Addressing educational challenges in veterinary medicine through the use of distance education

The veterinary profession is currently facing many educational challenges, including an insufficient capacity to train and educate veterinarians for the multiple disciplines within the profession, a shortage of veterinarians in private and public practice, a shortage of faculty, a lack of human and professional diversity, and a rising cost of education resulting in extreme student debt loads. As a methodology for teaching, distance education (DE) has the potential to address many of these issues. By its very nature, DE can increase the capacity of current facilities and faculty. In addition, DE can allow students to acquire the necessary knowledge at less cost. This article describes a model for incorporating DE in the form of interactive Web-based courses, in conjunction with short, intensive residential programs, for the lecture portions of courses taught in the pre-veterinary, veterinary, and post-veterinary educational periods. In this model, the Web-based courses are used to convey the necessary core knowledge required at each step of the educational process. The residential portions are then used to apply the knowledge in such a way as to combine clinical applications with research in basic and applied sciences. Distance education can provide increased flexibility, high-quality educational experiences, and a less costly alternative for students while maximizing the reach of current faculty efforts and the capacity of existing physical structures.     

200 years of education in veterinary medicine and veterinary activity in Czechoslovakia

The development of veterinary medicine in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic is evaluated on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the first lectures on veterinary science at Charles University in Prague (1784). Efforts to found a special veterinary school in Prague date back to the beginning of the 19th century; more than 20 petitions and interpellations concerning the establishment of such a school had been presented to the Bohemian Diet and the Imperial Parliament since 1841. The efforts for the establishment of this school were gradually conjoined with the national-revivalist and national-liberation movement. However, the veterinary university was established only in 1918, in Brno, when Czechoslovakia won independence. The development of veterinary medicine in the territory of today's Czechoslovakia is appreciated positively, mainly in the last 100 years. However, it was only after 1948--in the process of the transition from small-scale farming to large-scale socialist agricultural production--that all the needed practical and economic conditions were created for the development of veterinary medicine. The veterinary service was nationalized in 1951 and adequate material and technical backgrounds were built. Another veterinary university schools was introduced, and post-graduate studies and veterinary extension activities were started.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

西藏兽医高等教育的挑战

西藏的高等兽医教育事业从无到有,历经中专、专科和本科三个层次,培养了一大批兽医专业技术人才,为西藏的社会经济发展做出了重要贡献。本文综述了西藏兽医高等教育发展的历史、取得的成就,并结合现状与存在的不足进行了分析,提出解决存在问题的建议。     

Food-supply veterinary medicine and veterinary medical education: an Australian perspective

Food-supply veterinary medicine has been an essential part of veterinary degree programs in Australia since the first veterinary school opened in the late nineteenth century. Australian veterinary schools, like others internationally, are being challenged by the relevance of material in current curricula for modern food-supply veterinary medicine. Additionally, student aspirations are a major issue, as curriculum designers balance companion-animal training with the herd/flock-based issues that focus on productivity and profitability. One of the challenges is to examine the relative balance of education in generic skills (self-knowledge, change management, teamwork, leadership, negotiation) with more technically or scientifically based education. An ongoing process of curriculum review and renewal, which involves input from both external and internal stakeholders and allows regular review and assessment, is needed to ensure continuing curriculum relevance.     

International cooperation in veterinary public health curricula using web-based distance interactive education

The expanding field of Veterinary Public Health places new demands on the knowledge and skills of veterinarians. Veterinary curricula must therefore adapt to this new profile. Through the introduction of case studies dealing with up-to-date issues, students are being trained to solve (real-life) problems and come up with realistic solutions. At the Department of Public Health and Food Safety of the Veterinary Faculty at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, positive experiences have resulted from the new opportunities offered by the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in education. The possibility of creating a virtual classroom on the Internet through the use of WebCT software has enabled teachers and students to tackle emerging issues by working together with students in other countries and across disciplines. This article presents some of these experiences, through which international exchange of ideas and realities were stimulated, in addition to consolidating relations between universities in different countries. Long-distance education methodologies provide an important tool to achieve the increasing need for international cooperation in Veterinary Public Health curricula.     

Maggot-therapy in veterinary medicine

Maggot-therapy is the application of disinfected fly larvae to chronic wounds to debride the wound bed of necrotic tissue, reduce bacterial contamination and enhance the formation of healthy granulation tissue. Interest in the use of maggot-therapy in human medicine is growing as a result of the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Maggot therapy, however, is used relatively little in veterinary medicine. Nevertheless, concern over antibiotic resistance and the increase in demand for organic husbandry and residue-free meat and milk, suggest that it is an option which merits further consideration.     

Nanoscience in veterinary medicine

Nanotechnology, as an enabling technology, has the potential to revolutionize veterinary medicine. Examples of potential applications in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine include disease diagnosis and treatment delivery systems, new tools for molecular and cellular breeding, identity preservation of animal history from birth to a consumer's table, the security of animal food products, major impact on animal nutrition scenarios ranging from the diet to nutrient uptake and utilization, modification of animal waste as expelled from the animal, pathogen detection, and many more. Existing research has demonstrated the feasibility of introducing nanoshells and nanotubes into animals to seek and destroy targeted cells. Thus, building blocks do exist and are expected to be integrated into systems over the next couple of decades on a commercial basis. While it is reasonable to presume that nanobiotechnology industries and unique developments will revolutionize veterinary medicine in the future, there is a huge concern, among some persons and organizations, about food safety and health as well as social and ethical issues which can delay or derail technological advancements.