Food-Supply Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Medical Education: An Australian Perspective

Abstract

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.

A Hidden Corner of the “One Health” Concept: One Health, the Military Veterinarian, and Education

“…However, the idealistic picture of the omnipotent veterinarian has been questioned in the past decade. [34] Halliwell [35] argues that veterinarians should remain omnipotential (rather than omnicompetent) so as to be able to change their scope later in their career; however, on an institutional level, covering all aspects of veterinary medical education might lead to mediocre instruction. To avoid this, establishing collaborative programs are needed.…”