Vol. 1 Issue 2 Summer 2016
Regional Focus:
Africa
As part of the CVIME newsletter, we will attempt to highlight a region that is represented by one of our 8 council members. We have members that span Africa; China/SE Asia/India; Latin and South America; UK and Ireland; Continental Europe; Australia and New Zealand; and Canada and the US. We are soon planning on adding members for North Africa and Middle East. This month our focus will be on Africa. The intent of this section of the newsletters is to open the eyes of our readers (who are all interested in veterinary medical education, we hope!) to some of the goings-on in these countries and to the unique challenges faced in providing veterinary training in that part of the world.
There are some fascinating facts provided in a summary on our website by Africa’s CIVME member, Dr. John David Kabasa. To highlight some of the details he has provided to council members in our initial meetings and his written report:
Did you know that there at least 80 veterinary medical training institutions currently operating in Africa? 42 in Eastern and Southern Africa, 22 in North Africa, 12 in West Africa and 4 in Central Africa. 87% of these offer professional undergraduate veterinary medical degree programs (Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences, Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). The number of students admitted to veterinary programs varies across the Universities in Africa ranging from 25 to 750 students per institution. Average enrollment varies by region: 80 is East and South Africa, 540 in North Africa, 48 in West and Central Africa. Graduation rate ranges from 50-90% after a degree program lasting 5-6 years or a diploma lasting 2-3 years. The average cost of training a student ranges from 1500-13179 USD in East and South Africa, compared to 1450-2400 USD in other parts of Africa.
“With a growing population at a mean annual rate of 3%, Africa’s combined animal resource has been prioritized by the African Union as a strategic pathway for poverty eradication, wealth creation, employment and rural development”. For a unique and thoughtful perspective on the challenges faced in African veterinary education please read more HERE or go to: http://aavmc.org/civme/africa.aspx
Educational Scholarship – What Do We Mean?
As part of the charge from the AAVMC’s Board of Directors, CIVME will act to facilitate educational research and disseminate innovative practices. Despite a growing interest in educational research in veterinary medicine, many educators are confused about the nature of scholarship, as the term is applied to teaching and learning, and its distinction from traditional academic research.
Twenty-five years ago, in “Scholarship Reconsidered”, Boyer described academic activity as comprising four scholarships. In the first, the “Scholarship of Discovery”, we can all recognize traditional academic research, which is highly valued by academic communities. However, for universities to make their full contributions to society, the Scholarship of Discovery cannot exist in isolation from the other three Scholarships of Integration, Application and Teaching. It is through integration of insights from different disciplines that we address complex, real world problems; it is through application that we achieve solutions; and it is through teaching that we disseminate our insights and support future professionals in “standing on the shoulders” of those who have gone before.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing embraces this rich view of scholarship as those activities that systematically advance the research, practice and teaching (of nursing) through rigorous inquiry that 1) is significant to the profession, 2) is creative, 3) can be documented, 4) can be replicated or elaborated, and 5) can be peer-reviewed through various methods. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/position/defining-scholarship.
Similarly, the scholarly educator will advance their educational practice through research, teaching and the development of other teachers as a part of the community of practice in their university and beyond. The Royal Academy of Engineering in London, UK has a useful website regarding evaluating teaching (http://www.evaluatingteaching.com) which highlights the evolution of a teacher from effective to scholarly to national/global leader. They define a scholarly teacher as one who “makes a significant contribution to pedagogical (educational) knowledge by engaging with and contributing to the scholarly research literature which, in turn, influences educational practice”.
In other words, if you have a new teaching idea, it is not scholarly unless it builds on what is already known to work, unless it is peer-evaluated and unless it is disseminated in a community of practice for uptake by others. Many institutions are moving to demanding educators show evidence of scholarly activity, including research, its application and its impact on students and other teachers, for promotion and tenure. CIVME will be helping to foster intercollegiate networking, provide small educational grant funding and access to useful resources to help veterinary educators begin to create a global community of practice for sharing innovations in education. Check back often as we highlight tools and opportunities to advance veterinary education research, and scholarship.
OIE National Delegates, deans of Veterinary Education Establishments (VEEs), representatives of Veterinary Statutory Bodies, and a range of other stakeholders made up the 350 delegates to the 4th OIE Global Conference on Veterinary Education, recently held in Bangkok. Over 90 countries participated in the conference. Recommendations arising from the meeting can be grouped under three main headings;
• Building on past achievements; these recommendations were aimed at assisting member countries address ongoing disparities among veterinary education establishments in implementation of OIE guidelines around a core veterinary curriculum and day 1 competencies. The OIE’s twinning program for veterinary education establishments (and veterinary statutory bodies) remains a key strategy in this area.
• Diversifying the skills brought by veterinary education; these recommendations seek to broaden traditional curricula to include additional competencies such as economics, leadership and communication.
• Implementing innovative teaching practices in veterinary education
• Better integration of veterinary para-professionals
Here are links to the conference website (presentations include reports on veterinary education establishments in different regions of the world) and detailed recommendations:
Looking for more about veterinary medical or medical education and wondering where to find it?
While not exhaustive, the following abbreviated journal list might prove useful to readers interested in all things medical education and some of those listed are specifically publishing veterinary education content.
Calendar of Upcoming Educational Events
Check the CIVME calendar of upcoming educational events. Do you know of upcoming events that should be on the calendar? If so, please email us at: civme@aavmc.org
Websites of Interest
CIVME will be establishing a database of websites of interest to the international community. To view the current list, please click on the button below. If you would like to suggest a wesbite, please email us at the following email: civme@aavmc.org
Who Is CIVME?
The core & alternate council members were elected to the council for three-year terms and will serve to meet the charge to establish CIVME as set by the AAVMC’s Board of Directors. Click the button to view the full CIVME roster as well as biographies of the members
