Training the veterinary public health workforce: a review of educational opportunities in US veterinary schools

This article presents the results of an Internet-based review conducted in January and February 2003 to assess the educational opportunities available in veterinary public health, epidemiology, and preventive medicine at the 27 veterinary schools in the United States. Most professional veterinary curricula are designed to train students for careers as highly qualified private practitioners, although there is an increased need for veterinary perspectives and contributions in the public health sector. The future of veterinary public health relies on the opportunities available in education to teach and encourage students to pursue a career of public service. The results of this review indicate the availability of a wide variety of required courses, electives, and post-graduate training programs to veterinary students in the United States. Veterinary students are exposed to a median of 60 hours of public health, epidemiology, and preventive medicine in required stand-alone courses in these areas. Four veterinary schools also have required rotations for senior students in public health, preventive medicine, or population medicine. Contact time for required public health, epidemiology, and preventive medicine courses ranges from 30 to 150 contact hours. Advanced training was available in these subjects at 79% of the 27 schools. Greater collaboration between veterinary schools, schools of public health, and the professional public health community will increase exposure to and opportunities in public health to all future veterinarians.     

Joint degree programs in public health

Public health and veterinary medicine share a focus on population health and primary prevention, along with a commitment to preparedness, response, and recovery in the event of disease outbreaks. Public-health and veterinary professional degree programs share commonalities in their educational accreditation requirements related to epidemiology and public-health practice. The initiation of a number of joint professional degree programs over the last five years, including the joint Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Public Health (DVM/MPH), represents an exciting development for inter-professional education for veterinarians interested in public health. Various models for joint DVM/MPH educational programs are discussed, including pre-veterinary public-health credentialing, integrated programs, and post-DVM executive programs. Collaborations between colleges of veterinary medicine and schools of public health show great promise in both educational and research innovation.     

Veterinary public health in a problem-based learning curriculum at the Western University of Health Sciences

As detailed in the Association of Schools of Public Health / Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges 2007 Joint Symposium on Veterinary Public Health, veterinary public health (VPH) can no longer be viewed as a unique sub-specialty of veterinary medicine. Rather, its practice pervades nearly every aspect of the veterinary profession, regardless of whether the practitioner is engaged in small-animal, large-animal, research, corporate, or military practice. In congruence with the practice of VPH, the teaching of VPH should also pervade nearly every aspect of veterinary education. Accordingly, at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine (WU-CVM), public health is not simply taught as an individual course but, rather, is interwoven into almost every aspect of the curriculum, continually emphasizing the relevance of this discipline to the practice of veterinary medicine. This article outlines the teaching philosophy of WU-CVM, provides an overview of the curriculum, and describes the integral nature of public health throughout all four years of the educational program.     

Public-health instruction necessary to supplement the veterinary professional curriculum: the DVM/MPH coordinated-degree program at Auburn University

To meet long-term needs, many veterinary colleges and schools are participating in dual-degree DVM/MPH programs. Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have developed a coordinated-degree curriculum in which the DVM and the MPH are not necessarily awarded simultaneously. Other opportunities at Auburn include Public Health Careers Day, trips to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, several elective courses related to veterinary epidemiology, and online access to the Emerging and Exotic Diseases of Animals course available from the Veterinary Information Network. We have been able to increase our students' exposure to the role of the veterinarian in public health and to develop a program to augment their training in public practice.     

New food safety initiatives in the Food and Drug Administration

Concern over the presence of veterinary drug residues in food has been increasing world wide. Because of this concern the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has been involved on an international basis in efforts to develop food safety standards for veterinary drugs. The major thrust of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CC/RVDF) has been to achieve international agreement on veterinary drugs issues. CVM is an active participant on this committee. The CC/RVDF has established a list of priority veterinary drugs that are, or that have the potential to cause trade problems as the result of public health concerns. Included in this list are anabolic hormones, chloramphenicol, sulfonamides, nitrofurans, nitroimidazoles, somatotropins, benzimidazoles and trypanocides. In the upcoming years, the CC/RVDF will work toward developing international maximum residue levels for these compounds. The evaluation of the toxicity of veterinary drug-bound residues is another area of international concern. In conjunction with the Bureau of Veterinary Medicine, Health and Welfare Canada, CVM is developing guidelines on biological models to demonstrate the safety of veterinary drug-bound residues. In working with veterinary drug regulators from other countries, CVM has new solutions to human food safety problems.     

Controlling emerging diseases in the 21st century

The presentation addressed the following points: the role of veterinary epidemiology in emerging and global disease outbreaks; the contribution of veterinary epidemiology discipline to understanding and prevention of infections and other emerging animal disease, and the challenges for the discipline of veterinary epidemiology in the near future. The emerging and re-emerging infections animal diseases have contributed to expand the outlook of veterinary epidemiology. Methods and approaches in this discipline have been modified to satisfy the needs of society and of the scientific community. Mistakes and "bad turns" were made and should be avoided in the future. Veterinary epidemiology is alive and growing.     

R(X) for recruitment and retention of veterinarian scientists: money, marketing, mentoring

Veterinary medicine is failing both to sustain its academic base and to meet national needs for research in the fields of comparative medicine (translational research), public health, and food production. The basis for the shortage of veterinarians with research expertise is multi-factorial and related to the substantial commitment of time and money required to obtain both a DVM and advanced training, as well as the lack of motivation among veterinary students to engage in biomedical science. Effective strategies for increasing the number of veterinarian scientists must address these issues using a balanced combination of money, marketing, and mentoring. Success will require not only that we increase and improve opportunities for research training, but also that we create and sustain veterinary college environments that attract, foster, and reward dedication to research. The 'research pipeline' needs to be transformed into a 'research manifold' with multiple portals for entry and re-entry of trainees. Age-appropriate educational and mentoring programs should be implemented at K-14, baccalaureate, veterinary college, post-graduate, and junior faculty levels to promote recruitment, training, and retention of veterinarian scientists. New initiatives are especially needed to attract students with primary interests in science and biomedical research to the veterinary profession and to facilitate transition of motivated veterinary graduates from private practice to research careers. Specific examples of such programs are presented and future directions are discussed.     

Large grazers in the Dutch wetland "de Oostvaardersplassen." Reaction to the "Guide to Large Grazers" of the State Secretary for Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries

The recently published 'Guidelines large herbivores'from the Secretary of State Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries are commented upon. These Guidelines pay insufficient attention to the welfare of the animals used. Only the management of domestic animals is discussed while the management of the deer, which form an integral part of the system is left open. The name of the Veterinary Guidance Committee Nature is questioned since it suggest an independent contribution of specialised veterinary knowledge on the various health and welfare issues, but in reality a broad representation of different governmental and public organizations is present. The view points of this so-called veterinary committee seem to disagree with those of the Dutch veterinary community as formulated by the Royal Netherlands Veterinary Association. Independent of the species of animals used for the management of the area a plea is held for active control of the population - 'looking through the eyes of the wolve' - to dampen large fluctuations in population size and prevent unnecessary suffering through starvation. Since the domesticated animals used to have to comply with the strict veterinary regulations when intended for human consumption the suggestion is made to investigate the the possibility of using only truly wild animals like deer, European bison and wild boar for the management of the wetland. When wild animals are used culled animals can be used for human consumption and this prevents that every year numerous cadavers of cattle and horse have to be collected from the area and incinerated.     

Public-health education at Kansas State University

What are veterinary medical and public-health professionals doing to remedy the immediate and impending shortages of veterinarians in population health and public practice? This question was addressed at the joint symposium of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and the Association of Schools of Public Health, held in April 2007. Thinking locally, faculty and students at Kansas State University (KSU) asked similar questions after attending the symposium: What are we doing within the College of Veterinary Medicine to tackle this problem? What can we do better with new collaborators? Both the professional veterinary curriculum and the Master of Public Health (MPH) at KSU provide exceptional opportunities to address these questions. Students are exposed to public health as a possible career choice early in veterinary school, and this exposure is repeated several times in different venues throughout their professional education. Students also have opportunities to pursue interests in population medicine and public health through certificate programs, summer research programs, study abroad, and collaborations with contributing organizations unique to KSU, such as its Food Science Institute, National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, and Biosecurity Research Institute. Moreover, students may take advantage of the interdisciplinary nature of public-health education at KSU, where collaborations with several different colleges and departments within the university have been established. We are pleased to be able to offer these opportunities to our students and hope that our experience may be instructive for the development of similar programs at other institutions, to the eventual benefit of the profession at large.     

The activities of Professor Curt Krause in Bulgaria

Prof. C. Krause spent six years in Bulgaria, from 1928 to 1934. He officially assumed his position on October 10, 1928, as he delivered his opening lecture titled About the past, present and future of the general pathology and pathological anatomy. He worked skillfully and with utmost devotion on the organization of the department of General Pathology and Pathological Anatomy at the Veterinary Faculty. The educational process normalized. Seven students completed their doctoral theses under his leadership and first research assistants were prepared. He lay the foundations of the pathoanatomical museum in his department. Prof. Krauseus contributions to the development of the pathological anatomy in Bulgaria both as a scientific discipline and as a veterinary practice are substantial. In 1939, Prof. Krause received the highest honour for his work in Bulgaria - he was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa of veterinary medicine of the Sofia University.     

An application of sampling theory in animal disease prevalence survey design

The disease prevalence survey is one research approach available to epidemiologists working in preventive veterinary medicine. This paper demonstrates an application of sampling theory in the design of disease prevalence surveys and suggests ways in which this use of sampling methodology may enable the veterinary epidemiologists to better achieve their research objectives.     

Historical perspective and future directions in training of veterinary pathologists with an emphasis on zoo and wildlife species

This article discusses the history of the field of zoo and wildlife pathology, training opportunities for veterinary students and graduate veterinarians, and current and future job opportunities. The niches occupied by veterinarians in this field and their contributions to animal and human health are also highlighted. The field of zoo and wildlife, or "non-traditional" species, pathology has its roots in comparative anatomy, zoology, wildlife biology, and medical pathology in the mid- to late nineteenth century. The initial emphasis was on comparisons between animal and human diseases or on management of game animals. Veterinarians became increasingly involved during the twentieth century, gradually changing the emphasis to improvement of conservation strategies, captive care, and elucidation of diseases of concern for the animals themselves. Currently there are several zoos and wildlife agencies in the United States employing full-time veterinary pathologists. Private and government diagnostic laboratories, veterinary schools, and other academic institutions in the United States with pathology departments are other employers. The field requires post-DVM training by means of a residency program leading to board certification, graduate school (MS or PhD degrees), or both. Veterinary students can gain valuable experience in the field through externships and, at some schools, through elective courses in the curriculum. Current concerns about ecosystem health, bioterrorism, and the recognition that captive and free-ranging wildlife can serve as sentinel species will increase the demand for veterinary pathologists choosing this very rewarding career path specializing in non-traditional species.     

Connecting knowledge resources to the veterinary electronic health record: opportunities for learning at point of care

Electronic health records (EHRs) provide clinical learning opportunities through quick and contextual linkage of patient signalment, symptom, and diagnosis data with knowledge resources covering tests, drugs, conditions, procedures, and client instructions. This paper introduces the EHR standards for linkage and the partners-practitioners, content publishers, and software developers-necessary to leverage this possibility in veterinary medicine. The efforts of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Electronic Health Records Task Force to partner with veterinary practice management systems to improve the use of controlled vocabulary is a first step in the development of standards for sharing knowledge at the point of care. The Veterinary Medical Libraries Section (VMLS) of the Medical Library Association's Task Force on Connecting the Veterinary Health Record to Information Resources compiled a list of resources of potential use at point of care. Resource details were drawn from product Web sites and organized by a metric used to evaluate medical point-of-care resources. Additional information was gathered from questions sent by e-mail and follow-up interviews with two practitioners, a hospital network, two software developers, and three publishers. Veterinarians with electronic records use a variety of information resources that are not linked to their software. Systems lack the infrastructure to use the Infobutton standard that has been gaining popularity in human EHRs. While some veterinary knowledge resources are digital, publisher sites and responses do not indicate a Web-based linkage of veterinary resources with EHRs. In order to facilitate lifelong learning and evidence-based practice, veterinarians and educators of future practitioners must demonstrate to veterinary practice software developers and publishers a clinically-based need to connect knowledge resources to veterinary EHRs.     

The application of information technology in the teaching of veterinary epidemiology and public health

Information technology (IT) is an imprecise term currently used to describe computer-based techniques for data manipulation, storage, dissemination, publication, and retrieval. IT possesses several characteristics that promote meaningful learning, including (1) just-in-time, personalized; (2) student-centered versus teacher-centric; (3) self-paced; (4) anytime, anywhere; and (5) discovery (through bibliographic and other information searches). However, if done improperly, IT-based teaching can be counterproductive. Factors to consider when evaluating the effectiveness of IT-based teaching methods include (1) content, (2) learning, (3) delivery support, (4) usability, and (5) technological. IT has been used to support instruction in epidemiology and public health at many levels, ranging from basic computer literacy to hands-on training in epidemiological methods through computer-based problem sets, case workups, outbreak investigations, and tutorials. Online quizzes based on articles selected from practice-oriented journals have been used to promote evidence-based medicine skills, including the critical evaluation of medical claims. As online access and delivery improve, opportunities for substantive online education and lifelong learning through IT have expanded. One of the most novel and comprehensive implementations of collaborative online sharing of educational content in epidemiology and public health is the Epidemiology Supercourse (http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/). More than 9,000 faculty from 118 countries have contributed to an online library of more than 700 lectures with quality control and adherence to accepted pedagogic principles. The goal is to improve teaching and research in epidemiology and public health worldwide. Although the focus is on human medicine, the concepts, methods, and principles can easily be applied to veterinary medicine. The Association for Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM) seeks to heighten awareness of issues in veterinary epidemiology and public health education among veterinary educators through various forums, symposia, and workshops. The AVEPM Web site (http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/avepm/) includes a listing of educational software and Web sites supporting epidemiology and public health education.     

Providing high-quality research training for veterinary pathologists in Europe

Despite their key role in a wide range of fields relating to animal and public health, there is currently a lack of veterinary pathologists in Europe. In 1999, to help address the problem, the European College of Veterinary Pathologists (ECVP) and the European Society of Veterinary Pathology (ESVP) established a joint Education Committee. In this Special Article, Professor Anja Kipar and colleagues, all members of the committee, describe the ECVP/ESVP Summer Schools in Veterinary Pathology programme, which aims to provide high-quality research training for veterinary pathologists from all over Europe and beyond.     

欧盟兽用抗菌药耐药性管理概述

介绍负责管理欧盟兽用抗菌药耐药性的欧洲药品局下设的兽用药品委员会、健康与消费者保护司和食品安全局等相关管理机构以及成立耐药性管理工作组、进行耐药性风险分析、制定相关文件和实施耐药性监测等的管理措施,为我国兽药耐药性相关政策的制定和措施的实行提供参考.     

Trends in veterinary clinical and fundamental pharmacology: past and future in The Netherlands

Veterinary pharmacology has undergone a gradual development in the Netherlands during this century. Starting from a historical perspective the paper aims to provide an overview of future trends and important issues in the area of veterinary pharmacology and toxicology. It is pointed out that this discipline comprises several subdisciplines as the comparative aspect of both, pharmacology and toxicology, is inherent to veterinary medicine which has to address a broad variety of animal species. Thus, the comparison of drug effects, side effects, and drug disposition as well as the comparison of the species-specific susceptibility to xenobiotics are obvious challenges in this discipline. Several areas in clinical pharmacology are highlighted to indicate future research needs. Finally, the principles of Good Veterinary Practice are presented as the 'golden standard' in veterinary clinical pharmacology.     

Apoptosis: A review of pro‐apoptotic and anti‐apoptotic pathways and dysregulation in disease

Objective – To review the human and veterinary literature on the biology of apoptosis in health and disease. Data Sources – Data were examined from the human and veterinary literature identified through Pubmed and references listed in appropriate articles pertaining to apoptosis. Human Data Synthesis – The role of apoptosis in health and disease is a rapidly growing area of research in human medicine. Apoptosis has been identified as a component of human autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and sepsis. Veterinary Data Synthesis – Research data available from the veterinary literature pertaining to apoptosis and its role in diseases of small animal species is still in its infancy. The majority of veterinary studies focus on oncologic therapy. Most of the basic science and human clinical research studies use human blood and tissue samples and murine models. The results from these studies may be applicable to small animal species. Conclusions – Apoptosis is the complex physiologic process of programmed cell death. The pathophysiology of apoptosis and disease is only now being closely evaluated in human medicine. Knowledge of the physiologic mechanisms by which tissues regulate their size and composition is leading researchers to investigate the role of apoptosis in human diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disease and sepsis. Because it is a multifaceted process, apoptosis is difficult to target or manipulate therapeutically. Future studies may reveal methods to regulate or manipulate apoptosis and improve patient outcome.