Alternative Learning Technologies in Veterinary Education

Animals are a vital part of our lives 83.3 million dogs 95.6 million cats 1,917,000 chickens 89,299,600 cattle 10,350,000 horses In the U.S. alone, there are... ("FOASTAT" Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N., 2014) ("Pets by the Numbers" Humane Society of the United States, 2014)

Issues in Veterinary Education students must learn delicate, high risk procedures materials are limited clinical experience is limited by chance and not always reflective of professional realities Alternative learning technologies can solve these problems!

What is alternative learning technology? Computer-aided learning - websites, annotated video, specimen databases Simulations - "a device or set of conditions that aims to imitate real patients, anatomic regions, or clinical tasks, and/or to mirror the real life situations in which medical services are rendered" (Scalese 461).

Case Manager at Ohio State University "an interactive, online, HTML, case based learning environment" (Byron et al. 226). a risk-free, low stress way for students to practice clinical decision making fully customizable by instructors, with 5 difficulty levels 88.2% of students in the initial study felt their clinical decision making had improved all students felt that Case Manager help them with their clinical rotations

Works Cited Byron, J.K., Johnson, S.E., Allen, L.C.V., Brilmyer, C., Griffiths, R.P. "Development and Pilot of Case Manager: A Virtual-Patient Experience for Veterinary Students." Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 41.3 (2014): Web. 20 Nov Scalese, R. J. "Effective Use of Simulations for the Teaching and Acquisition of Veterinary Professional and Clinical Skills." Journal of Veterinary Medical Education Jan 2005: Association of American Veterinary Colleges. Web. 18 Nov "Pets by the Numbers." RSS. Humane Society of The United States, n.d. Web. 20 Nov "FAOSTAT." FAOSTAT. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Oct Web. 20 Nov