ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the use of novel teaching modalities to enhance the provision of remote veterinary education. In this study, we describe the use of immersive virtual reality (iVR) as a teaching aid for veterinary medicine students during their orthopedics clinical rotation. Student sentiments were assessed using voluntary electronic surveys taken by veterinary students before and after the rotation. The most noteworthy benefits students reported were improved engagement with the course content, information retention, radiographic interpretation, and clinical reasoning skills. Obstacles encountered during the initial stages of the program included financial and temporal investment in equipment and content development, technical troubleshooting, and motion sickness. Though it is unlikely that iVR will ever fully replace hands-on learning experiences, it presents an educational opportunity to supplement traditional learning methods, motivate students, and fill information gaps. As iVR technology continues to evolve and improve, potential applications in the veterinary curriculum grow, making the modality's use progressively more advantageous. Although this study describes its application in an orthopedic setting, the versatility of the iVR modality lends the potential for it to be implemented in a number of clinical and didactic settings.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted people and professions around the world, including veterinary medicine. The epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 broadened the definition of vulnerability in human populations, and the virus' economic impacts exacerbated well-established financial barriers to providing equal access to medical care. The objective of this study was to explore how the pandemic was impacting access to companion animal care in the months March-September of 2020, with a focus on traditionally vulnerable as well as newly vulnerable populations. Additionally, this study sought to identify areas on which the veterinary profession can focus in order to help increase access to veterinary care, including the veterinary school curriculum, continuing education, and telemedicine. We conducted surveys and interviews with animal owners (n = 1009), veterinarians and clinic staff (n = 516), and access to veterinary care organizations (n = 17). Collectively, these responses highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic created new, and amplified existing, issues with accessing and providing veterinary care. Three critical themes arose; (1) opportunities for further learning for the veterinary profession; including curricula around telemedicine, financially resilient business models and understanding health disparities and vulnerable populations; (2) a need for a network of collaboration and communication across veterinary clinics and access to care organizations and (3) future preparedness for health, economic or other crises response. Overall, the pandemic emphasized the complexity of access to care, as well as the role of veterinarians in public health. This information can be used to develop strategies to aid in increased access to veterinary care now and in the face of future disasters.