From Osler to Olafson. The evolution of veterinary pathology in North America.
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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) (+info)
Veterinary medicine and the medical school library.
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The study of veterinary medicine is becoming increasingly important in the progress of human medicine, and as a consequence the literature of veterinary medicine is assuming increased importance in the libraries of schools of human medicine. In the past decade programs in comparative medicine have been initiated in many centers, reestablishing the linkage between veterinary and human medicine. Since 1966 the National Library of Medicine has assumed extra responsibilities in the collection and control of veterinary medical literature. increased indexing has thus far been the major result, with a resultant increase in the need to consult veterinary journals. Advances in the veterinary curriculum and continued veterinary education have also increased demand for veterinary publications. Such demand must be foreseen and met by medical school libraries if they are to fulfill their obligations to the scholarly medical community. (+info)
Bovine papular stomatitis incidence in veterinary students.
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Five cases of probable bovine papular stomatitis in faculty and students in a university veterinary clinic precipitated an intensive surveillance program. A senior class of veterinary medical students was questioned at the beginning of their clinical training to determine their history of exposure to cattle and presence of lesions resembling bovine papular stomatitis. Fifty-nine of the 115 students reported having had their hands in the mouths of cattle frequently. One of the 59 had experienced a hand lesion resembling bovine papular stomatitis. This class was maintained under close surveillance for bovine papular stomatitis-like lesions during the final 12 months of their clinical experience in veterinary school. One case developed in 8483 person days spent in the three high risk areas of beef cattle service, dairy cattle service and large animal anesthesiology. These two bovine papular stomatitis cases compare in frequency with five class members who had been vaccinated as a result of exposure to rabid animals and two class members with brucella antibodies in their sera. The findings suggest bovine papular stomatitis infections are not unusual in veterinary students but the mild clinical manifestations make the condition relatively unimportant. (+info)
EPIZOO: software for veterinary epidemiology training and problem-solving.
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Described is a computer software package, EPIZOO, which has been developed specifically for undergraduate and postgraduate education, self-training, problem-solving, and simulation studies in veterinary epidemiology. The program is based on action-oriented animal population health/disease analyses and programming. EPIZOO runs on IBM-compatible personal computers and can be used for any animal population diseases, including those transmissible to man. The software comprises an integral system of selected indicators contained in twelve modules, with about 200 widely applicable methods used in epizootiology. It is user-friendly and includes general methods related to the following: animal population characteristics of health/disease importance; analysis of animal population health and disease situations, structures, dynamics, diagnoses, and consequences; preparation, cost, and evaluation of animal population health programmes; and selected statistical techniques. (+info)
Writing across the curriculum: putting theory into practice in animal science courses.
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Founded on the premise that "learning to write" and "writing to learn" are parallel processes, Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) programs advocate the use of writing activities to enhance learning in subject matter courses across the university curriculum. Application of WAC theory to creating assignments and evaluating writing in undergraduate animal science courses is the primary focus of this paper. Although a variety of writing-to-learn activities are promoted by WAC programs, this discussion is confined to reader-based, applied or real-world assignments completed by students outside the classroom. Writing assignments of this type are effective learning tools because they guide students toward appropriate information, language, and organization, present writing as communication, not artifact, and allow students to see how classroom study of concepts can be applied to the real world. Additionally, they provide opportunity for feedback during the writing process. Although considerable effort is required to create such writing assignments and to design evaluation and grading strategies that will provide constructive feedback, animal science teachers have a responsibility to provide students with expanded opportunities for improving critical thinking and communication skills. Sharing writing assignments, like the ones included in this paper, is one way to accomplish these objectives while minimizing aggregate faculty effort. (+info)
Communication across the curriculum in animal science.
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The growing movement toward the integration of communications in science-based courses has been taken to the heart of the curriculum at Berea College. New college-wide general education requirements initiated a review of student abilities, departmental expectations, and the use of writing and speaking skills in all courses. Agriculture graduates require highly developed reading and speaking skills as well as fundamental control of language to succeed in industry today. Depending only on the English department to teach students writing and speaking skills can lead to graduates ill-prepared for communication in their chosen profession. The inclusion of communication skills in an animal science course not only improves such skills, but it also increases the ability of students to apply and use animal science concepts. The benefits of broadening the teaching curriculum to include reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills can provide improved academic achievement, attitude, confidence levels, and self-images. Students can become active participants rather than note-takers. Curriculum changes of such magnitude require faculty development opportunities and administrative support. (+info)
Teaching animal science: education or indoctrination?
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Traditional animal science curricula ignore sociological aspects of scientific research and therefore portray scientific knowledge as value-free. This view gives rise to a teaching method that involves imparting lists of scientific facts that are to be accepted by students without critical evaluation. This amounts to little more than indoctrination and misrepresents science as a system of knowledge. An alternative approach is based on the view that science is a creative human activity that reflects the values and biases of its practitioners. The goal of this approach is to teach students to think analytically and to make independent judgments about scientific claims. This requires a scientific literacy: an understanding of principal scientific theories, the nature of scientific research, and the relationship between science and society. To achieve this goal, a teacher must become less of an authority figure, whose role is to simply pass on information, and more of a facilitator, whose role is to promote questioning, exploration, and synthesis. This requires a learning community in which students feel comfortable taking risks and develop the courage to make and defend judgments. This teaching approach enhances the intellectual and ethical development of students, allowing them to serve themselves and society in responsible ways. (+info)
Ecosystem health as a clinical rotation for senior students in Canadian veterinary schools.
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We describe 4 years of an experimental rotation in ecosystem health offered to senior veterinary students in Canada. Faculty from the 4 Canadian veterinary colleges collaborated in offering the rotation once annually at 1 of the colleges. The 1st rotation was held in Guelph in 1993, followed in successive years by rotations at Saskatoon, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Charlottetown. The rotation is a predominantly field-based experience that allows students to work with veterinary and other role models who are actively engaged in clinical research related to ecosystem health. Five specific field studies that worked particularly well during the rotations are presented. These studies involved investigating mortality in wildlife due to botulism, designing an environmental surveillance system around herds of beef cattle, using belugas to evaluate the health of the St. Lawrence River, dealing with competition for water use by aquaculture and agriculture, and exploring the role of veterinarians during major coastal oil spills. The experience has resulted in our developing the subject matter, field examples, teaching approach, and confidence necessary to make ecosystem health the focus of a productive clinical rotation for senior year veterinary students. (+info)