Reviewing the undergraduate veterinary curriculum in Finland for control tasks in veterinary public health

To review and develop the undergraduate veterinary curriculum on official control in veterinary public health, an electronic survey was sent to 204 Finnish veterinarians employed in the field of food hygiene in 2005. The response rate was 44%. Most frequently cited as strengths of the current curriculum were extensive education and good knowledge. Respondents considered the main challenges in their work to be a wide field of activity, organizational changes, financial resources, organization of substitutes, and collaboration with decision makers. Of the 23 items to be included in the undergraduate curriculum, therefore, respondents prioritized state and local decision making, the role of the public servant, and leadership and management in the area of social factors; in the field of practical control work, in-house control systems, organizations and responsibilities, control techniques, and planning and targeting of controls were prioritized. Of areas traditionally covered in the undergraduate curriculum, legislation; legal proceedings and implications of controls; risks to human, animal, and plant health; and hazards in feed, animal, and food production were stated to be the most important. Although respondents were generally content with their career choice, veterinary public health tasks were not their first choice of career path immediately after graduation. Based on these findings, more attention should be focused on social aspects and practical training in official control in the undergraduate veterinary curriculum. The survey results also highlight the contrasts between society's needs and veterinarians' motivations and career-path expectations, which pose a significant challenge for future curricula.     

良好兽医公共卫生体系的建立

兽医公共卫生工作事关畜禽产品、水产品国际竞争力,事关农业增效、农民增收和小康社会的全面建设,还事关人民群众的健康和生活质量的提高。兽医公共卫生与动物性食品安全息息相关,做好兽医公共卫生工作,对于保障动物性食品安全,保障人民群众的身体健康具有重要意义。     

Tasks of public veterinary affairs in environmental hygiene]

The involvement of official veterinarians in tasks of environmental hygiene is demonstrated under differentiation of the following working-fields: animal waste-removal, animal health protection, animal welfare, and controlling of foods of animal origin. Thereby it results that nearly all sections of public veterinary affairs are connected with environmental aspects to a high degree.     

搭建一体化的兽医公共卫生学交流平台——中国畜牧兽医学会兽医公共卫生学分会成立大会暨第一次学术研讨会在沪召开

5月22-23日，在中国农科院上海兽医研究所召开了中国畜牧兽医学会兽医公共卫生学分会成立大学暨第一次学术研讨会．学界精英会聚一堂，国内外专家坦诚对话、人医与兽医密切交流、产学研紧密合作，堪称一体化的交流平台。     

Modern trends in veterinary public health

The veterinary profession and its contribution to public health should expand in breadth, depth and flexibility to respond to the changing needs of community and society. This longstanding issue is still the subject of controversy between on the one hand those whose scientific activities contribute to our knowledge of food and environmental hygiene, enteric infections, food-borne diseases and zoonoses in general, and on the other the all too numerous traditionalists (even within the profession) who resist the venture of veterinarians into new territories and resent involvement in public health. Veterinarians are ideally suited to function in public health because of their orientation to populations, disease prevention, and the economic implications of disease.     

Veterinary medicine and public health or better: veterinary public health

The development of veterinary medicine and its impact on public health are outlined in this overview. In relation to this, we speak of Veterinary Public Health. In 1865, the liberal J.R. Thorbecke initiated the institution of the later independent 'State Supervisory Public Health Inspectorate' was set up in 1920, as a consequence of the Meat Inspection Act of 1919, and became part of the State Supervisory Service. In 1925 the 'Veterinary Public Health Inspectorate', which was part of the Ministry of Public Health, and the 'Veterinary Service', which was part of the Ministry of Agriculture, formed together a so-called 'Personal Union'. This Union came to an end in 1984. During the nearly 60 years of its existence, and especially after the Second World War, the Union has contributed enormously to public health by controlling zoonoses and decreasing chemical contaminants in foodstuffs. In these achievements it has worked in collaboration with veterinary surgeons, meat inspection services, and research institutes such as the National Institute of Public Health and Environment (RIVM), the Institute for Animal Science and Health (ID-Lelystad), and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.     

Toward a practice-based approach to legal education in the veterinary medical curriculum

I have a little dog, a little Maltese dog, Billy Byrd. He is approaching his 14th birthday. If I ever saw in this world anything that was made by the Creator's hand that is more dedicated, more true, more undeviant, more faithful than this little dog, I am at a loss to state what it is . . .We love that little dog. (Robert S. Byrd, U.S. Senator).     

兽医公共卫生的不可替代性社会责任

<正>1 兽医公共卫生的基本职能兽医公共卫生(veterinary public health,VPH)是通过理解和应用兽医科学对人类身体、心理和社会福祉作出的所有贡献的总和。这一学科涵盖了将动物和人类健康联系起来的大量关切,主要关注减少人类与动物、动物产品和动物栖息地相互作用带来的危害[1]。人们对兽医的认识往往局限于宠物、家畜禽等农场饲养动物疫病的诊疗和控制,但兽医医学的真正维度和社会贡献是非常广泛的,它关系到人类健康、经济发展、环境