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Public-Health Training for Veterinarians |
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ABSTRACT |
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 TOP ABSTRACT BACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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The purpose of the project is to create materials that teach students food safety from farm to fork, and it offers teachers clinically relevant teaching resources that are difficult to create or locate. The educational materials are being created as smaller "building blocks" of content, commonly referred to as "learning objects" (LOs), focused on individual learning objectives. These learning objects are placed in the Veterinary Food Safety Education Learning Object Repository, where they are catalogued, stored, and kept accessible and where faculty can search, evaluate, and download teaching materials to use in their courses. In this way the learning objects can be more easily shared and reused or repurposed for other courses and applications. With this article we hope to excite faculty in veterinary schools and public-health programs and encourage them to use the repository and participate in piloting the educational materials.
Key Words: food safety • distance education • e-learning • public safety
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BACKGROUND |
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TOPABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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As Nielsen has stated, "agriculture bears significant responsibility for the health of both humankind and nature."2 Veterinary medicine plays a critical role in ensuring the present and future public, economic, and environmental health of the world's population.3 The veterinary profession safeguards public health by controlling zoonotic diseases and infectious agents transmissible through the food chain. This vital societal role has been neglected far too long. The Pew National Veterinary Education Program has highlighted the need for a stronger veterinary role within the food animal industry and the educational system to support it;4 similarly, according to the American Association of Food Hygiene Veterinarians (AAFHV),
Continued failure to recognize and teach the importance of food safety and its relationship to public health will produce veterinarians with severely limited awareness and expertise in these areas of public health. The inevitable situation described poses increased risk to consumers because the threat of food-borne diseases to public health will go increasingly unrecognized by unprepared practitioners.5
The need for increased emphasis on training in food safety in the veterinary curriculum has been recognized by the USDA, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), the AAFHV, and the National Institute for Animal Agriculture.1,5–7 Recently a bill in the House of Representatives, the Veterinary Workforce Expansion Act, and a companion Senate bill have been introduced that would provide $1.5 billion over the next 10 years to expand the size of veterinary schools and increase the number of veterinarians trained in public health and biomedical research.8
Academic institutions are looking for ways to pool resources, share costs, and share expertise. This article describes an integrative approach to provide creative and engaging teaching resources for veterinary faculty that convey the important role veterinary medicine plays in assuring the safety of our nation's food supply. Currently in its second year of development, the USDA-funded project Design to Dissemination (D2D): Developing Materials and Repository for Integrative Veterinary Food Safety Education involves expert teachers and experts in the disciplines of microbiology, food science, food-production medicine, epidemiology, and public health. The products of this project will amplify and expand expertise by sharing experts and good teaching material with faculty and students across all 28 US veterinary schools, at international veterinary schools, and in other related disciplines and schools internationally.
The D2D project is a collaboration of three "content" partners: the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine (UW) provides distance-education expertise, University of Georgia Center for Food Safety (UGA) contributes its basic microbiology expertise, and Texas A&M University College of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences (TAMU) brings clinical experience and perspective. Faculty collaborators from these three institutions, as well as from the University of California—Davis, Colorado State University, and Iowa State University, participate as content experts, reviewers, and pilot testers. We also have a technical partner, the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), that provides customization, maintenance, and upkeep of the educational materials database. This database facilitates administration, communication, development, evaluation, and dissemination of the products of the project.
The purpose of the D2D project is to collect and create materials that teach students about the agents of disease, their pathophysiology and epidemiology, aspects of food production that affect food safety (and vice versa), and the overall effect of agents of disease and food-safety measures on public health. As a result, faculty will have access to clinically relevant materials; virtual field trips to food-production operations such as feedlots, poultry farms, slaughterhouses, and processing plants; and case-based learning exercises in which students apply and solidify the principles they have learned. Faculty will thus be able to augment their courses and curriculums with materials they lack to provide veterinary students with a broad-based, comprehensive foundation in food safety. To this end, the project's objectives are
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METHODOLOGY |
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TOPABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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Learning objects may be small or large resources, from tiny bits of information (e.g., images) to whole lessons. For our purposes, we have adapted the schema used by one of our partners, the UTMB, to group LOs into four categories:
To ensure that D2D products meet the needs of schools of veterinary medicine in particular, we conducted an initial needs assessment and environmental scan. US and Canadian veterinary schools were surveyed to identify topics and concepts that faculty felt would be most beneficial to incorporate in shared teaching resources. The results showed the need for LOs that cover the basics of the disease agents and pathophysiology of the diseases in animals; introduce and review the concepts of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP); offer virtual tours of relevant food-production operations; and provide problem-based epidemiological cases for students to work through.
Our collaborating faculty members include expert teachers and experts in the disciplines of microbiology, food science, food-production medicine, epidemiology, and public health. Addressing the findings of the needs assessment, we are developing LOs that are interactive, learner centered, and clinically relevant, integrating all aspects of the major food-borne diseases of animal origin. As mentioned above, these LOs will teach students about agents of disease and their pathophysiology and epidemiology; aspects of food production that affect food safety, and vice versa; and the overall effect of agents of disease and food-safety measures on public health. They will include clinically relevant materials; virtual field trips to food-production operations; and case-based learning exercises. With these materials, faculty will be able to augment their courses and curricula as needed to provide veterinary students with a broad-based, comprehensive foundation in food safety.
Some of the LOs that we are developing offer opportunities for students to work through problems, thereby learning and practicing new skills. Case studies provide a process of participatory learning that facilitates active and reflective learning and results in the development of critical thinking and effective problem-solving skills.10 Smith et al., reporting on how students perceived the use of case studies in a basic microbiology course, state that 237 of the 340 students considered it either "one of the most useful parts of the course" or "very helpful"; 123 students indicated that they liked how cases helped them to learn, think about, or apply course concepts; 128 students described how cases allowed them to see the real-world relevance of course concepts, and 79 reported that the case studies made the course concepts more interesting or more engaging.11 While case-based learning is not new, the use of interactive multimedia distance-learning platforms provides more realistic, iterative case simulations that allow students to act and react as new information about the situation becomes available. Cases can also be used to provide multiple perspectives and to create a "need to know." A major advantage of online case simulations is that they can guide the learner by introducing didactic instruction in direct response to any student impasse during an attempt to work through a case.
These LOs can be reused in a variety of settings, minimizing development time and maximizing learning effectiveness. The modular design of the learning materials affords faculty the flexibility to incorporate aspects of their curriculum that are missing or in need of strengthening in their existing programs. It also allows faculty from different institutions and disciplines to "mix and match" the pieces that fit into their curriculum. The LOs can also be used for various educational purposes: as part of face-to-face credit courses or online courses, as a package of modules for continuing-education credit, or for review by students for national boards. While our target audience is primarily veterinary students, the products of this project could also be used by other disciplines.
D2D: Food Safety Education focuses on teaching improvements in veterinary medicine. The professional (DVM) curriculum clearly needs strengthening in food-safety education, but mid-career food-animal practitioners are another potential audience. Commonly, such practitioners are looking for new opportunities and challenges and have a wealth of practical knowledge about on-farm food safety. Online continuing-education courses or entire graduate programs overcome the barriers of time, location, and financing, making it feasible for such individuals to re-tool and join the food-safety workforce. The educational products developed by the D2D project could be used in such courses and programs, as well as for master's and baccalaureate students in disciplines related to food production and food safety.
Objective 2: To provide easy access to the materials.
We are collaborating with the UTMB to adapt the LO database developed as part of their Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) grant. We are using this three-part database will be used to track the development, use and evaluation, and administration of the LOs. In an effort to provide easy access to the educational materials, we have created the Veterinary Food Safety Education Learning Object Repository,a where the LOs are available to institutions to incorporate into their curricula as they see fit. Here LOs are catalogued, stored, and made accessible so that faculty can search, evaluate, and download teaching materials to use in their courses.
All D2D LOs are designed so students can use them independently and faculty can pick and choose the pieces they want and integrate them into their own courses. The LOs can also be packaged into continuing education for veterinarians. The repository is accessible to faculty in other disciplines as well.
Every person who decides to download a LO will be asked to fill out a user survey. Participants must first register on the Web site (an automated process) and fill out the survey before they can download any LO. The survey captures data on the user's profile (position, employer, computer skills, experience with LOs), as well as the intended use and application of the LO in question. The database then collects data on the frequency of use of LOs by educators and their usability. An automated follow up e-mail is generated by the database two weeks after the LO was to be used, and the user is reminded to evaluate the manner in which the LO was used, the LO's qualities and its effect on any instructional time, any student achievement resulting from the use of the LO, and so on.
As part of the development process, we are adding a utility to the database for peer review of LOs. E-mails will be sent to a predetermined list of peer reviewers when there is an LO to be reviewed; reviewers will be given a URL for the LO and another for the evaluation form to fill out. Reviewers will be automatically reminded every two weeks to review the LO until they have completed the review, or until a minimum of three peer reviewers have completed the evaluation.
Objective 3: To help faculty use learning objects effectively to build or enhance a course.
This is a relatively new type of resource for faculty. To encourage use of the repository and its materials, we are designing a virtual guide for faculty on how to incorporate LOs into their own lesson format to support their individual instructional goals. The guide provides the pedagogical reasons for using LOs, directions on the mechanics of how to build courses using them, and examples of how other faculty have incorporated them into their teaching. The guide also includes a "Tips and Tricks" section that highlights lessons learned by faculty who piloted the LOs and provides examples of ways to use LOs effectively, such as incorporating them into lectures, providing them as resources to students, and using them as the basis for an assignment or discussion.b
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PRODUCTS |
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TOPABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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To date, we have created the repository and collected, created, and published more than 250 Level 1 learning objects. The development of the LOs is an ongoing process, with more being added as they are developed, reviewed, revised, and published to the repository. We are currently working on two Level 4 learning objects: a virtual visit to a beef slaughterhouse and an epidemiological case study of a food-borne disease outbreak.c
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OUTCOMES |
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TOPABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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The Food Safety Education Learning Objects Repository enables faculty in veterinary medicine and others to readily locate food-safety LOs and case-based problem-solving activities available for their instructional use, facilitating the incorporation of food-safety content into new or existing courses. Further, the new repository can serve as a site for food-safety learning objects, case studies, and other instructional materials developed by others, and the customized LO database will facilitate the evaluation of these new materials and their dissemination in the repository.
Finally, to the extent possible given the duration of the grant, we will assess the impact of the LOs and case-based simulations on (1) students’ learning and their possible vocational choice; (2) faculty teaching; and (3) new instructional efforts related to food safety emerging as a result of the availability of instructional materials in the repository.
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DISSEMINATION PLANS |
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TOPABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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CONTINUATION PLAN |
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TOPABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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On a more basic level, the design of this project helps to ensure adoption of the LOs and other learning tools by faculty in other institutions. The collaborating partners were chosen for their interest in and need for Web-based teaching materials and their understanding of the economies of scale to be enjoyed by sharing digital resources. Placing the LOs in a central repository will facilitate adoption by other faculty. The most useful means of enhancing adoption of the products, however, will be to demonstrate their high practical value and their ease of use as part of our dissemination efforts. Evaluating the use and value of the learning materials will provide data on their usefulness and acceptance in addressing existing shortcomings in food-safety education.
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SUMMARY |
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TOPABSTRACTBACKGROUNDMETHODOLOGYPRODUCTSOUTCOMESDISSEMINATION PLANSCONTINUATION PLANSUMMARYREFERENCES |
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Our hope is that the innovative use of flexible, high-quality learning materials, nationally and internationally, will raise the caliber of food-safety education in veterinary schools and other educational settings. Ideally, these interesting and engaging learning materials will excite veterinary students about the field of food safety and let them see a rewarding professional opportunity to improve both human and animal health. Expansion of the veterinary workforce in both public and private sectors of the food industry will enhance the multifaceted approach necessary to implement hurdle technology and HACCP concepts throughout the food–production chain, resulting in lower human morbidity and mortality and decreased health care costs nationally. Ultimately, we will educate more veterinary students and veterinarians, who, in turn, will educate food-animal producers and consumers about food safety.
Design to Dissemination is an excellent example of how we can use modern technology to share expertise and provide relevant materials, thereby expanding the audience and improving teaching to tackle areas of national importance and concern.
We invite veterinary faculty to make use of the Repository for Integrative Veterinary Food Safety Education and participate in piloting the LOs. It is early in the project, and LO development is ongoing, so visit the repository often.
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Footnotes |
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Jeannette McDonald, DVM, PhD, is Director of the Technology for Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, 108 AHABS Building, 1656 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706 USA. E-mail: mcdonal7{at}wisc.edu. Dr. McDonald is the principle investigator of the USDA-funded D2D project. Her research has been in the area of the social aspects of online education; she and her staff are currently exploring the creation and use of learning objects as a way to provide efficiency and scalability in online learning, as well as the use of podcasting, games, and simulations.
a The Veterinary Food Safety Education Learning Object Repository is located at <http://webcls.utmb.edu/d2d/>. 
b The virtual guide can be found on our project Web site at <http://www.D2Dproject.org>.
c For the most recent list of LOs, visit the repository at <http://webcls.utmb.edu/d2d/>.
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