CIVME Summer 2020

Fifth Award Cycle for CIVME Grant Programs Commences

The Council on International Veterinary Medical Education (CIVME) is accepting grant proposals for the fifth annual cycle of the CIVME Funding Program, which supports projects that promote international collaboration in veterinary medical education. Total project budgets should not exceed $10,000 and are limited to a maximum duration period of 24 months. The application deadline is January 29, 2021 at 11 a.m. EST.

Preference will be given to applications that represent collaborative efforts among institutions and across regions. Potential applicants interested in collaboration but lacking partners are invited to contact CIVME at CIVME-grant@aavmc.org for assistance.

Proposals will be evaluated on criteria that include relevance, impact, fit with CIVME goals, feasibility, risk analysis, and others. Funded proposals will be announced during the AAVMC’s annual conference in March 2021 and in other communications.

The Council on International Veterinary Medical Education (CIVME) is an AAVMC initiative that seeks to promote and share best practices in veterinary medical education around the world.

The council promotes:

  • Communication and collaboration that advances international veterinary medical education
  • Collaboration among educational researchers
  • Dissemination of innovations and other educational advances among international members

For detailed information and application instructions, click here.

MSD Animal Health Expands Support, Again Partners with AAVMC on Global Antimicrobial Resistance Education Program

MSD Animal Health  is again partnering with the AAVMC on an international grant program created to help mitigate the global public health problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). MSD has doubled its commitment and is funding two $10,000 grants focused on global AMR education.

Administered through the AAVMC’s Council on International Veterinary Medical Education (CIVME), the MSD Animal Health CIVME Antimicrobial Stewardship Grant program (ASGP) seeks to improve instructional programs related to AMR in educational institutions around the world. The program is currently in its second year following the successful launch in 2019.

“We’re proud to partner with MSD Animal Health again on this promising and sustainable program focused on education, and we appreciate their increased investment in success,” said AAVMC CEO Dr. Andrew T. Maccabe. “Training students and professionals around the world about the scope of this critical problem, the consequences of inaction, and responsible therapeutic practices is an important step forward in mitigating this problem.”

The grant program goal is focused on building networks and using communication technology to increase awareness, share ideas, and support innovative approaches to improving veterinary medical education at universities around the world.

“Our company recognizes the critical importance of sound antibiotic stewardship and supports the responsible use of antibiotics to improve and maintain the health of animals,” said Elzo M. Kannekens, DVM, Director of Global Public Policy and Multilateral Affairs, MSD Animal Health. “Antibiotics are life-saving veterinary products that treat bacterial infections in both companion and food-producing animals. Their use in veterinary medicine also benefits humans by reducing the spread of disease between animals and humans and by helping facilitate a safe, efficient and sustainable food supply. We believe in taking a ‘one health’ holistic approach to the well-being of humans and animals, which includes using vaccines for the prevention of diseases. We are proud to partner with CIVME to bring forward this international grant program focused on mitigating the global public health problem of antimicrobial resistance.”

The grant program focuses on antibiotic stewardship and emphasizes disease prevention through improved vaccination protocols. Keeping more animals free from infectious disease through immunizations will reduce the amount of antimicrobial agents required to treat sick animals.

The grant program  encourages multi-university collaborations on a global scale. Total project budgets should not exceed $10,000 and will be awarded for a maximum period of 24 months. Projects are expected to align with one or more criteria that advance CIVME’s mission and convincingly promote international collaboration in veterinary medical education. Indirect costs are not considered.

The deadline for grant submission is January 29, 2021. Recipients will be informed in March 2021. For more information about the program, please email: civme-grant@aavmc.org.

For information on how to submit your application, please visit the MSD CIVME Grant page.  


Project Update from CIVME Grant: Learning Outcomes in Shelter Medicine (cont.)


Development of internationally relevant learning outcomes for undergraduate and postgraduate study in shelter medicine

Jenny Stavisky1, Rachel Dean2, Brittany Watson3, Ruth van der Leij4 and Ruth Serlin5

1. University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, UK; 2. Vet Partners; 3. University of Pennsylvania, USA; 4. Utrecht University, The Netherlands; 5. Royal Veterinary College, London, UK

– A manuscript of this work has been accepted for publication in JVME –

An international team of veterinarians has come together to develop a list of learning outcomes (LOs) for use in training veterinary practitioners in shelter medicine. The project was funded by a $5000 grant from CIVME, which enabled the authors to physically meet for two days of intensive analysis drafting an article based on the final data set, and to pay for open access publication fees.

The study, a collaboration between the University of Nottingham, Royal Veterinary College, Utrecht University and University of Pennsylvania, used a Delphi format to harness expertise of existing practitioners and educators in shelter medicine. Shelter medicine has been a clinical specialty in the USA since 2014. It is a growing area of practice in many locations worldwide, and there is an increasing appetite for its inclusion in the veterinary curriculum , as evidenced by the strong recommendation by the International Veterinary Students’ Association (IVSA 2017).

An initial round was used to gather existing resources from shelter medicine teaching programs. The LOs were divided into five domains, modelled on the DACUM statement describing the formation of shelter medicine as a specialty (Bachman, Baldwin et al. 2007). These domains were Shelter Animal Physical Health; Shelter Animal Behavioral Health; Shelter Management; Public Health, Community Medicine and Public Policy; and Shelter Medicine Principles.

The LOs were then checked for overlap, refined, and then re-presented in two rounds of online surveys to panellists from across the globe. Panellists were primarily shelter medicine educators, but many held other or additional roles, including academic, shelter practitioner and non-governmental organizations. In both survey rounds panellists were asked to suggest amendments, and to score each LO on to what extend they believed it should be included in a shelter medicine curriculum. In the first round, panellists were also invited to suggest new LOs, and these were included in second round voting. Where >80% of panellists agreed or strongly agreed a LO should be included, it was considered accepted.

The final document contains 102 agreed learning outcomes, which will be made freely available to educators across the globe. The 30 LOs which did not reach the threshold of consensus were also included in the publication. Shelter medicine is a discipline of some diversity, and there are geographical variations in which areas or topics are of higher priority. For example, in regions with large populations of free-roaming animals, the focus may be very different from areas where there are large numbers of animals housed in shelters. For that reason, we felt that including LOs which were less widely applicable to all, but which might be extremely useful to some members of the shelter medicine education community, was an essential step.

We did not divide the LOs into those more suited to preregistration/ undergraduate versus specialist/ postgraduate education. This was a matter of considerable debate between the authors. Eventually, we decided that the diversity of both shelter medicine as a discipline, and of veterinary education worldwide, meant that we felt unable to reliably identify such a division at this stage. It is likely that in the future, as the discipline is more widely established in teaching, this will prove a useful and indeed necessary step.

We thank CIVME for supporting this project. We anticipate the LOs can be used to develop curricular coverage of critical shelter medicine concepts for all veterinary practitioners. As well as this piece of work, which we hope will be helpful to other veterinary faculties, practitioners and educators, it has enabled us to form an effective team of shelter medicine educators and has been a valuable and enjoyable experience for us all.

Bachman, R., et al. (2007). DACUM Research Chart for Shelter Medicine Specialist. DACUM. Ohio.

IVSA (2017, 2017). “International Veterinary Students’ Association Policy Paper on Shelter Medicine.” from http://www.ivsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Shelter-medicine-policy-paper_GA-7.docx.pdf.


Collaborative Development of a Shared Framework for Competency-Based Veterinary Education (cont.)

Susan M. Matthew ■ Harold G.J. Bok ■ Kristin P. Chaney ■ Emma K. Read ■
Jennifer L. Hodgson ■ Bonnie R. Rush ■ Stephen A. May ■ S. Kathleen Salisbury ■ Jan E. Ilkiw ■ Jody S. Frost ■ Laura K. Molgaard

ABSTRACT

Competency-based medical education is an educational innovation implemented in health professions worldwide as a means to ensure graduates meet patient and societal needs.The focus on student-centered education and programmatic outcomes offers a series of benefits to learners, institutions and society. However, efforts to establish a shared, comprehensive competency-based framework in veterinary education have lagged.This article reports on the development and outcome of a competency-based veterinary education (CBVE) framework created through multi-institutional collaboration with international input from veterinary educators and veterinary educational leaders.The CBVE Framework is designed to reflect the competencies expected of new graduates from member institutions of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC).

The CBVE Framework consists of nine domains of competence and 32 competencies, each supplemented with illustrative sub-competencies to guide veterinary schools in implementing competency-based education in their local context.The nine domains of competence are: clinical reasoning and decision-making; individual animal care and management; animal population care and management; public health; communication; collaboration; professionalism and professional identity; financial and practice management; and scholarship. Developed through diverse input to facilitate broad adoption, the CBVE Framework provides the foundation for competency-based curricula and outcomes assessment in veterinary education internationally.We believe that other groups seeking to design a collective product for broad adoption might find useful the methods used to develop the CBVE Framework, including establishing expertise diversity within a small-to-medium size working group, soliciting progressive input and feedback from stakeholders, and engaging in consensus building and critical reflection throughout the development process.

See the full article.


Southeastern Veterinary Education Consortium (cont.)

Recognizing that veterinary faculty are often not trained as professional teachers, SEVEC hosts a VetEd Bootcamp annually to develop teaching skills of junior faculty. They also hold monthly online journal clubs and in-person and online seminars covering topics ranging from active learning to research to online education. The group has been particularly active during the COVID-19 pandemic in sharing best practices for online learning and assessment, as well as providing much-appreciated interaction with colleagues during social distancing.

This year’s bootcamp, hosted virtually by North Carolina State University July 20-21, focused on assessment-traditional, online, and clinical with many break-out sessions and workshops for attendees to apply new skills. Dr. Kent Hecker (University of Calgary) provided the keynote address, discussing the special challenges of online assessment. The Bootcamp also sponsored a mini-grant contest for collaborative research funding in veterinary education. First prize was won by Phillipa Gibbons of Lincoln Memorial University for development and validation of an bovine caesarian section model. Second place was garnered by Stacey Fox-Alvarez of the University of Florida for an educator peer-review process.

SEVEC, founded in 2019, embodies the collegial nature of veterinary medical educators and sets a great example of the cooperation that can take place across institutions to further the field and improve the future of the veterinary profession through faculty education. For more information on SEVEC, visit their website at sevec.vet.


CIVME Member Spotlight (cont.)

Hussein El-Maghraby – Benha University, Egypt

Hussein El-Maghraby is currently the Vice President of Education and Students Affairs, Benha University, Egypt and a Professor of Veterinary Surgery, Anesthesiology and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Hussein was also appointed in the period between Sep. 2018 – March 2019 as an Acting President of Benha University, Egypt. Hussein has been a long-standing member of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Higher Education and Student Affairs that regulates and monitors higher education in Egypt.

As a Vice President of Education, he leads, supervises and monitors many committees and centers in Benha University that enhance its education policies and target its strategic directions such as: Program Development Committee, Higher Development Committee, Strategic Planning Center, Central Electronic Examinations Center, Assessment and Measurement Center and Quality Assurance and Accreditation Center. In addition, Hussein has been deeply involved in the development of Higher Education in the Middle East during the last 15 years.

In 2011, Hussein earned a Graduate Certificate of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education, from Melbourne University, Australia. Since then, he has been engaged in the establishment and monitoring of Quality Assurance and Accreditation Systems in Egypt and Saudi Arabia Universities. He also chaired many accreditation site visits in Egypt and Saudi Arabia in the field of veterinary medicine and other related fields.

Between 2008-2018, Hussein worked as a Consultant of Development, Quality and Accreditation in Saudi Arabia Universities. He overtaken several roles including an Executive Director of the Development and Quality Deanship (Al Jouf University and Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz University-Saudi Arabia), Consultant and Trainer in the National Commission of Academic Assessment and Accreditation (NCAAA, Saudi Arabia), Consultant of QA and Accreditation (Islamic University & Alsharq University -Saudi Arabia).

In 2008, Hussein was certified as an International Certified Trainer and Human Resources Consultant (IBCT). Since taken this role, he conducted more than 200 training programs in many of the Arab Universities in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Areas of expertise included Teaching and Assessment Strategies, Curriculum Development, Strategic Planning, Program and Course Development, Quality Systems, Research Methodologies and Scientific Publishing and many other related topics.

During the last 15 years, Hussein had been appointed in a variety of developmental positions in the veterinary medicine sector in Egypt and Middle East including: Member of the Strategic Planning Committee for Veterinary sector (Egypt), Higher Scientific Promotion Committee in the Supreme Council of Universities- Egypt, Executive Director of Project Management Unit (Benha University), Member of National Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (Egypt), and many other scientific committee.

Hussein earned his PhD in veterinary sciences under the mutual supervision with the University of California – Davis. In undergraduate program, he taught Veterinary Surgery and Radiology with particular focus on Ophthalmology and Ultrasonography. He established the First Veterinary Diagnostic Unit in Egypt since 2005. In the graduate level, Hussein supervised 12 graduate students (MVSc, PHD). He published over thirty scientific articles in the field of Veterinary Surgery, Radiology and Anesthesiology in international and national Journals. Moreover, Hussein is the author of 5 textbooks.