Exploring Student Experiences of an Undergraduate Certificate in Veterinary Medical Education.

The ability to teach is recognized as a core skill for many professionals, including veterinarians, but undergraduate opportunities to develop this skill are not always available. A complementary teaching certificate offered during the clinical years of an undergraduate veterinary program was evaluated to investigate student experiences of the program and the perceived benefits and challenges of participating. The study used a mixed methods approach with questionnaires to provide an overview of the participant experience and semi-structured interviews to gain a deeper insight into students' experiences of the program. Two cohorts completed questionnaires comprising Likert-style and open-ended questions on the 3-year teaching certificate, the first cohort after 1 year of the program and the second cohort at completion. Interviews with participants from both cohorts were thematically analyzed to identify recurring themes. An average of 27% of students per academic year enrolled in the certificate program, most of whom completed it. Additionally, four to six students per cohort applied for Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), and 19 students have achieved this recognition. Key themes from the data included that students felt the certificate built their confidence, increased their veterinary knowledge, and helped them become better teachers, with time management and reflection the biggest challenges. The Undergraduate Certificate of Veterinary Medical Education was seen as a good teaching foundation, while working toward the AFHEA provided some insight into higher education and academic careers. A structured teaching program offers students the opportunity to develop their learning and reflection both as students and future educators.

Success at Veterinary School: Evaluating the Influence of Intake Variables on Year-1 Examination Performance.

A major challenge in admissions to veterinary medical degrees is to select those students most suitable for clinical training programs and careers from a large pool of applicants with very high academic ability. Predicting the success of students in a veterinary course is challenging, and relatively few objective studies have been undertaken to identify factors that facilitate progression through this educational experience. Prior educational attainment is considered by some to be a good predictor of success at undergraduate level. The aims of this study were to analyze intake data such as educational history and demographic factors of students entering the University of Edinburgh and to investigate possible relationships between these data and academic performance in the first year at veterinary school. Data were collated for three veterinary intakes, including school qualification, subjects, grades, grade point average (GPA), degree classification, domicile, gender, and age. Performance was measured by marks achieved in first-year veterinary degree examinations. Relationships between marks and the influence of intake variables were statistically analyzed via ANOVA. For school-leaving entrants, the presence of straight A grades in school was linked to better exam performance. Students with an A grade in Chemistry or Biology performed better; A grades in Mathematics and Physics did not show such a consistent linkage with performance. Higher GPA was associated with better performance in first year for students in a graduate entry program. This study shows prior educational attainment does appear to be linked with subsequent performance in the first year at veterinary school.

Getting Started with Peer-Assisted Learning in a Veterinary Curriculum.

Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) methodologies that involve students teaching other students have been shown to be valid and effective in a variety of disciplines and are gaining increasing interest within veterinary medical education. PAL has been formally embedded within the undergraduate veterinary clinical skills curriculum at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (R(D)SVS), Edinburgh, since 2009 (and informally for several years before this) and has been delivered successfully to over one thousand first-year tutees by over one thousand fourth-year tutors (in their penultimate clinical year). This "teaching tip" article therefore aims to provide an informative overview of PAL for colleagues who may be interested in the methodology and to give practical tips as to how it can be successfully implemented in a veterinary degree program. We will summarize key evidence from the literature, provide a detailed example of how PAL has been implemented and optimized in our own veterinary degree program, include a subset of representative evaluation data from both tutors and tutees, and then conclude by providing colleagues with practical tips and resources (such as planning checklists and lesson plan templates) for implementing a PAL activity at their own school.

Recognising and developing students as teachers: Introduction of a novel Undergraduate Certificate in Veterinary Medical Education.

A key responsibility of healthcare professionals is the education of clients/patients, colleagues and students undertaking placements. Peer-assisted learning (PAL) has been incorporated in our veterinary medicine programme for a number of years. The aim of this project was to develop a mechanism to formally recognise the important role that students play in the School's teaching and learning processes and foster students as partners in education through the development of a novel Undergraduate Certificate in Veterinary Medical Education (UCVME). Students and veterinarians were surveyed in order to inform the design of the programme. The programme is modular and aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF). Students enrol in their third year, undertaking core and elective components, with completion over the final three years of the degree. The UCVME has been positively received, with 30 of 160 third year students enrolling in the programme's first year. Activities receiving credit and designed in partnership between staff and students have included: PAL sessions, widening participation school educational workshops and client education events. This initiative has created numerous student-driven educational opportunities. It is hoped that this programme will facilitate the educational training of students and enhance employability and career satisfaction.

The Welfare of Traveller and Gypsy Owned Horses in the UK and Ireland.

Travellers and Gypsies are recognised ethnic groups in the UK and Ireland. Horse ownership is an important cultural tradition, however, practices associated with poor welfare are often perceived to be linked to these horse owning communities. Despite this, empirical studies on the welfare status of Traveller and Gypsy owned horses are lacking. To determine the welfare status of Traveller and Gypsy owned horses, 104 horses were assessed using a bespoke horse welfare protocol. This protocol assessed animal, resource and management-based measures. In addition, Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) identified horses' emotional state. Results indicated that 81% of horses had an optimal body condition score, with no horse recorded as very thin/fat. The absence of limb conditions (95%), ocular (98%) and nasal (93%) discharges were evident in most horses, and 81% of horses responded positively to the voluntary animal approach test. The most commonly observed welfare issues were hoof neglect (27%), with hoof cracks/breakages (19%) being the most prevalent. QBA indicated that positive emotional states were more commonplace than negative. A relationship between QBA and other horse welfare measures was observed, e.g., improved mood was associated with better water availability. This research provides novel data in the under-researched area of the welfare of Traveller and Gypsy owned horses and counters perceptions of a poor welfare state in this group of horses.

Use of quantitative real-time PCR to determine the local inflammatory response in the intestinal mucosa and muscularis of horses undergoing small intestinal resection.

BACKGROUND: Studies in rodents and humans have demonstrated that intestinal manipulation or surgical trauma initiates an inflammatory response in the intestine which results in leucocyte recruitment to the muscularis externa causing smooth muscle dysfunction. OBJECTIVES: To examine the intestinal inflammatory response in horses undergoing colic surgery by measuring relative differential gene expression in intestinal tissues harvested from surgical colic cases and control horses. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective case-control study. METHODS: Mucosa and muscularis externa were harvested from healthy margins of resected small intestine from horses undergoing colic surgery (n = 12) and from intestine derived from control horses euthanised for reasons unrelated to the gastrointestinal tract (n = 6). Tissue was analysed for genes encoding proteins involved in the inflammatory response: interleukin (IL) 6 and IL1ß, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2), tumour necrosis factor (TNF), prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2) and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1). Relative expression of these genes was compared between the two groups. Further analysis was applied to the colic cases to determine whether the magnitude of relative gene expression was associated with the subsequent development of post-operative reflux (POR). RESULTS: Samples obtained from colic cases had increased relative expression of IL1ß, IL6, CCL2 and TNF in the mucosa and muscularis externa when compared with the control group. There was no difference in relative gene expression between proximal and distal resection margins and no association between duration of colic, age, resection length, short-term survival and the presence of pre-operative reflux and the relative expression of the genes of interest. Horses that developed POR had significantly greater relative gene expression of TNF in the mucosa compared with horses that did not develop POR. MAIN LIMITATIONS: Small sample size per group and variation within the colic cases. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary data support an upregulation of inflammatory genes in the intestine of horses undergoing colic surgery.

The transition into veterinary practice: opinions of recent graduates and final year students.

BACKGROUND: The transition from veterinary student to member of the veterinary profession is known to be challenging. This study aimed to determine and compare the opinions of final year veterinary students and recent graduates on graduate attributes that ease this transition. METHODS: The study was carried out across 3 veterinary schools in the United Kingdom. Paper based or electronic surveys were used. Final year students in the 3 schools were surveyed either electronically (school A) or on paper (schools B and C). Student cohort sizes were 112, 227 and 102 respectively. Recent graduates were contacted either at a reunion event (school A) or electronically from database records (school B and school C). Cohort sizes of contacted graduates were 80, 175 and 91 respectively. Respondents were asked to rate 42 individual attributes on a 5 point Likert scale. Focus groups with final year students and recent graduates and telephone interviews with recent graduates were carried out. Data were analysed by two researchers through a combination of manual coding and thematic analysis. Data were grouped into broad themes then sorted into narrower themes. Data were then searched for counter examples. RESULTS: Response rates for final year students were 34% (school A), 36% (school B) and 40% (school C). Response rates for recent graduates were 56% (school A), 20% (school B) and 11% (school C). There was a high level of agreement between the cohorts with respect to communication skills, problem solving and decision making skills, recognition of own limitations and the ability to cope with pressure all rated unanimously important or very important. Business acumen, knowledge of veterinary practice management and research skills were the 3 attributes ranked at the bottom of the list. Nine attributes were identified with a significantly different (p < 0.05) ranking between the cohorts. Final year students ranked veterinary clinical knowledge, knowledge of veterinary public health and zoonotic issues, veterinary legislation and veterinary practice management, commitment to continuing professional development and ability to evaluate information higher than recent graduates. Recent graduates ranked the attributes of integrity, friendliness and compassion higher than final year students. CONCLUSIONS: Recent graduates and final year students rate highly the attributes which help foster the client/veterinarian relationship. Recent graduates reflect that a focus on knowledge based attributes is less important once in practice when compared to final year. The study confirms the importance to recent graduates and final year students of attributes considered as non-technical in the transition to working in the veterinary profession.

We should uphold animal welfare standards and our values in trade deals.

Neil Hudson argues that it is deeply regretful that the House of Commons failed to pass an amendment to the Agriculture Bill last month, and explains why it is important that the Lords now reject the Bill in its current form.

Immunohistochemical study of morphology and distribution of CD163+ve macrophages in the normal adult equine gastrointestinal tract.

Intestinal macrophages are the largest group of mononuclear phagocytes in the body and play a role in intestinal innate immunity, neuroimmune interactions and maintaining intestinal homeostasis. Conversely, they also are implicated in numerous pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, such as postoperative ileus and inflammatory bowel disease. As a result, macrophages could be potential therapeutic targets. To date, there are limited studies on the morphology and distribution of macrophages in the equine gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The aim of this study was to identify the location and abundance of resident macrophages in the equine GIT using CD163 as an immunohistochemical marker. Tissue samples were obtained post-mortem from 14 sites along the gastrointestinal tracts of 10 horses free from gastrointestinal disease; sample sites extended from the stomach to the small colon. CD163+ve cells were present in all regions of the equine GIT from stomach to small colon. CD163+ve cells were also identified in all tissue layers of the intestinal wall, namely, mucosa, submucosa, muscularis externa (ME), myenteric plexus and serosa. Consistent with a proposed function in regulation of intestinal motility, CD163+ve cells were regularly distributed within the ME, with accumulations closely associated with the myenteric plexus and effector cells such as neurons and the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC).

Presence of in vitro electrical activity in the ileum of horses with enteric nervous system pathology: equine dysautonomia (grass sickness).

Equine dysautonomia (grass sickness) is a frequently fatal disease of horses characterised by intestinal stasis. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are the pacemakers and mediators of neurotransmission in the gastrointestinal tract. Impaired ICC-mediated control of motility has been implicated in intestinal disorders in laboratory mammals, humans and in equine grass sickness. The aim of this study was to compare the in vitro electrical properties of ileum from grass sickness cases with horses free from gastrointestinal disease. Intracellular microelectrode recordings were made from smooth muscle cells in cross-sectional preparations of equine ileum, superfused in vitro. Samples were taken from six horses with grass sickness and from eight horses free from gastrointestinal disease, all euthanised on humane grounds. Ileal tissues were processed for haematoxylin and eosin histology, and c-Kit immunohistochemistry. Membrane potential oscillations were recorded in the ileal preparations from four of the six horses with grass sickness and from all of the normal horses. A waxing and waning pattern of the membrane potential oscillation activity was noted in some cells. In comparison to the normal horses, the membrane potential oscillations in grass sickness horses had a significantly reduced frequency (P = 0.0001) and increased duration (P = 0.0002). Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence but reduction of ICC in grass sickness. Histological assessment of the same tissues used for analysis of the ICC showed the depletion and pathology of the enteric neurons in grass sickness. Therefore, the majority of ileal preparations from grass sickness-affected horses exhibited prominent membrane potential oscillation activity suggesting that, although the neural elements are damaged severely, the ICC-mediated pacemaker function remains intact.

Comparative analysis of c-kit gene expression and c-Kit immunoreactivity in horses with and without obstructive intestinal disease.

Previous immunohistochemical studies targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase (c-Kit) have demonstrated an apparent reduction in the number of gastrointestinal pacemaker cells--the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC)--in horses with intestinal motility disorders. This study compared the level of transcription of the c-kit gene encoding this receptor in horses with and without such motility disorders. Transcription levels of this gene were also compared to the density of ICC immunohistochemically positive for the c-Kit antigen. Intestinal samples were collected from 18 horses with intestinal disease and from 15 control animals. Following gene extraction and identification, real-time quantitative analysis of c-kit and a control gene, ACTB (ß-actin), was carried out on all samples and the density of the c-Kit-positive ICC compared. There was a significant reduction in c-Kit immunoreactivity in the ICC of horses with large intestinal obstructive disorders relative to controls but no significant difference in the transcription of the c-kit gene between normal and affected animals. Further studies will be required to elucidate the mechanisms regulating c-Kit expression and to assess the pathophysiological significance of these findings.