The design and evolution of the curriculum for veterinary education and training involves choices about the methods employed to meet teaching objectives. Ensuring that these tools and approaches are the most appropriate requires clarity on teaching objectives and an awareness of developments in technology, educational practice and ethics. Harmful animal use, including animal experimentation and the dissection of purpose-killed animals, continues to be employed in some practical classes. However, innovative and fully humane methods – ‘alternatives’ – are now widely available and have been implemented in many university departments to achieve replacement and to enhance the acquisition of knowledge and skills. This transition reflects a growing commitment to best practice, recognition of the advantages of alternatives, and an appreciation of the need for efficient methods that can meet the demand for competence upon graduation.
Students and trainees can now learn through the use of a wide range of ethical tools and approaches. The non-animal tools include traditional and 3D-printed models; video and animations; virtual laboratories for physiology and pharmacology classes; virtual reality software and advanced synthetic cadavers, organs and tissue for hands-on clinical skills and surgery training; and scenario-based simulated clinics for classes including internal medicine and clinical pharmacology. The ethical approaches comprise work with animals, but with zero harm, or a positive impact on the individuals involved. They include supervised clinical learning opportunities with animal patients, and client donation programs to provide ethically sourced animal cadavers.
In this presentation, these methods are explored in detail, with a focus on teaching objectives. Some of the myths and misunderstandings concerning animal use will be uncovered and explained, and the lessons of the hidden curriculum identified. The interconnection between animal welfare education and alternatives is described, and their broader pedagogical, scientific, ethical, economic and environmental advantages are addressed.
Case studies of the development and implementation of these humane innovations are provided from university departments and producers at the forefront of progressive change in veterinary education and training. They are illustrated using footage from the new InterNICHE documentary film series DVM: Training the Animal Doctor. Through interviews, demos and student labs, the film demonstrates the feasibility of full replacement of harmful animal use across all disciplines. The impact of this curricular transformation is described for students, educators, the animals, the veterinary profession, and society itself. The presentation will show that such tools and approaches are often no longer considered ‘alternative’, but the norm.
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