge. As technology has advanced, so too have the ways in which the charity conveys information, and this state-of the art virtual event is testament to its forward-thinking approach.
ISFM is synonymous with high standard CPD. Its events are praised for their subject matter, social atmosphere and value as a networking opportunity for veterinary professionals. Due to COVID 19, the annual European Congress was cancelled, but rather than scrapping the lectures and events that so many people look forward to, the virtual congress has been developed with support from our partners to offer even greater international reach. It’s free to access for ISFM members and non-members alike, and as it’s an online event, those who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to attend an ISFM congress can join with a community of veterinary professionals from across the world who share a commitment to improving cat care.
There will be two separate lecture streams, one for vets and one for veterinary nurses and technicians, alongside several sponsor-led symposiums, live question and answer sessions, and a virtual exhibition hall. In recognition of attendance, CPD certificates will be available to download from the platform.
In the vet stream, topics covered will be the assessment and management of pain in cats, ethics, analgesia and anaesthesia, point of care ultrasound, nutrition and critical care, and international expert speakers will give the latest research in their respective fields, whilst ensuring that their talks and lectures remain practical, with ‘take-home’ information applicable in clinics.
In the veterinary nurse and technician stream, lectures will cover pain assessment and anaesthesia, geriatric cats, ethical dilemmas, specific to veterinary nurses and techs. Additionally, there will be two emergency and critical care lectures. All of this is complimented by a variety of other speakers, who will give talks on behaviour, dentistry, neurology, endocrinology plus many more topics to reflect the diverse and important role vet nurses have in clinics.
It’s thanks to the generosity of our partners, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ceva, Hill’s, Purina, Idexx and Royal Canin, that ISFM can provide this congress entirely for free, and this reflects solidarity with, and support for, the veterinary community in this difficult time which is wholeheartedly supported by ISFM.
See below for links to the congress page where the event programme, speaker information, and instructions for how to register are available.
