Mizzou veterinary student wins Bayer Excellence in Communication Award

Fourth-year University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine student Katherine Nadolny has won the national Bayer Excellence in Communication Award (BECA). The scholarship aims to reward effective communication in the veterinary profession, a skill Bayer HealthCare deems as critical to learn as clinical skills.

Bayer says Nadolny won the honor by effectively using open-ended questions, empathy and reflective listening. Each of the 27 regional winners—each from a different veterinary school—submitted video of an interview in a clinical setting with a client. Panels of faculty judges evaluated entries and selected a winner for their school. Each regional winner was awarded a $2,500 scholarship.

Nadolny competed in a pool of 16 schools that entered their regional winner for the national award. “It is especially gratifying to witness the enthusiasm shown by veterinary students who competed in the 2014 Bayer Excellence in Communication Award,” says Ian Spinks, president and general manager of Bayer HealthCare Animal Health. “We commend Katherine and the 26 other school-level winners. Their grasp of the importance of communication in the veterinary clinical setting is inspiring and increasingly critical to the future of the veterinary industry.”

Nadolny credits the curriculum at the University of Missouri for her success and additional $2,500 award. “This experience has reinforced my commitment to build upon my communication skills as I look to graduation and entry into the veterinary profession,” Nadolny says. “I want to thank everyone at Bayer for their continued support of the veterinarian community and I encourage all students to practice open communications with their clients.”

The winning veterinary students from the other schools in the 2014 Bayer Excellence in Communication Award program are:

> Magdalene Stewart, Auburn University

> Ayshea M. Quintana, University of California-Davis

> Jenny Ross, Colorado State University

> Elizabeth Ann Glucksman, Cornell University

> Andrew Torchia, University of Florida

> Kristin Scarlett Timmons, University of Georgia

> Erica Morton, University of Illinois

> Stephanie Turner, Iowa State University

> Arthur Charles, Kansas State University

> Jacque Stahl, Louisiana State University

> Allison Peterson, Michigan State University

> Jessica Carmack, University of Minnesota

> Hillary May, Mississippi State University

> Cassandra Horvath, Ohio State University

> Jill Weber, Oklahoma State University

> Jamie Senthirajah, Oregon State University

> Tiffany Premo, Purdue University

> Elliot Williams, Ross University

> Kelsey Quinn, University of Tennessee

> Odeliah Bouganim, Texas A&M University

> Kim-Khanh Tran, Tufts University

> Emily Coates, Tuskegee University

> John Gil, Virginia Tech

> Kyle Heaton, Washington State University

> Megan Williams, Western University

> Seth Oberschlake, University of Wisconsin