Veterinary Education in Europe

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Veterinary Education in Europe

• Marcel Wanner

European Association of Establishments for
Veterinary Education
Institute of Animal Nutrition University of Zurich
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Content

• EAEVE
• EU Legislation governing Veterinary Training
• The Bologna Declaration
• Changes and Problems

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EAEVE
European Association of Establishments for
Veterinary Education Association Européenne des
Etablissements dEnseignemen Vétérinaire
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Europe
Countries Population in Million National Languages
46 710 gt 50
27 494 23
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EAEVE Objectives
European Association of Establishments for
Veterinary Education
Founded in Alfort (F) on May 27th, 1988
The objective shall be - to promote and develop
veterinary education - to reinforce co-operation
between establishments for higher education in
veterinary science - to act as forum for
discussion of matters for veterinary education
in order to improve and harmonize education - to
manage the European System of Evaluation of
Veterinary Training, based on the mandate given
by the Commission of the European Community
www.eaeve.org
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Members
Group 1 UK 7, Ireland 1, The Nethelands 1 Group
2 Spain 10, Portugal 5 Group 3 Italy 13, Greece
2, Albania 1, Israel 1, Romania 4 Group 4 France
4, Belgium 2 Group 5 Germany 5, Austria 1,
Switzerland 1 Group 6 Denmark 1, Norway 1,
Sweden 1, Finland 1, Estonia 1, Latvia 1,
Lithunania 1 Group 7 Slovak Republic 1, Czech
Republic 2, Hungary 1, Slovenia 1, Poland
4, Croatia 1 Group 8 Bosnia-Herzegovina 1,
Yugoslavia 1, Macedonia 1, Bulgaria 2,
Ukraine 2, Turkey 11, Serbia 1
In total 94 member establishments in 35
countries with 32 different national
languages
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The EC-Directive 2005/36
Directive of the European Parliament and of the
Council on the recognition of professional
qualifications
Section 5 Veterinary Surgeons Article 38 The
training of veterinary surgeons
The training of vet surgeons shall comprise a
total of at least five years of full-time
theoretical and practical study at a university
or at a higher institute providing training
recognised as being of an equivalent level,
or under the supervision of a university covering
at least the study programme referred to in the
Annex V, point 5.4.1
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Study Programme (I)
The programme of studies shall include at least
the following subjects

• Basic subjects
• - Physics
• - Chemistry
• - Animal biology
• - Plant biology
• - Biomathematics

Directive 2005/36/EC
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Study Programme (II)
B. Specific subjects a. Basic sciences - Anatomy
(including histology and embryology) -
Physiology - Biochemistry - Genetics -
Pharmacology - Pharmacy - Toxicology -
Microbiology - Immunology - Epidemiology -
Professional ethics
Directive 2005/36/EC
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Study Programme (III)
B. Specific subjects b. Clinical sciences -
Obstetrics - Pathology (including pathological
anatomy) - Parasitology - Clinical medicine and
surgery (including anaesthetics) - Clinical
lectures on the various domestic animals, poultry
and other animal species - Preventive
medicine - Radiology - Reproduction and
reproductive disorders - Veterinary state
medicine and public health - Veterinary
legislation and forensic medicine -
Therapeutics - Propaedeutics
Directive 2005/36/EC
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Study Programme (IV)
B. Specific subjects c. Animal Production -
Animal production - Animal nutrition -
Agronomy - Rural economics - Veterinary
hygiene - Animal ethology and protection
d. Food hygiene - Inspection and control of
animal foodstuffs or foodstuffs of animal
origin - Food hygiene and technology -
Practical work (including practical work in
places where slaugthering and processing
of foodstuffs takes place
Directive 2005/36/EC
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Balanced and Coordinated
The distribution of the theoretical and practical
training among the various groups of subjects
shall be balanced and coordinated in such a way
that the knowledge and experience may be acquired
in a manner which will enable veterinary surgeons
to perform all their duties.

• Omnicompetent omnipotent new graduates

Directive 2005/36/EC
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Day-One Skills

• Evaluation more focused on the day one skills
• of the graduates

A new graduate should be a veterinary surgeon
capable of entering all commonly-recognised
branches of the profession immediately on
graduation or being capable of undergoing further
training for them by established procedures or
after a generally-accepted period of practical
experience.
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Essential Competences at Graduation
List of recommended essential competences at
graduation
A General professional skills and attributes B
Underpinning knowledge and understanding C
Practical competences - at the point of
graduation - following an extended period of
training in practice
www.eaeve.org
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The Evaluation System
Principles and Process of Evaluation (2007)

• The main stages are
• Preparation of a self-evaluation report by the
  vet institution
• Visit to the institution by a group of experts
• Preparation of a report on the visit by the
  group of experts
• Review of the experts report
• Decision by the Joint Education Committee

Delegates of the EAEVE and the FVE
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Self Evaluation Report

• Objectives
• Organisation
• Finance
• Curriculum
• 5. Teaching, quality and evaluation
• 6. Facilities and equipment
• 7. Animals and teaching material of animal origin
• 8. Library and learning ressources
• 9. Admission and enrolment
• 10. Academic and support staff
• 11. Continuing education
• 12. Postgraduate Training
• 13. Research

www.eaeve.org
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Evaluation
94 member establishments ? 50 evaluated

• 44 approved
• the establishment fulfills the minimum
  compulsory
• requirements for all EU Member States (Directive
  2005/36/EC)

? 7 Visited but failing to meet all of the
requirements institutions with so-called
category 1 deficiencies
Major objective of the evaluation system to
help the veterinary education establishments
to improve the quality of their training
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Category 1 Deficiencies
The clinical training has been the major weakness
of veterinary education in Europe over the last
15 years!

• Insufficient caseload
• No isolation facilities for infected animals
• Poor clinical training
• No mobile clinic
• Institutions must have a mobile clinic for
  farm animals
• so that students can practice veterinary
  medicine on the
• farm under expert supervision
• Lack of an emergency service
• Clinical and hospital facilities must operate
  day and night
• for most of the year i.e. like a normal
  practice
• ? No Acces to a farm
• No Acces to a slaughterhouse

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A Special Problem
Pig medicine
Local education for a global or at least European
market
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Future a Two Stage Approach
The new evaluation system First
stage evaluation if the faculty conforms to
the Directive 2005/36/EEC Second stage
certification/accreditation
Full transparency of the results of the
evaluation system
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Certification / Accreditation
Second stage Control of the quality managment
system of the faculty

• The faculty shall prove to have
• relevant methods for quality control of
  training,
• assessment and learning opportunities
• a sustainable system for quality assurance
• a plan for quality enhancement

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The Common Goal
The common goal of EAEVE and FVE improvement of
veterinary training
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Bologna Declaration
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The Bologna Declaration of 19 June 1999
Joint Declaration of the European Ministers of
Education (signed currently by 45 European States)
... we engage in co-ordinating our policies to
reach in in short term, and in any case within
the first decade of the third millenium, the
following objectives, which we consider to be of
primary relevance in order to establish the
European area of higher education and to
promote the European system of higher education
world-wide
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The Bologna Declaration
? Adoption of a system of easily readable and
comparable degrees (Diploma Supplement) ?
Adoption of a system based on two main cycles ?
Establishment of a system of credits (ECTS) ?
Promotion of mobility for students, teachers,
researchers and administrative staff ?
Promotion of European co-operation in quality
assurance ? Promotion of the necessary European
dimensions in higher education, particularly
with regards to curricular develop- ment,
inter-institutional co-operation, mobility
schemes and integrated programmes of study,
training and research
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Further Objectives

• Prague Communiqué 2001
• Promoting lifelong learning
• Promoting the participation of students in
  shaping the
• European Higher Education Area
• Promoting the attractiveness of the European
  Higher
• Education Area
• Berlin Communiqué 2003
• Inclusion of the doctoral training in the
  Bologna Process

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Bologna Two Cycles
Two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate
First cycle ? Bachelor - lasting a minimum of 3
years - appropriate level of professional
qualification - access to the second cycle
Second cycle ? Master
First cycle ? Bachelor Bonsai
Vet Inconsistent with Directive 2005/36
The labour market needs well trained
veterinarians, there is no need for Bonsai vets!
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EAEVE Education Symposium 2006

• Decisions
• The veterinary study takes at least 5 years
• The Batchelor is an academic qualification and
  has
• no status in terms of professional veterinary
  activity
• 3. The Masters degree (after at least 5 years
  study) is the
• professional degree that confers entitlement
  to
• undertake veterinary acitivities

Bologna Declaration is not based on legally
binding declarations!
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Problems in Veterinary Education
There are too many vet schools in several
countries!
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Urbanisation
The Veterinary Faculties are more and more
downtown - Increasing number of pets as
patients - Rarely farm animals in the clinics -
Larger distances to the farms
How should we teach farm animal medicine ?
Extramural training (farm animal teaching)
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Veterinary Medicine goes Feminine
(Results of a survey done in February 2006 - 64
answers)
What was the percentage rate of graduated females
in 2005 ?
Mean 55 Range 6 94
What was the percentage rate of women beginning
the veterinary study in 2005 ?
Mean 60 Range 1 95
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Occupational Fields
(Results of a survey done in February 2006 - 62
answers)
Question Form an estimate of the occupational
field of the young graduates.
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Omnicompetency ?

• - Veterinary medicine goes feminine
• - Decreasing interest in farm animals
• Increasing interest in pets and horses
• Increasing impact of food hygiene

Consequences ?
Omnicompetency Omnipotency
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Tracking
Bologna Process
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Veterinarians as Teachers
We need more young veterinarians for the
academic career!
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Finances
(Fig www.hanisauland.de)
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General Aspects

• Veterinary medicine Academic study ?
  Apprenticeship
• Academic teaching Research based transfer of
  knowledge
• and skills and of doubt
• Veterinary medical education must prepare
  veterinarians
• for what might come in the future, not just
  for what can be
• seen now (Willis, 2007).

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Thank You for Your Attention