Tuesday, 9 September 2014

Veterinary Medicine - General Information and History

Veterinary medicine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Animal hospital" redirects here. For the BBC television show, see Animal Hospital.
A veterinary technician in Ethiopiashows the owner of an ailing donkey how to sanitize the site of infection.
Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease, disorder and injury inanimals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both domesticated and wild, with a wide range of conditions which can affect different species.
Veterinary medicine is widely practiced, both with and without professional supervision. Professional care is most often led by a veterinary physician (also known as a vet, veterinary surgeon or veterinarian), but also by paraveterinary workers such as veterinary nurses or technicians. This can be augmented by other paraprofessionals with specific specialisms such as animal physiotherapy or dentistry, and species relevant roles such as farriers.
Veterinary science helps human health through the monitoring and control of zoonotic disease (infectious disease transmitted from non-human animals to humans), food supply through livestock health monitoring and treatment, mental health by keeping pets healthy and long living, and indirectly through human applications from basic medical research. Veterinary scientists often collaborate with epidemiologists, and other health or natural scientists depending on type of work. Ethically, veterinarians are usually obliged to look after animal welfare.

History[edit]

"History of veterinary medicine" redirects here.

Premodern era[edit]

"Shalihotra" manuscript pages
The Egyptian Papyrus of Kahun (1900 BCE) and Vedic literature in ancient India offer one of the first written records of veterinary medicine.[1] (See also Shalihotra) ( Buddhism) First Buddhist Emperor of India edicts of Asoka reads: "Everywhere King Piyadasi (Asoka) made two kinds of medicine (चिकित्सा) available, medicine for people and medicine for animals. Where there were no healing herbs for people and animals, he ordered that they be bought and planted."[2] Asoka
The first attempts to organize and regulate the practice of treating animals tended to focus on horses because of their economic significance. In the Middle Ages from around 475 CE, farriers combined their work in horseshoeing with the more general task of "horse doctoring". In 1356, the Lord Mayor of London, concerned at the poor standard of care given to horses in the city, requested that all farriers operating within a seven mile radius of the City of London form a "fellowship" to regulate and improve their practices. This ultimately led to the establishment of the Worshipful Company of Farriers in 1674.[3]
Meanwhile, Carlo Ruini's book Anatomia del Cavallo, (Anatomy of the Horse) was published in 1598. It was the first comprehensive treatise on the anatomy of a non-human species.[4]

Establishment of profession[edit]

Claude Bourgelat established the earliest veterinary college inLyon in 1761.
The first veterinary college was founded in Lyon, France in 1762 by Claude Bourgelat.[5] According to Lupton, after observing the devastation being caused by cattle plague to the French herds, Bourgelat devoted his time to seeking out a remedy. This resulted in his founding a veterinary college in Lyon in 1761, from which establishment he dispatched students to combat the disease; in a short time, the plague was stayed and the health of stock restored, through the assistance rendered to agriculture by veterinary science and art."[6]
The Odiham Agricultural Society was founded in 1783 in England to promote agriculture and industry,[7] and played an important role in the foundation of the veterinary profession in Britain. A founding member, Thomas Burgess, began to take up the cause of animal welfare and campaign for the more humane treatment of sick animals.[8] A 1785 Society meeting resolved to "promote the study of Farriery upon rational scientific principles.”
Minutes taken at the establishment of the Odiham Agricultural Society, which went on to play a pivotal role in the establishment of the veterinary profession in England.
The physician James Clark wrote a treatise entitled Prevention of Disease in which he argued for the professionalization of the veterinary trade, and the establishment of veterinary colleges. This was finally achieved in 1790, through the campaigning of Granville Penn, who persuaded the Frenchman, Benoit Vial de St. Bel to accept the professorship of the newly established Veterinary College in London.[7] TheRoyal College of Veterinary Surgeons was established by royal charter in 1844. Veterinary science came of age in the late 19th century, with notable contributions from Sir John McFadyean, credited by many as having been the founder of modern Veterinary research.[9]
In the United States, the first schools were established in the early 19th century in BostonNew York and Philadelphia. In 1879, Iowa Agricultural College became the first land grant college to establish a school of veterinary medicine.[10]

Veterinary workers[edit]

Veterinary physicians[edit]

Main article: Veterinary physician
Veterinary care is usually led by a veterinary physician (usually called a vet, veterinary surgeon or veterinarian). This role is the equivalent of a doctor in human medicine, and usually involves post-graduate study and qualification.
In many countries, the local nomenclature for a vet is a protected term, meaning that people without the prerequisite qualifications and/or registration are not able to use the title, and in many cases, the activities that may be undertaken by a vet (such as animal treatment or surgery) are restricted only to those people who are registered as vet. For instance, in the United Kingdom, as in other jurisdictions, animal treatment may only be performed by registered vets (with a few designated exceptions, such as paraveterinary workers), and it is illegal for any person who is not registered to call themselves a vet or perform any treatment.
Most vets work in clinical settings, treating animals directly. These vets may be involved in a general practice, treating animals of all types; may be specialized in a specific group of animals such as companion animalslivestock, laboratory animals, zoo animals or horses; or may specialize in a narrow medical discipline such as surgerydermatology, laboratory animal medicine, or internal medicine.
As with healthcare professionals, vets face ethical decisions about the care of their patients. Current debates within the profession include the ethics of purely cosmetic procedures on animals, such as declawing of cats, docking of tailscropping of ears and debarking on dogs.

Paraveterinary workers[edit]

US and South African army veterinary technicians prepare a dog for spaying.
An eye exam of a kitten under way prior to the kitten's adoption.
Main article: Paraveterinary workers
Paraveterinary workers, including veterinary nurses, technicians and assistants, either assist vets in their work, or may work within their own scope of practice, depending on skills and qualifications, including in some cases, performing minor surgery.
The role of paraveterinary workers is less homogeneous globally than that of a vet, and qualification levels, and the associated skill mix, vary widely.

Allied professions[edit]

A number of professions exist within the scope of veterinary medicine, but which may not necessarily be performed by vets or veterinary nurses. This includes those performing roles which are also found in human medicine, such as practitioners dealing with musculoskeletaldisorders, including osteopathschiropractors and physiotherapists.
There are also roles which are specific to animals, but which have parallels in human society, such as animal grooming and animal massage.
Some roles are specific to a species or group of animals, such as farriers, who are involved in the shoeing of horses, and in many cases have a major role to play in ensuring the medical fitness of the horse.

Veterinary School

Veterinary school

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Norwegian School of Veterinary Science(Norges veterinærhøgskole), a veterinary school inOsloNorway.
veterinary school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, which is involved in the education ofveterinarians. To become a veterinarian one must first complete a veterinary degree (i.e.: DVM, VMD, BVS, BVSc, BVMS, BVM, BVS, cand.med.vet, etc.)
A veterinary school should not be confused with a department of animal science. A department of animal science usually offers a pre-veterinary school curriculum, teaches the biomedical sciences (usually resulting in a Bachelor of Science degree or the equivalent), and provides graduate veterinary education in disciplines such as microbiologyvirology, and molecular biology. The terminology can be confusing, as many veterinary schools outside North America use the title "Faculty of Veterinary Science" rather than "college of veterinary medicine" or "school of veterinary medicine," and some veterinary schools (particularly those in ChinaJapan and South Korea) use the term "department" rather than college or school.[1][2]

Degrees[edit]

The College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, a veterinary school in the United States.
There are several types of degrees that aspiring vets can earn; these differ according to country and may involve undergraduate or graduate education.[1] For example, in the United States, schools award the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (DVM),[3]and the same degree is awarded in BangladeshCanadaEthiopiaHungaryIranMalaysiaNigeriaPakistanPhilippines,South KoreaThailandTobago and Trinidad.[1] Many countries offer a degree equivalent to the North American DVM. In theUnited Kingdom, and in many countries which have adopted the undergraduate system of higher education in which a bachelor's degree is equivalent to a DVM (albeit after five or six years of study, not four. In the United States the 4 year DVM degree is earned following a 4 year undergraduate degree totalling 8 years of study after high school), an appropriate degree is conferred ( Bachelor of Veterinary Science, Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery etc.).[4] In Ireland, the Veterinary Medicine Programme at the University College Dublin awards the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (MVB)[5] At the University of Edinburgh, the degree is the Bachelor's of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery (BVM&S).[6]Some veterinary schools, however, offer a degree which enables the recipient to practice veterinary medicine in the home country but which does not permit the individual to even sit for a licensure exam in another nation. For example, veterinary schools in Afghanistan only offer the Bachelor of Science (BS) degree.[4] Ethiopia awards the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree, but the degree is not recognized in the US or Western Europe due to the low quality of education provided by Ethiopian veterinary schools.[7]
About 50% of Veterinarians own their own business as soon as they graduate from school. Nearly every country in the world requires an individual with a veterinary degree to belicensed prior to practicing in the profession. Most countries require a non-national who holds a veterinary degree to pass a separate licensure exam for foreign graduates prior to practicing veterinary medicine. In the US, for example, the Educational Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) administers a four-step examination which is accepted by all American state and territorial veterinary licensing boards, the US federal government, and the District of Columbia.[8] In Europe, the European Parliament, which has some jurisdiction over the member states of the European Union (EU), issued a directive on September 30, 2005, which provides for EU-wide standards for veterinary medical education and mutual recognition of veterinary degrees between member states meeting these standards.[9] Licensure requirements are diverse, however. In South Africa, theVeterinary and Para-Veterinary Professions Act, Act 19 of 1982 provides for automatic licensure if an individual has graduated from one of several universities in South Africa, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom (as of 2008, these include the University of PretoriaMedical University of South AfricaMassey UniversityUniversity of BristolUniversity of CambridgeUniversity of EdinburghUniversity of GlasgowUniversity of Liverpool, and the University of London) or has passed the veterinary licensure examination administered by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. All other persons are required to pass an examination and register with the South African Veterinary Council.[10] India has a similar system in which degrees awarded by certain schools are "deemed" to automatically qualify an individual to practice veterinary medicine, but has forgone an exam in favor of state tribunals which investigate credentials and can add a veterinarian to the register of licensed practitioners.[11]

Accreditation[edit]

Not all nations accredit veterinary schools, but all developed countries and most newly industrialized and developing countries do.[12] Few failed states have any accreditation system, however. In the United States, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Council on Education (COE)[13] accredits veterinary schools.[14] Accreditation systems and standards vary widely, however, AustraliaNew Zealand and the United Kingdom all have vet programs that hold similar standards as those in the United States and Canada.[citation needed] The European Union is developing a common accreditation standard, but as of 2008 accreditation was most often provided by the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE).[15][16][17]
Accreditation systems vary widely in developing nations. In Mexico, El Consejo Nacional de Educación de la Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia (CONEVET) accredits veterinary medical colleges, although few schools are accredited.[18] The accreditation system is poor or nonexistent in other developing nations. Ethiopia, for example, has focused on building veterinary medical colleges rather than accrediting existing schools to ensure quality. Subsequently, there is almost no accreditation system and the quality of veterinary education in the country is poor.[7]

Admissions and costs[edit]

Proportion of students enrolling in each faculty at the University of Sydney from 1900 to 2000. The proportion of veterinary students is the thin pink line near the top, demonstrating the small number of places open to applicants.
Admissions practices, requirements and difficulty vary widely among veterinary schools, and from nation to nation. Generally speaking, gaining admission to a veterinary school is highly competitive, due to the small number of places available.[19] Most AVMA-accredited institutions in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States share a common, online application system, known as the Veterinary Medical College Application Service (VMCAS).[19] Many colleges belonging to VMCAS have additional, individualized application requirements as well, and admissions standards are quite high.[19][20] Admissions standards in Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa also vary widely. Many veterinary schools limit admission to students from their area, state or country. For example, 25 of the 28 veterinary schools in the US are public universities, and by law may set aside relatively few places for out-of-state residents.[19] Other countries have similar schemes. For example, in India, federal law requires that each veterinary college set aside 15 percent of its places for students coming from other parts of India. The Veterinary Council of India (a body of the federal government), conducts the All India Common Entrance Examination, and the top scorers on the exam are placed throughout India.[21]
US Vet school costs 99-07.GIF
The cost of attending veterinary school also varies tremendously. The value of the national currency, the cost of veterinary school relative to the cost of living or median national income, the existence and amount of governmental education subsidies, the existence and amount of financial aid to students (from public or private sources), and a number of other factors combine to influence the cost of attending veterinary school. In countries where a veterinary degree is a professional degree taken as a second degree, governments may not subsidize veterinary school attendance to the degree that they do an undergraduate college education. In the United States, the average tuition was US$15,676 for residents in the 2006-2007 school year, and $28,861 a year for non-residents.[22] Average cost during the same period of fees was $3,482 (residents) and $4,452 (non-residents), room and board $8,964 (residents and non-residents), and books and equipment $2,043 (residents and non-residents).[22] In Canada during the same time period, average resident tuition wasC$5,651 and average non-resident tuition $32,942.[22] Resident and non-resident fees were C$719, resident and non-resident room and board C$6,493, and resident and non-resident books and equipment C$1,712.[22]

Curriculum[edit]

A veterinary student at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine receives clinical training in bovinehealth under the watchful eye of a faculty member.
Veterinary medical school curricula are not standardized. Programs may last anywhere from three to six years. In the United States and Canada, for example, the program is generally four years long. In the first three years, students are taught basic science (such asanatomyphysiologyhistologyneuroanatomypharmacologyimmunologybacteriologyvirologypathologyparasitologytoxicology) in the classroom, as well as other basic courses such as herd health (also called population health), nutritionradiography, andepidemiology. During the third year, students are exposed to clinical topics like anesthesiologydiagnosticssurgeryophthalmology,orthopedics, and dentistry. The fourth year is often 12 (not nine) months long, during which students work in a clinical setting delivering care to a wide range of animals.[23] A focus on clinical education is an aspect of most veterinary school curricula worldwide. In 2005, for the first time in its 104-year-history, the Veterinary Medicine Programme at the University College Dublin instituted a lecture-free final year focusing on clinical training.[24] The Institute of Veterinary Pathology at the University of Zurich recently developed and implemented a new curriculum for teaching pathology which includes an extensive clinical component.[25] Veterinary schools inIsrael,[26] Spain,[27] the Czech Republic,[28] and Slovakia[29] also focus heavily on clinical training.
The level of participation in clinical training can be quite limited in some schools and countries, however. In Japan, students are not permitted to engage in clinical education until they have studied for six years.[30] For example, in Sri Lanka, until recently the public owned relatively few companion animals, and veterinary medical education focused on herd health—with the result that veterinary schools focused little attention on clinical skills. As recently as 2004, this had not changed.[31] In Ethiopia, few schools have clinical training facilities, and the government has placed a priority on opening more schools rather than improving the existing colleges.[7] Even in the United States, there is some concern that clinical training may suffer because many veterinary teaching hospitals are in deep financial trouble.[32]
Veterinary students at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madisontake notes during classroom lecture in June 2005.
Most veterinary schools do not permit students to engage in "species specialization"; that is, students must be expert in veterinary medicine covering a wide range of species rather than just one or two (such as dogs, cows, or reptiles).[33] Most veterinary programs do, however, allow students to take electives which will permit them to specialize upon graduation. Many veterinary schools in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States do engage in "tracking," whereby students are asked which branch of veterinary medicine they intend to practice (companion animal, bovine, equine, food supply, avian, wildlife, public health, etc.).[34] Although tracking has proven to be contentious among some educators, about 60 percent of US and Canadian veterinary schools engage in full or partial tracking of students—and there are increased calls for full tracking by some North American veterinary medical education organizations.[35][36] Some scholars and thinkers have argued that enhanced tracking should be linked to "limited licensure," or granting veterinarians to practice veterinary medicine only in the species or specialty in which they were trained.[35][37]
Unlike human medicine, almost no veterinary medical education regimes require students to enroll in an internship and/or residency upon graduation. However, internships and residencies are often required for veterinarians seeking board certification in Canada, Europe and the US.[38]
Lecture and rote learning are two of the most common teaching methods used in veterinary medical education.[39] To a lesser degree, outcome-based education[40] and discovery learning are also common pedagogical approaches. Inquiry-based learning is also sometimes used.[41] In the last two decades, problem-based learning has been adopted in most veterinary schools in developed countries, especially those in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and Western Europe.[42]