Contemporary Challenges for Veterinary Medical Education: Examining the State of Inter-Professional Education in Veterinary Medicine.

Educational training in professional programs forms the foundation for how a person problem-solves throughout their career. However, training focused on only one profession ignores the value realized through collaborations among multiple professions for solving health-related problems. This is at the core of inter-professional education (IPE). Effective IPE programs can result in inter-professional collaboration and translation science endeavors across the health sciences and beyond. Recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid crisis highlight the importance of veterinary medicine in advancing One Health through IPE. The prevalence of IPE programs in veterinary curricula, and the process by which these have been established, has not been widely described in the literature. Through an 18-question survey sent to associate deans (ADs) of 50 veterinary schools, we sought to determine the status of IPE in the veterinary curriculum. Thirty-nine schools agreed to participate, representing primarily United States Doctor of Veterinary Medicine public and private programs with some representation from Canadian, United Kingdom, and Australasian programs. Schools that provide IPE courses developed their programs in collaboration with other health sciences programs across the 4-year curriculum. The perceived barriers for IPE offerings were no different between schools with or without opportunities; however, a lack of faculty and student-perceived value and lack of adequate space in the academic schedule were common threads. Our findings provide a snapshot of the current state of IPE in veterinary medical curricula, with a particular emphasis on the United States, and point to areas of programmatic need for the field.

Interaction Identified as both a Challenge and a Benefit in a Rapid Switch to Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The recent emergence and subsequent global spread of COVID-19 has forced a rapid shift to online and remote learning at veterinary schools. Students in a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine program were taught using a real-time online platform for one semester, with recorded synchronous lectures and tutorials, virtual laboratories, and clinical skills classes where possible. Students in all years of the program were surveyed twice, 8 weeks apart to assess their perceptions of online teaching and to identify challenges they experienced. Using a 10-point Likert scale, students agreed that they could achieve their learning outcomes using online learning with no more difficulty than with face-to-face teaching, allocating average scores of 7.6 and 8.2 at each time point. Students were overwhelmingly positive about the impact of online teaching on time-management of their learning due to the loss of travel time. They enjoyed aspects of teaching such as recorded lectures, online polls quizzes, and chat boxes that allowed more student-focused learning. However, there were concerns about the reduction in face-to-face interactions including loss of classroom atmosphere and reduced interaction with peers. Students experienced technical problems in a median of 20% of lectures (range 10%-50%) at the first survey and 10% at the second (range 10%-50%). Increased use of strategies to optimize peer interactions is recommended to facilitate student learning using online platforms. Moving forward beyond the pandemic, allowing flexible time management and a shift toward student-centered learning using strategies such as flipped classrooms may be beneficial.

Is 2020 the year when primatologists should cancel fieldwork?

Year 2020 has brought the greatest global pandemic to hit the world since the end of the First World War. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the resulting disease named coronavirus disease 2019 has brought the world to its knees both financially and medically. The American Society of Primatologists has postponed their annual meetings from the end of May 2020 until the end of September 2020, while the International Primatological Society have postponed their biennial congress from August 2020 to August 2021, which has also resulted in their 2022 meetings in Malaysia being pushed back until 2023. Here, I explore the potential dangers of pursuing any primate fieldwork during this pandemic on our study species, their ecosystems, and local peoples. I believe that the risk of bringing this virus into our study ecosystems is too great and that primatologists should cancel all field research until the pandemic ends or a vaccine/reliable treatment is widely available. This is the year we all must become One Health practitioners!

[Evaluation of examination preparation methods in veterinary students]. / Untersuchung zur Prüfungsvorbereitung von Studierenden der Veterinärmedizin.

OBJECTIVE: As part of a study on competence-based assessment, students of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Hannover (TiHo), were asked to fill in an online questionnaire regarding their exam preparation and common examination formats. The aim of this investigation was to attain the students' opinion on different exam formats as well as the intensity and method of their preparation in order to further improve and develop the assessment formats. PARTICIPANTS, MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data was collected using an online questionnaire developed in LimeSurvey® (LimeSurvey GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) which included 29 questions and 3 follow-up questions. A link to the questionnaire was sent to all veterinary students at the TiHo by e-mail. RESULTS: A total of 215 questionnaires were completed and entered the evaluation. It was shown that the duration of the exam preparation depended on the specific exam format. Students' preparation time for an oral exam was longer than for a written-electronic exam. In the students' view, the assessment contents of oral examinations appeared to be more "relevant for later professional life". Electronic exams, on the other hand, were perceived as being more "fair" and less stressful. 30.3 % of respondents indicated to be suffering from test anxiety. CONCLUSION: Based on these findings, new recommendations for the development of teaching/learning materials may be derived. The opinions of students collected in this investigation provide an up-to-date insight into their perception of examinations. These results may serve as a valuable contribution to the optimization of examination scenarios in veterinary education. In addition, such surveys contribute to university-wide quality management of the examination systems.

A Competency-Guided Veterinary Curriculum Review Process.

Competencies can guide outcomes assessment in veterinary medical education by providing a core set of specific abilities expected of new veterinary graduates. A competency-guided evaluation of Colorado State University's (CSU) equine veterinary curriculum was undertaken via an alumni survey. Published competencies for equine veterinary graduates were used to develop the survey, which was distributed to large animal alumni from CSU's Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program. The results of the survey indicated areas for improvement, specifically in equine business, surgery, dentistry, and radiology. The desire for more hands-on experiences in their training was repeatedly mentioned by alumni, with the largest discrepancies between didactic knowledge and hands-on skills in the areas of business and equine surgery. Alumni surveys allow graduates to voice their perceived levels of preparation by the veterinary program and should be used to inform curriculum revisions. It is proposed that the definition and utilization of competencies in each phase of a curricular review process (outcomes assessment, curriculum mapping, and curricular modifications), in addition to faculty experience and internal review, is warranted.

Competencias y contenidos de salud pública en los programas del Grado en Veterinaria en las universidades españolas / Public health competencies and contents in Spanish university degree programmes of Veterinary Medicine

Objetivo: Consensuar las competencias profesionales de salud pública que deben adquirir los/las estudiantes en el Grado en Veterinaria y los contenidos fundamentales que deben incluir los programas de salud pública según el criterio de docentes de salud pública del Grado en Veterinaria representantes de distintas universidades españolas. Métodos: Se organizó la 3ª Reunión del Foro de Profesorado Universitario de Salud Pública en la Facultad de Veterinaria de la Universidad de Córdoba (12-13 de enero de 2016). Participaron 42 docentes de nueve universidades españolas con Grado en Veterinaria y se distribuyeron en cinco grupos durante tres sesiones de trabajo para identificar y clasificar las competencias propias del grado, proponer contenidos de salud pública para las competencias identificadas, y organizar los contenidos en bloques temáticos. Los resultados se discutieron en distintas sesiones plenarias hasta alcanzar acuerdos. Resultados: El mayor número de competencias identificadas corresponde a actividades de las funciones «Valorar las necesidades de salud de la población» y «Desarrollar políticas de salud». El programa resultante incluye contenidos básicos organizados en cinco bloques: 1) Fundamentos de salud pública; 2) Estudio e investigación en salud pública; 3) Producción, sanidad animal y medio ambiente; 4) Seguridad alimentaria; y 5) Educación sanitaria y comunicación. Conclusiones: Los acuerdos alcanzados pueden ser un buen punto de partida para orientar una propuesta formativa en salud pública del grado para los futuros profesionales de veterinaria

Objective: To reach a consensus among public health faculty from various Spanish universities about the core public health competencies that should be integrated into the Veterinary Medicine degree training. Methods: The 3rd Forum of University Professors of Public Health was held at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Cordoba (12-13 January 2016). Forty-two university professors and lecturers from nine Spanish universities with veterinary degrees participated in the forum. They were divided into five working groups during three working sessions to identify and classify core public health competencies for the Veterinary Medicine degree, propose public health contents for the identified competencies and organize such contents in thematic blocks. The results were discussed in different plenary sessions. Results: The highest number of core competencies was identified in the activities related to the following public health functions: «Assessment of the population's health needs» and «Developing health policies». The final programme included basic contents organized into five units: 1) Fundamentals of public health; 2) Study and research in public health; 3) Production, animal health and environment; 4) Food security; and 5) Health education. Conclusions: The public health core competencies and contents identified in this Forum may be considered as a starting point to update public health training programmes for future veterinary professionals

Validity evidence for programmatic assessment in competency-based education.

INTRODUCTION: Competency-based education (CBE) is now pervasive in health professions education. A foundational principle of CBE is to assess and identify the progression of competency development in students over time. It has been argued that a programmatic approach to assessment in CBE maximizes student learning. The aim of this study is to investigate if programmatic assessment, i. e., a system of assessment, can be used within a CBE framework to track progression of student learning within and across competencies over time. METHODS: Three workplace-based assessment methods were used to measure the same seven competency domains. We performed a retrospective quantitative analysis of 327,974 assessment data points from 16,575 completed assessment forms from 962 students over 124 weeks using both descriptive (visualization) and modelling (inferential) analyses. This included multilevel random coefficient modelling and generalizability theory. RESULTS: Random coefficient modelling indicated that variance due to differences in inter-student performance was highest (40%). The reliability coefficients of scores from assessment methods ranged from 0.86 to 0.90. Method and competency variance components were in the small-to-moderate range. DISCUSSION: The current validation evidence provides cause for optimism regarding the explicit development and implementation of a program of assessment within CBE. The majority of the variance in scores appears to be student-related and reliable, supporting the psychometric properties as well as both formative and summative score applications.

Analysis of the first-time pass rate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care certifying examination (2010-2015).

OBJECTIVES: To disseminate information regarding the annual pass rates for the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC) certifying examination. To compare the first-time pass rates (FTPR) of ACVECC residents trained in academic and private practice settings. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: ACVECC examination. ANIMALS: None. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Anonymized ACVECC examination performance data from 2010-2015 inclusive were analyzed. Overall pass rates and FTPR were calculated for all candidates and categorized by type of residency training program. The overall pass rate for all candidates was 64.3%. The median pass rate for the 6-year period was 63.8% [IQR 59.3-67.3%]. The FTPR for residents trained in academic programs was significantly higher than for residents trained in private practice (77.1% vs 47.2%, P < 0.0001). When residents were subdivided by species-focus of training program, there was no significant difference between academic versus private practice training programs for large-animal candidates (P = 0.2), but there remained a significant difference between residency training programs for small-animal candidates (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Between 2010 and 2015 residents trained in academic training programs were significantly more likely to pass the ACVECC certifying examination compared to those trained in private practice training programs. The causes of this difference are uncertain, are likely multifactorial and warrant further investigation.

Balancing knowledge and basic principles in veterinary parasitology - Competencies for future Danish veterinary graduates.

Veterinary parasitology has always been considered to be relevant and interesting by the Danish veterinary students. Students have to acquaint themselves with many new, small creatures with complicated and varied life cycles and with intricate Latin names that are difficult to pronounce, as only a few parasites have Danish names. In our veterinary curriculum, zoology has disappeared as a discipline, and parasitology has gradually moved from the third year to the beginning of the second year, which implies that, for example, pathology and pharmacology are "unknown fields". The number of contact hours in veterinary parasitology has been gradually cut to 24 lectures (35 min each) and practical exercises (24 h), including 9 h on coprology. The course is taught and examined jointly with bacteriology and virology in a 8-week course. As a comprehensive course, it has become increasingly difficult to get students to acquire enough active knowledge of the most common parasites and an understanding of the basic principles in relation to, for example, transmission and control. Even though information is readily accessible through books and on-line resources, we still believe that a competent clinician should know a range of parasites by heart as an active resource for their work. The dilemma has been tackled (partly) by introducing a veterinary paraclinical refresher course of 18 h (half practicals and half lectures) in the fourth study year. The focus here is on host(herd)-oriented clinical and diagnostic parasitology. The students can also now select a One Health track for six months in which zoonotic parasites are obviously a relevant topic.

Concepto y contenidos actuales de Salud Pública y Política Sanitaria veterinarias / Current concepts and contents of Veterinary Public Health and Veterinary Health Policy

Los conceptos compartidos entre medicina humana y veterinaria son obviamente numerosos. Sin embargo, los contenidos académicos y científicos, así como la práctica diaria de muchas disciplinas varían notablemente. Pese a ello, la difusión y conocimiento de la vertiente veterinaria de algunas áreas de conocimiento es escasa entre las otras profesiones sanitarias, y entre el público general. El presente trabajo tuvo como objetivo aportar una actualización contextualizada y un intento de definición de lo que actualmente se entiende y practica bajo los términos de Salud Pública y Política Sanitaria veterinarias

Human and veterinary medicine obviously share most concepts and contents. However, both academic and scientific issues and the daily practice of many health disciplines can differ largely between human and veterinary medicine. Such differences can easily go unnoticed among other healthcare collectives or the general public. The aim of the present work was to provide an update, as well as some definitions of what we understand under the terms Veterinary Public Health and Veterinary Health Policy

Comparing Tolerance of Ambiguity in Veterinary and Medical Students.

Current guidelines suggest that educators in both medical and veterinary professions should do more to ensure that students can tolerate ambiguity. Designing curricula to achieve this requires the ability to measure and understand differences in ambiguity tolerance among and within professional groups. Although scales have been developed to measure tolerance of ambiguity in both medical and veterinary professions, no comparative studies have been reported. We compared the tolerance of ambiguity of medical and veterinary students, hypothesizing that veterinary students would have higher tolerance of ambiguity, given the greater patient diversity and less well-established evidence base underpinning practice. We conducted a secondary analysis of questionnaire data from first- to fourth-year medical and veterinary students. Tolerance of ambiguity scores were calculated and compared using the TAMSAD scale (29 items validated for the medical student population), the TAVS scale (27 items validated for the veterinary student population), and a scale comprising the 22 items common to both scales. Using the TAMSAD and TAVS scales, medical students had a significantly higher mean tolerance of ambiguity score than veterinary students (56.1 vs. 54.1, p<.001 and 60.4 vs. 58.5, p=.002, respectively) but no difference was seen when only the 22 shared items were compared (56.1 vs. 57.2, p=.513). The results do not support our hypothesis and highlight that different findings can result when different tools are used. Medical students may have slightly higher tolerance of ambiguity than veterinary students, although this depends on the scale used.

Improving the use of economics in animal health - Challenges in research, policy and education.

The way that an economist and an animal health professional use economics differs and creates frustrations. The economist is in search of optimizing resource allocation in the management of animal health and disease problems with metrics associated with the productivity of key societal resources of labour and capital. The animal health professional have a strong belief that productivity can be improved with the removal of pathogens. These differences restrict how well economics is used in animal health, and the question posed is whether this matters. The paper explores the question by looking at the changing role of animals in society and the associated change of the animal health professional's activities. It then questions if the current allocation of scarce resources for animal health are adequately allocated for societies and whether currently available data are sufficient for good allocation. A rapid review of the data on disease impacts - production losses and costs of human reaction - indicate that the data are sparse collected in different times and geographical regions. This limits what can be understood on the productivity of the economic resources used for animal health and this needs to be addressed with more systematic collection of data on disease losses and costs of animal health systems. Ideally such a process should learn lessons from the way that human health has made estimates of the burden of diseases and their capture of data on the costs of human health systems. Once available data on the global burden of animal diseases and the costs of animal health systems would allow assessments of individual disease management processes and the productivity of wider productivity change. This utopia should be aimed at if animal health is to continue to attract and maintain adequate resources.

Fifty Years of Evolving Partnerships in Veterinary Medical Education.

The Association of American Veterinary Medical College's (AAVMC's) role in the progression of academic veterinary medical education has been about building successful partnerships in the US and internationally. Membership in the association has evolved over the past 50 years, as have traditions of collaboration that strengthen veterinary medical education and the association. The AAVMC has become a source of information and a place for debate on educational trends, innovative pedagogy, and the value of a diverse learning environment. The AAVMC's relationship with the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education (AVMA COE), the accreditor of veterinary medical education recognized by the United Sates Department of Education (DOE), is highlighted here because of the key role that AAVMC members have played in the evolution of veterinary accreditation. The AAVMC has also been a partner in the expansion of veterinary medical education to include global health and One Health and in the engagement of international partners around shared educational opportunities and challenges. Recently, the association has reinforced its desire to be a truly international organization rather than an American organization with international members. To that end, strategic AAVMC initiatives aim to expand and connect the global community of veterinary educators to the benefit of students and the profession around the world. Tables in this article are intended to provide historical context, chronology, and an accessible way to view highlights.