Integration of problem-based learning in a veterinary medical curriculum: first-year experiences with Application-Based Learning Exercises at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine

In 1999 problem-based learning experiences were introduced into the professional curriculum at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine as part of an overall curricular modification. Problem-based learning (PBL) was introduced into the traditional curricular format in dedicated week-long experiences (Application-Based Learning Exercises) at specific points during the first six semesters. Methods to assess the success of this integration and other curricular changes included ongoing program assessment throughout the implementation of the modified curriculum. Program assessment engaged faculty facilitators and students, who were involved in a process unfamiliar to both. Results of preliminary assessment indicate mostly positive reaction to problem-based learning, while identifying other areas of concern.     

A life with horses: it's been a great ride!

In 2010 Doug Antczak was the recipient of the Distinguished Veterinary Immunologist Award of the Veterinary Immunology Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies. Dr. Antczak is the Dorothy Havemeyer McConville Professor of Equine Medicine at the Baker Institute for Animal Health in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. His research focuses on immunological and genetic aspects of the fetal-maternal relationship in the horse. This includes studies of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes and molecules, the regulation of their expression in the placenta, the composition and function of uterine lymphocytes, and alterations in maternal immune reactivity during pregnancy. For this research Dr. Antczak developed a herd of purpose-bred horses selected for homozygosity at the MHC. These horses are a unique genetic resource in equine immunology. During his career Dr. Antczak has mentored over 20 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to independent careers in immunology research. Dr. Antczak has made contributions to equine immunology, genetics, and reproduction, and collaborated widely with scientists in each of these disciplines. Through his relationship with the Havemeyer Foundation, Dr. Antczak has been a catalyst for cooperative research through a series of Havemeyer Foundation Workshops initiated over 25 years ago. Since 1995 he has been a principal participant in the international Horse Genome Project collaboration furthering his equine immunology research through genomic applications. In 2009 Dr. Antczak was inducted into the University of Kentucky's Equine Research Hall of Fame.     

Obituary - Dudley Arthur Gill

Extract

D. A. Gill died in Sydney on May 1, 1973, at the age of 72. He received his training at the Royal Veterinary College, London, where he qualified in 1922. He then did a Diploma of Veterinary State Medicine at Edinburgh. He joined the New Zealand Department of Agriculture as a Veterinary Officer and from 1928 he was second in charge at the Wallaceville Veterinary Laboratory. While he was at Wallaceville he did some first-class research on the problems of listeriosis and enterotoxaemia. The house that he built at Wallaceville he later sold to his friend Dr I. J. Cunningham.     

All-purpose veterinary education: a personal perspective

The Recognition Lecture is an annual honor awarded by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) to an individual whose leadership and vision have made significant contributions to academic veterinary medicine and the veterinary profession. In 2011, this prestigious honor was awarded to Dr. Peter Eyre, Dean Emeritus of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM). Dr. Eyre is a fierce advocate for veterinary medical education, with a clear vision of its value in ensuring that veterinarians are well positioned to meet societal needs. Dr. Eyre possesses an international perspective regarding the challenges and problems facing veterinary medical education and has a keen eye for getting to the heart of these challenges. He is known to ask hard questions and propose difficult choices. Dr. Eyre received his undergraduate veterinary degree (BVMS), bachelor of science degree, and PhD from the University of Edinburgh. He was Lecturer in Pharmacology at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies for seven years before joining the faculty of the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, where he was Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Associate Director of the Canadian Centre for Toxicology. Dr. Eyre was appointed Dean of the VMRCVM in 1985, where he established the Center for Government and Corporate Veterinary Medicine in 1989. After retiring in 2003, he was named Interim Dean of the University of Calgary's new veterinary school. Among his many awards are the Norden Distinguished Teacher Award and the Sigma Psi Excellence in Research Award. In 2008 the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) honored him with the President's Award, and in 2010 the University of Edinburgh awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery. The Peter Eyre Student Leadership Award at the VMRCVM and the Peter Eyre Prize in Pharmacology at the University of Guelph are both named in his honor. He is a past president of the AAVMC, a fellow and former board member of the American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and a former member of the AVMA Legislative Advisory Committee. In the following article, Dr. Eyre offers his insights on the current debate about the future of veterinary medical education.     

高等职业院校《动物病理学》课程教学改革与实践

《动物病理学》是畜牧兽医专业的核心课程,该课程的学习效果极大地影响着学生对后续课程的学习和理解。以近年来内蒙古乌兰察布职业学院"深化内涵建设和加大课程建设"为契机,将多年来的教学经验加以总结,就如何优化理论教学、改革实践教学、改进教学方法等方面进行了探讨。     

Public health education at Michigan State University

Many reports have highlighted the need for the veterinary profession to fill critical shortages of veterinarians in public health and food safety. Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine offers educational programs within the professional veterinary curriculum, as well as graduate degree programs, to meet these societal needs. Within the scope of the professional veterinary curriculum, educational opportunities in public health include clerkships in veterinary public health and an innovative Web-based curriculum on judicious use of antimicrobials. For graduate degree programs, Michigan State University has a memorandum of understanding with the University of Minnesota for the Master of Public Health degree and an innovative Online Professional Master of Science in Food Safety degree program. A new option available is the opportunity for veterinary students to pursue the Master of Science in Food Safety concurrently with the DVM (DVM/MS in Food Safety). These educational programs will prepare graduates to meet societal needs in public health and food safety.     

A new approach to teaching veterinary public health at the Ohio State University

Public-health practitioners with expertise in the area of veterinary public health are expected to understand the prevention and control of zoonotic infectious diseases in both human and animal populations. This focus on multiple species is what makes the veterinary public health (VPH) official unique. The development of a new VPH specialization within the existing Master of Public Health (MPH) degree program at the Ohio State University represents a significant new collaboration between the College of Veterinary Medicine and the College of Public Health. The main objective of the VPH specialization is to educate and train professionals to provide them with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to protect and improve human health using a One Medicine approach. The program targets a population of students who will likely enter the professional veterinary medicine curriculum but have one year available to enhance their preparatory training in health sciences before beginning the program. A core series of VPH courses was initiated to complement the existing MPH course requirements. The program has been successful in attracting students from the primary target population, but it has also attracted students wanting the MPH as a terminal degree and veterinarians returning to school to expand their career options.     

Assessment of clinical reasoning skills in veterinary students prior to and after the clinical year of training

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of various clinical tracks within the veterinary medical clinical curriculum at Texas A&M University on clinical diagnostic proficiency as determined by pre- and post-training assessment. We expected that the clinical track chosen by the student would impact their measured outcome with bias toward higher scores in their chosen field. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. STUDY POPULATION: 32 students from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University. PROCEDURES: By use of standardized, written case scenarios, clinical reasoning was assessed twice: once prior to the clinical (fourth) year of the curriculum and again at completion of the clinical year. Students demonstrated their abilities to collect and organize appropriate clinical data (history, physical examination, and laboratory findings), determine clinical diagnoses, and formulate and implement acceptable treatment modalities. Data from clinical assessments were compared for a given cohort and correlated with other measures (eg, grades, standardized test scores, and species-specific curricular track). RESULTS: Differences were detected in clinical diagnostic proficiency among students in different clinical tracks and for different species groups in the case scenarios. Tracking by species group in the clinical veterinary curriculum appeared to affect development of clinical reasoning and resulted in differential proficiency among cases for differing species groups. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Differences in clinical experiences between small animal tracks and all other track opportunities (large animal, mixed animal, and alternative) influenced the development of clinical proficiency in fourth-year veterinary students during their clinical training period.     

From Osler to Olafson. The evolution of veterinary pathology in North America

Most branches of biological science in North America developed first in the United States, and later were taught and practiced in Canada. An exception was veterinary pathology, which as a discipline taught in veterinary colleges and as a field of research, developed first in Canada, and from there crossed the border to the United States. Pathology was first taught at the Montreal Veterinary College, founded in 1866 by Duncan McEachran, a graduate of the Edinburgh Veterinary College. From the outset, he formed a close association with the medical faculty of McGill University, permitting his students to attend the same classes in the basic subjects with the medical students. Eventually, the Montreal Veterinary College became formally affiliated with McGill University, as the Faculty of Comparative Medicine and Veterinary Science. The McGill veterinary faculty was forced to close for economic reasons in 1903, but it left an enduring legacy, particularly in the field of veterinary pathology. The legacy, a novel concept in the 1870's, was that pathology was the cornerstone of a veterinary education; the place where anatomy, physiology, chemistry and botany met with the clinical subjects, and gave the latter meaning. This tradition was formed at the Montreal Veterinary College by the world renowned physician William Osler, North America's leading medical teacher, whom McEachran had invited to teach at the College in 1876 in addition to his duties in the faculty of medicine. Osler had studied with Virchow in Berlin and applied his methods of autopsy technique and of scientific inquiry to his teaching of both human and veterinary pathology at McGill. Osler also undertook investigations into various diseases of domestic animals, at the request of McEachran, who doubled as Chief Veterinary Inspector for the Dominion Department of Agriculture. Osler left McGill University in 1884. Only after that year did other North American veterinary schools adopt pathology as a discipline of instruction. However, by 1884, Osler had already left his indelible imprint on the students (both medical and veterinary) he had taught in Montreal, one of whom took over the teaching of pathology in the veterinary college. Another, who followed Osler's example and also studied in Berlin with Virchow, wrote the first book in the English language on veterinary post mortem technique in 1889.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Teaching the didactic aspects of ophthalmology and dermatology using an off-site instructor

A shortage of veterinary educators in various clinical disciplines is requiring faculty at veterinary schools to develop novel approaches to teaching professional students a core of information in each major clinical discipline. This article presents experiences at Washington State University (WSU) College of Veterinary Medicine in the teaching of the didactic components of ophthalmology and dermatology over four years using pre-prepared lectures developed by off-site instructors. The methodology of lecture preparation and presentation and various perspectives of student satisfaction with this teaching/learning method are presented.     

Every man his own farrier in Australia: the origins and growth of a veterinary business in colonial New South Wales

The life and work is told of John Pottie (1832-1908), a Scotsman who graduated from Edinburgh Veterinary College in 1858. A year later, he contracted to provide veterinary care to a consignment of horses bound for Australia. Once there, he founded a firm that has survived to the present day, still marketing products that originated in his own veterinary remedies. John Pottie brought with him a European tradition of livestock care and treatment that was epitomised in Clater's title and book, Every man his own farrier. His career is of interest for several reasons. Firstly it is because he used this tradition to launch a business enterprise in a new and different market in Australia. Secondly, although his training lay in what may be termed the pre-scientific era of the profession's history, he was able to adapt old traditions successfully to the changes that came in the age of Pasteur and Koch. Finally, the manner in which he did this, besides demonstrating his business acumen, also shows how the professional veterinary qualification gained in value in a new age of science.     

Max Flesch (1852-1943): veterinary anatomist, physician and Nazi victim

The Jewish physician Dr. med. Max Flesch, a student of the Würzburger anatomist Albert von K?lliker (1817-1905), was professor of anatomy, histology and embryology at the School of Veterinary Medicine in Bern from 1882-1887. He was the first at that school who unified the three anatomical fields in one hand. From his Institute came Oskar Rubeli (1861-1952) who was also his successor. From 1888 on Max Flesch was engaged as practitioner and later as gynaecologist. During the First World War he proved his worth as a hospital physician. After the war he most likely was working for another decade in his practice in Frankfurt before retiring in Hochwaldhausen at the Hessian Vogelsberg. During his retirement Flesch published his experiences as 1 nurse and hospital physician, respectively during the wars 1870/71 and 1914-1918. With the assumption of power by the National Socialists the living conditions for Jews in Germany radically changed; also Max Flesch became victim of the Nazi racism. Although very old he was carried off 1942 into the concentration camp Theresienstadt where he lost his life in May 1943. We owe Max Flesch honourable remembrance.     

Survey of veterinary technical and professional skills in students and recent graduates of a veterinary college

OBJECTIVES: To determine perceptions of veterinary technical and professional skills among veterinary students and recent graduates. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SAMPLE POPULATION: 281 students and 142 recent graduates from the Ontario Veterinary College. PROCEDURE: A survey was designed and administered to first- through fourth-year students and veterinarians who had graduated either 1 or 6 years before survey administration. RESULTS: Overall response rate was 70%. Learning about technical and professional skills was highly valued. Most participants felt they had not received instruction about professional skills, but those who had felt more competent about them. Perceptions of competence increased slightly with increased comfort discussing emotional veterinary issues with instructors. Neither gender nor increased age was related to increased feelings of competence. Almost all fourth-year students felt competent and comfortable about examining an animal with the client present, assessing suffering, diagnosing parvovirus infection, performing surgery, and working as group members. However, many did not feel competent or comfortable about delivering bad news, setting time limits yet providing quality service, helping clients with limited funds make treatment decisions, dealing with demanding people, and euthanasia. Feelings of competence and comfort were closely related but were not identical. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: In the interests of best preparing entry-level veterinarians, technical and professional skills need to be emphasized in a learning environment where students feel comfortable discussing emotional veterinary issues. A professional skills curriculum addressing underlying self-awareness, communication, and interpersonal issues, as well as procedural matters, would likely increase the proportion of fourth-year students who feel competent and comfortable about professional skills by the end of their undergraduate training.     

Remembrances of Jacques Jenny, DrMedVet 1917–1971

Editor's note : The holding of the 19th Annual Meeting of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in Philadelphia in conjunction with the Centennial Celebration of the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania provides an opportunity for reflection. Dr. Jacques Jenny, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the School, was Chairman of the Organizing Committee that gave rise to the American College of Veterinary Surgeons on December 16,1965, and was elected as first President of the College. The solid foundation and high ideals that the Organizing Committee established are in large part responsible for the success of the College. Dr. Jenny died on November 20, 1971. Those of us fortunate to have known him personally realize the immense gap that his premature death left. For those that did not know him, I hope that this article permits some appreciation of the contributions of Dr. Jenny the comparative orthopedic surgeon, as well as of the very special human qualities of Jacques Jenny the man. The first author, Dr. Mark Allam, was Professor of Surgery and Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine during most of Dr. Jenny's career at the University of Pennsylvania, and was the first Chairman of the Board of Regents of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons. The second author, Dr. David Nunamaker, is the first holder of the Jacques Jenny Professorship in Veterinary Orthopedics at the University of Pennsylvania.     

论个性化的大学英语课程设置

讨论了目前大学英语课程设置单一的现状，并分析其形成原因。文章以ESP研究关于需求分析的理论为依据，提出大学应根据学生的实际需要、新时期国家和社会对人才培养需要，区别不同层次、不同程度、不同专业学生的需求，而专门设置一系列大学英语课程。说明了设置个性化的大学英语课程的理由和好处。     

Opening address—New Zealand veterinary association conference, 1955

Extract

We have recently seen another upsurge of interest in the question of training veterinarians in our own country. Most of you will rembember that a committee to report on the matter was appointed by the Labour Government in 1943 ; but the question of training veterinarians in New Zealand is far older than that. True it is that in the last 10 or 12years it has been bedevilled by some farmer opposition, though the farmers are not, and have not been, as unanimous in opposition as, at one time, they were in support. As far back as 1898, the Conference of Agricultural and Pastoral Associations, which at that time was the only body representing farmer opinion (for there was no Farmers' Union), resolved that provision should be made for veterinary education in one or other of the existing university colleges, or otherwise, as will qualify students for a degree. This resolution was carried, although Dr. Gilruth said it would be cheaper to send men to Britain for training. At the conference in 1902, J. G. Wilson proposed that the Government establish an agricultural college where veterinarians could receive diplomas. In the debate, J. S. Holmes, of Otago, submitted that the proper place was in connection with the medical school in Dunedin; while J. Studholme, of Canterbury, thought a chair should be established at Lincoln College. Dr. Gilruth discounted both suggestions. He would like to have men trained in the colony under his own charge. Kirk and Aston, he said, could lecture on botany and chemistry and his men could do the veterinary teaching. All they wanted was a building and the necessary equipment. He did not mention what sort of diploma would be given, or by whom: but his proposals are not without a certain interest today in the light of Dr. Burns's addendum to the Senate Committee's report of last year, to which I shall return later.     

高职院校养殖专业校企合作创新实践

“校企合作”是一种基于双方需求,共同培养职业人才的教育方式。高职院校养殖类专业实施校企合作能够培养学生的综合能力和素质,是学生步入社会的桥梁和纽带。校企合作方式一般有4种,一是订单培养;二是以“技术为平台”促进人才培养与企业生产共同发展;三是以融入产业链模式实现校企合作;四是校企联合共育人才。校企合作不仅能够促进人才质量提高,还有利于专业建设和课程开发。     

The Adventures of Dr. Duncan McNab McEachran in Western Canada

Duncan McNab McEachran's early history and involvement in the formation of the Montreal Veterinary College as well as in livestock inspection were reviewed. His contribution to the beginning of the ranching industry in western Canada was explored in detail. In 1881, McEachran helped to establish the Cochrane Ranche, which was the first great ranch to be started in southern Alberta. He was employed as the ranch's resident general manager until 1883, in which year the Waldrond Ranch was established. McEachran was this ranch's president and general manager until approximately 1909. During this time, he came under considerable criticism from both The MacLeod Gazette and The Calgary Herald. As Dr. McEachran maintained his obligations to the ranches while he was directing the veterinary college in Montreal as well as chief inspector of livestock for Canada, it was concluded that this feat alone would rank him as a remarkable historical figure.     

Undergraduate veterinary education at University College Dublin: a time of change

The final-year Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (MVB) class of 2005 were the first cohort of students to complete the new curriculum at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin (UCD). The new curriculum is a fundamental departure from the traditional curriculum that had served the veterinary profession in Ireland over many years. The change was not a precipitate action but the outcome of a prolonged and thorough examination of the realities of veterinary medicine, its science and its art, in the first decade of a new millennium. Over recent decades, rapid and fundamental changes have been witnessed in the economic, cultural, and ethical environment in which the veterinary profession operates, and these changes, coupled with the "information explosion," dictated an examination of the educational paradigm. The new curriculum exposes the first-year class to veterinary information technology and problem-based learning (PBL). In the second year, students are instructed in clinical examination, history taking, and client communication skills, in addition to further exposure to PBL. The third and fourth years are now systems-based, with coordinated input from microbiologists, parasitologists, pathologists, and clinicians in teaching each body system. The first lecture-free final year in the 104-year history of veterinary education in Ireland consists of clinical rotations and a four-week elective pursued within the faculty or at other recognized institutions. Students must also complete a minimum of 24 weeks' extramural studies (EMS). Critically, the development and assessment of all courses in the new undergraduate degree program has been driven by carefully thought out learning outcomes. The new curriculum will provide graduates with the essential knowledge and skills required for entry into the veterinary profession. Society expects these qualities from veterinarians in the interests of the communities they serve during their professional careers. In addition, the curriculum should foster the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, instill the desire and ability to work in teams, and develop life skills. It is hoped that the academic innovations will arouse the intellectual curiosity and commitment to lifelong learning that future graduates will require if they are to retain the confidence of the society in which they work in the future.