Global Perspective on Veterinary Education based on the findings of OIE PVS Evaluations

1. Global Perspective on Veterinary Education based on the findings of OIE PVS Evaluations DrSarah Kahn Consultant to the OIE s.kahn@oie.int

2. Contents Background Analysis of PVS findings relating to veterinary education Discussion Conclusions 2

3. Background (1) The quality of veterinary education underpins the quality of veterinary services (public and private sector veterinarians) in countries and regions. It is relevant to governments, employers (public and private sector), universities and other scientific research institutes, the veterinary profession, VSB’s .. and to students : undergraduate, postgraduate and future. The general public may not be interested in the quality of veterinary education per se but society is very interested in the outcomes that the veterinary profession helps to deliver i.e. protection of public health from zoonotic diseases and the assurance of food safety, animal health and animal welfare – which all depend on an acceptable quality of veterinary education – initial and continuing. 3

4. Background (2) At a Member country´s request, the OIE evaluates the quality of national Veterinary Services (VS) using the OIE PVS Tool. The PVS Tool contains 46 Critical Competencies (CC), of which those most relevant to veterinary education are in the first Fundamental component of the PVS Tool : ´Human, Physical and Financial resources of the VS´. Critical Competency I.2.A The capability of the VS to efficiently carry out their veterinary and technical functions; measured by the qualifications of the personnel in veterinary and technical positionsand Critical Competency I.3 The capability of the VS to maintain and improve the competence of their personnel in terms of relevant information and understanding; measured in terms of the implementation of a relevant training programme. 4

5. Background (3) The critical competencies in the PVS Tool are based on the OIE quality standards for VS in Terrestrial Code Section 3. 5

6. Background (3) More than 250 evaluations, in 117 countries, have been carried out under the PVS Pathway, including initial and follow-up missions, Gap Analysis and Veterinary Legislation Identification missions. In 2013, the OIE carried out an analysis of the results of 112 PVS reports with respect to the levels of advancement noted by the evaluators. The results for each region were statistically analysed (non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test) to determine if they shared similar distributions. These findings provide a global and regional perspective on veterinary education in the countries that have undergone a PVS Evaluation. 6

7. Analysis of findings in PVS reports (1) Global results : competence of veterinarians 75% fall into levels 1 – 3 inclusive (55% fall into level 3 – 5). 7

8. Analysis of findings in PVS reports (2) Global results: Continuing education 90% fall into levels 1 - 3 inclusive Level 1: The VS have no access to continuing veterinary, professional or technical CE. Level 2: The VS have access to CE (internal and/or external programmes) on an irregular basis but it does not take into account needs, or new information or understanding. Level 3: The VS have access to CE that is reviewed annually and updated as necessary, but it is implemented only for some categories of the relevant personnel. 8

9. Analysis of findings in PVS reports (3) The results of the Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant differences between regions in the results (p > 0.05). Kruskal-Wallis analysis CC value of H degrees of freedom p I.2A 3.24 4 0.52 1.3 2.9 4 0.57 9

10. Analysis of findings in PVS reports (4) In assigning a level of advancement, the PVS Evaluator takes into account various indicators and sources of verification, including the veterinary curriculum, the numbers of graduates/year and of veterinarians with post graduate education, interviews with private and public practice veterinarians, field assessment of veterinary faculties, consideration of VSB requirements and involvement in veterinary education, as well as the presence of internationally recognised veterinary faculties and benchmarking programs in the country. 10

11. Discussion (1) For the purpose of this discussion, the goal of the OIE is to strengthen national VS by promoting standards for infrastructure and regulatory framework with respect to veterinary education and good veterinary governance In countries that train veterinarians, the establishment of educational requirements to hold a license to practice veterinary medicine is an important aspect Many countries either do not train veterinarians or have difficulty in achieving an acceptable quality of veterinary education. In this situation, the OIE also aims to improve the capacity of veterinarians to move between countries. This implies: arrangements for mutual recognition of veterinary qualifications harmonised approaches to basic veterinary competencies and harmonised approaches to the evaluation of VEEs. 11

12. Discussion (2) What are the impediments to achieving these goals? Variable quality of veterinary education establishments, e.g. •  Inadequate facilities (clinics, necropsy, ..) •  Inadequate biosafety procedures •  Inadequate case load and teaching in some species •  Inadequate hands-on teaching (group size…) Veterinary education is expensive! The access of VEEs to the needed resources reflects, to some extent, government priorities (veterinary education, professional education, education in general) and to some extent policies regarding private sector involvement (e.g. full cost recovery). 12

13. Discussion (3) The national veterinary authority (VA) is often the biggest single employer of veterinarians in the country (especially in developing countries) In addition to playing a key role in specifying the competencies required for veterinarians to work in the public sector, the VA should also consider the arrangements for delegation of tasks to veterinarians in the private sector. e.g. diagnostic testing and vaccination in animal health programmes, livestock identification, meat inspection and export certification. Holders of delegations should be accredited, preferably on the basis of specific education and tested competence, which is checked and confirmed periodically. 13

14. Discussion (4) What are the impediments to achieving these goals? Gaps in the relationship between the educators and the ´Users´ of veterinarians apart from the VS: other employers in public and private sector; scientific research organisations, regulated industries, the general public. Good communication helps to identify trends and future needs, enabling educators to modify the training programme to ensure that the future competencies of veterinarians can be properly addressed. e.g. the work of the Federación Panamericana de Facultades y Escuelas de Ciencias Veterinarias (PANVET) and Consejo Panamericano de Educación en las Ciencias Veterinarias (COPEVET): ´Perfil Profesional del Medico Veterinario en Latinoamérica Visión al 2030´. 14

15. Discussion (5) What are the impediments to achieving these goals? Gaps in the relationship between the Veterinary Statutory Body (VSB) and those responsible for the delivery of veterinary education: VEEs and government agencies. The OIE recommends that the VSB license or register for the purpose of practicing veterinary medicine/science only veterinarians who have graduated from high-quality educational programmes i.e. programmes accredited by a recognised accreditation body and/or those that comply with the OIE recommended day one competencies and veterinary education core curriculum. 15

16. Discussion (6) What tools are at hand to help to achieve these goals? Since 2009 the OIE has provided global leadership with the goal of improving the quality of veterinary education and good veterinary governance globally. Key elements of the OIE initiative: PVS Pathway Standards on the quality of VS, including Veterinary Statutory Bodies and Veterinary Legislation Competencies of graduating (´Day 1´) veterinarians Guidelines for a Veterinary Education Core Curriculum Twinning arrangements for VEE (and for VSB). The recommendations of this conference will help to guide the ongoing work of the OIE in this area. 16

17. Discussion (7) What tools are at hand to help to achieve these goals? In many countries, the national VS have strategic plans and/or the VS are important elements within national strategic plans for improving food security through more efficient animal production. As recommended in many PVS reports, improving the quality of Veterinary education should be a key component of any plan to strengthen VS Including attention to the relationship between the VS, the VSB and veterinary education establishments. 17

18. Discussion (8) What tools are at hand to help to achieve these goals? The Internet is a powerful tool, offering flexible, low cost, real time access to high quality education. Educational modules can have various levels of interactivity, starting with a series of basic Powerpoint slides, passing to online tutorials, webinars on specialised topics, access to mentors, informal chat rooms..) Internet learning can be used with many different modalities, making it accessible to all (e.g. the busy private practitioner, the constantly travelling veterinary official ..) The OIE has not to date involved itself in online learning but many OIE Collaborating Centres offer this facility and there is scope for the OIE to become more actively involved. 18

19. Conclusions (1) The global database of OIE PVS reports is a rich source of data relevant to performance of national veterinary services, providing that confidentiality between the country and the OIE must always be respected. Analysis of selected critical competencies can provide insight into the relationship between levels of technical competence and underlying/horizontal factors, such as veterinary education and governance. This information can be used by governments and donors, to help benchmark the performance of VS in a specific country against regional and global performance. This can be useful to highlight strengths and weaknesses and to identify needs in countries and regions. 19

20. Conclusions (2) The OIE will continue advocating on behalf of Veterinary Services and the veterinary profession globally: Veterinary Services’ activities are a Global Public Good Veterinary education and related issues of good governance are fundamental to efficient and effective veterinary services. The need for more support to OIE Member countries in improving performance in these areas is well recognised. In addition to establishing democratically adopted standards for quality VS, the OIE offers the PVS Pathway for helping countries to apply these and other standards in the Code. Engagement in the PVS Pathway can help to convince governments and donors to make sustainable investments in VS and in national Animal Health Programmes. 20

21. Conclusions (3) The OIE collaborates with national governments, international organisations and donors to help support countries seeking to improve compliance with OIE quality standards, including the quality of veterinary education. Private sector veterinary associations also make an important contribution to the constant improvement of the veterinary profession. Recognising this, the OIE has established official cooperation agreements with several key organisations (e.g. WVA, WSAVA, FVE..) and actively collaborates in relevant activities of these organisations. 21

22. Conclusions (4) Relevant regional organisations have an important role to play, especially with respect to harmonisation of veterinary education and registration requirements The OIE supports relevant regional initiatives, including through its Regional and sub-Regional Representations. There is a need for more collaboration between regional associations of Veterinary education establishments and accrediting bodies on standards of veterinary education. The OIE collaborates with REEV-Med, the Mediterranean Network of Veterinary Education establishments, and encourages the development of similar initiatives in other regions. 22

23. Thank you for your attention Organisation mondialede la santé animale World Organisation for Animal Health Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal 23