Dean Clarke recently participated in a meeting of the North American Veterinary Medical Educational Consortium (NAVMEC) in Kansas City, where he presented novel concepts for veterinary medical education. This meeting was the second of three national meetings designed to develop a strategy for the future of veterinary medical education. Principles underlying Dr. Clarke’s presentation included the following:
- Veterinary education must be made more affordable for students and less reliant on state appropriations.
- To be effective and efficient, pre-clinical and clinical instruction should be informed by research indicating that adults learn best in experiential, student-centered teaching environments that are relevant to their vocational interests.
- Irrespective of the specific career direction, all students must develop an understanding of comparative biology and the cognitive skills necessary for solving clinical problems.
- To allow graduates to achieve entry-level competency in a selected field of practice, students should be provided sufficient time and opportunity to learn and practice the necessary knowledge and skills relevant to their particular interests.
- Opportunity must be provided for re-training for veterinarians who decide to change career direction after graduation.
Organized by the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, NAVMEC brings together representatives from academia, private and corporate practice, animal health foundations, state and federal agencies, and accrediting and licensing bodies to create a roadmap for meeting the changing expectations of society. Topics of primary interest included the high educational debt of veterinary graduates, budgetary factors influencing the cost of delivering veterinary education, opportunities presented by developments in distance learning and collaboration among veterinary colleges, and the importance of hands-on clinical training.
Click here for more information on the NACMEC meeting.
