What are we keeping for the future? - Survey of students on veterinary medicine studies during COVID-19.

This study evaluates the hybrid semesters (winter term 20/21 and summer term 21) conducted at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover during the Covid-19 pandemic from the students' perspective. The results will be used to adapt future veterinary teaching to the needs and wishes of the students, especially with regard to the teaching formats used in the future. For this purpose, a survey was conducted among the students enrolled at the TiHo in the summer semester 2021. 492 fully completed questionnaires were included in the analysis. The main topics of the survey were technical requirements for studying, influences of the hybrid semesters on learning, impact of the hybrid semesters on the students' studies, and general study conditions. The results of the study show a positive evaluation of the hybrid semesters. Students highlighted increased flexibility and lecture recording as main benefits of digital teaching. With the available hardware, the majority of students was able to take part in all courses of their studies. However, they indicated that digital teaching made social interaction more difficult. In order to maintain the advantages of digital teaching and com-pensate disadvantages, veterinary medicine studies should in future be conducted with suitable lectures as digital events or in a blended learning format and practical exercises as face-to-face events.Copyright © 2023 Schlutersche Fachmedien GmbH, ein Unternehmen der Schluterschen Mediengruppe ISSN 1439-0299 https://svg.to/bmtw-open-access.

Comparison of Veterinary Nutrition Exam Results After Classroom or Virtual Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a German University

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, university teaching had to be kept up in spite of severe contact restrictions. Virtual teaching of animal nutrition was implemented at the Veterinary Faculty of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, Germany, for both lectures and practical courses. Live online classes were held via Zoom®, and recordings were accessible afterwards. Animal nutrition is taught in the 5th and 6th term of the veterinary studies, followed by an oral state exam about subjects from both terms. In this study, the success of classroom vs. virtual teaching in veterinary animal nutrition was evaluated by comparison of exam results. Two exam cohorts (2019, before the pandemic;2020, with one term of virtual teaching during the pandemic) were evaluated. The results indicated no significant difference of teaching method on the grades. However, there was a significantly higher probability of students not taking or failing the exam in the 2020 exam cohort, suggesting a general effect of the pandemic on the students. Additionally, two surveys were distributed among the students during summer term 2020 and winter term 2020/21, when virtual teaching due to the pandemic had been implemented for the first time. The survey results provide insights into the students' view of benefits and problems of virtual teaching in animal nutrition at the LMU. The majority was in favor of the live online format for lectures and courses in computed-based ration calculation, whilst feedstuff demonstrations were preferred in classroom setting. Copyright © 2022 Böswald, Pankratz, Dobenecker, Herbst, Klein, Alf and Kienzle.

Special Isue: Virtual anatomy, histology and embryology in research and education. (Special Isue: Virtual anatomy, histology and embryology in research and education.)

This issue contains 13 articles on the use of virtual anatomy, histology and embryology in research and education;digital histological morphometry of the human pineal gland in a postmortem study, with endocrine and neurological clinical implications;an international collaborative approach to learning histology using a virtual microscope;delivery anatomy kits to help keep practical veterinary classes during the COVID-19 pandemic;how virtual animal anatomy facilitated a successful transition to online instruction and supported student learning during the coronavirus pandemic;using videos in active learning in veterinary anatomy;dissection videos as a virtual veterinary anatomy peer learning tool at the University of Tehran during the COVID-19 pandemic;a new virtual platform for teaching comparative animal neuroanatomy based on metameric slices of the central nervous system;application of student remote and distance research in neuroanatomy by mapping Dscaml1 expression with a LacZ gene trap in mouse brain;implementing a multi-colour genetic marker analysis technique for embryology education;impact of COVID-19 on student attainment and pedagogical needs when undertaking independent scientific research;extended reality veterinary medicine case studies for diagnostic veterinary imaging instruction and assessing student perceptions and examination performance and students' performance in teaching neuroanatomy using traditional and technology-based methods. 16 proceedings from the Trans-European Pedagogic Anatomy Research Group (TEPARG) Hybrid Meeting entitled "Hybrid Anatomy Education: Barriers and Enablers for Students and Educators" held in Barcelona, Spain, during 5 March 2022, are also included.

Exploration of Immersive Virtual Reality in Teaching Veterinary Orthopedics.

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.

Delivery anatomy kits help to keep practical veterinary classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To address the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to search for assistive learning tools for the subject of Animal Anatomy II and Applied Anatomy, 123 anatomical kits were prepared at the Animal Anatomy Laboratory for students of the Veterinary Medicine course at the University of São Paulo, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering (FZEA/USP) in Pirassununga city, São Paulo, Brazil. The kits contained anatomical pieces for teaching splanchnology and topographic anatomy (two different classes), and they were elaborated based on effective preservation techniques for the preparation of animal anatomical pieces. At the end of each course, we sent an online questionnaire to the students for evaluation of the methodology used. Alternative methods were used to minimize the odour and non-generation of chemical or microbiological contaminants. The acceptance of the kits was unanimous with adherence by all the students, who had the opportunity to experience the Anatomy class in its entirety, without leaving their homes.

Active learning for an evidence-based veterinary medicine course during COVID-19.

Epidemiology is often a challenging course that is not well appreciated by many students learning veterinary medicine. The curriculum for this topic can sometimes be dry, difficult for students to contextualize, and heavy with statistics and mathematical concepts. We incorporated the concepts of epidemiology that are most important for practicing veterinarians and combined these with evidence-based veterinary medicine principles to create a practical course for second-year undergraduate veterinary students. We share the structure of our course and the different learning components, which also included incorporating graduate student mentors for journal clubs and an assignment that culminated in some students publishing their review findings. Anecdotal responses from students suggest they enjoyed the course and learned skills they felt would be useful in veterinary practice to help them make evidence-based clinical decisions.

(Veterinary semiology in e-learning: students' perception about this methodology in their learning — A pilot study)

The Distance Learning method (e-learning) was adopted by a huge part of Higher Education Institutions as an alternative to academical paralisations due to COVID-19 pandemic. This scenario brings new challenges to the graduation courses, specially those with higher practical content, including veterinary medicine courses. This study aimed to assess the graduation students' perspectives about the e-Learning for the discipline of Veterinary Semiology, considering their learning processes and expactations. Three anonimous formularies were applied to obtain informations about students' prospects and their access to resources for the remote learning platforms. Also, the preferences over the testing methods and the efficacy of learning were evaluated. Furthermore, it was possible to understand the opinion of these students after the conclusion of the discipline, and comprise general health aspects of these groups during COVID pandemic. Through direct answers brought by students' conceptions, this study elucidated positive and negative aspects over the remote learning methods, and helped on the discussion about practical skills education on remote mode. The data obtained on this study aims to help on didactic pratices in veterinary medicine subjects, as well as adjust both training and adhesion to new digital tools in a complementary way to presential education. © 2022. All Rights Reserved.

A New Online Hands-on Practical Training Method Suitable for COVID-19 Social Distancing Regulations.

Online classroom lessons for agricultural and livestock personnel and instructors (animal clinical veterinarians) have been established as alternative ways of learning to allow for the social distancing required to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that emerged and expanded in 2020. However, significant issues remain in developing ways to effectively convey experimental and practical lessons to students. Some of these challenges have been addressed by developing and implementing a new online hands-on practical training method for various veterinary subjects. Currently, online training is limited to watching videos; however, this trial has the potential to provide novel hands-on training online. In our trial, students watched live or asynchronous videos of instructors using a capture board, from which they learned hands-on practices. The learning environment of the students was transmitted by a web camera attached to their PCs and displayed on a large screen visible to the instructor. This enabled the instructor to provide the students with online instructions. In the future, Yamaguchi University's animal welfare philosophy and newly developed alternative online learning methods can be applied to education in other fields.

Experiences in Delivering Teaching and Learning Practices in Establishments of Veterinary Education of the Mediterranean Region under COVID-19 Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunities

In this study, the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic crisis on veterinary education in selected members of the Mediterranean Network of Veterinary Education Establishments (Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Italy, Turkey, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunis) was analyzed. The challenges presented by the pandemic and new approaches and practices adopted by different veterinary education establishments in the Mediterranean region to address the long-term consequences of coronavirus disease 2019 on veterinary education were highlighted. Although countries in this region followed different epidemiological policies, restrictions of access of veterinary students to teaching hospitals, extramural facilities, and laboratories were prolonged over the entire time during 2020 and 2021 in most of the veterinary education establishments. It could be concluded that strengthening the existing networks of veterinary education establishments in the region by sharing experiences, standardization of curricula (regional and international accreditation), and networking are seen as an opportunity for improvement of the quality of teaching and competence in this digital era. Unfortunately, more work is still required to achieve such an ambitious agenda including galvanization of public demands for quality education, political will to implement changes, and securing financial support and other resources to continue program development across the region.

The Challenge of COVID-19: A Compelling Mission for Veterinary Profession

While thecovid -19 pandemic has been devastating and disrupting the normal life of people across the globe, veterinarians have crucial obligations, opportunities, and contributions to make the country self-reliant, self-sufficient and self-sustaining. They accomplish this by enhancing the health and wellbeing of animals, environment and community. They also aid in detecting and responding to zoonotic diseases, maintaining food security and water quality, and promoting wildlife and ecosystem health. Failing to seize this moment could definitely undermine public health and global security for generations. Despite the fact that the strategic modifications of the veterinary education system, client dealing as well as the trade and investment regulations implemented in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic has an immense prospective for progress, there are several pitfalls in this system. This must be addressed in order to face the challenge, accept the future and relinquish the opportunities to create a more sustainable profession.

Conference on humane innovations in education Ibrahim Arnautovic, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 12-13 November 2021

This issue contains 14 articles on students' self-study and self-assessment during the veterinary anatomy course at the University of Zagreb, Croatia;cost-effectiveness of 3d printing of anatomical models;solving the formalin issue in the veterinary anatomy teaching;alternative methods for vasopuncturing in veterinary medicine using an artificial rabbit ear;humane innovations in veterinary anatomy education in India;glycaemia as a reliable indicator for diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats;humane innovations and the advantages of replacing animal experiments and dissection;anatomical learning materials for the digital age;usage of dummies for training purposes in laboratory animal science;enhancing veterinary education and training through the use of the Elnady Technique (et) specimens;virtual reality (vr) in veterinary anatomy teaching;smart 3D meat inspection;educational animal use and alternatives;students' perspectives and attitude about the shift to emergency remote learning of veterinary anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic;a new way of education-virtual reality;sonography as educational tool for recognition of anatomical structures in bovine ovaries;the sketchfab platform as a tool in veterinary anatomy education and students' assessment of the use of different neuroanatomical specimens in veterinary anatomy practical classes.

An evaluation on coping with stress of Selcuk University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine students: COVID-19 pandemic process

Aim: Declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, Covid-19 has raised significant psychological concerns and physical problems in humans. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the methods of coping with stress of the SUFVM students with socio-demographic characteristics, experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic process, and professional career concerns. Materials and Methods: The research sample consisted of 644 students from the 1st-5th grades who continued their education at SUFVM in the 2019-2020 academic year and agreed to participate in the research. The research was carried out by filling in the questionnaire form sent to the participants? mobile phones between 14-22 December 2020 voluntarily. The questionnaire consisted of four parts in total, which determined socio-demographic characteristics, professional career concerns, and experiences with Covid-19, and measuring the style of coping with stress.

Veterinary anatomy during the COVID-19 pandemic in brazil: research focused on pedagogical practice / Anatomía veterinaria durante la pandemia COVID-19 en brasil: investigación centrada en la práctica pedagógica

SUMMARY: Since the first Brazilian Veterinary Medicine course in 1910, many curricular changes have taken place. The pedagogical project have been centered on the student as a subject of learning and supported by the professors as a critical mediator of this process and the pandemic of COVID-19 accelerated this change. Many professors have taught video lessons to ensure continuity of teaching, research and extension, even at a distance. This paper, therefore, aims at reporting the development of animal anatomy didactic contents applied on online platforms in Portuguese language. To this, eight researches were developed addressing the teaching-learning of Morphological Sciences contents to be incorporated into distance education platforms that focused canine and feline anatomy, the study of neuroanatomy in the ovine, bovine, equine and primate species and the surgical anatomy of the locomotor apparatus of the equine specie. Thus, virtual teaching-learning platform can help, as a complementary tool to face-to-face classes, in obtaining the skills, abilities and attitudes required for the training of veterinary students in Brazil.

RESUMEN: Se han efectuado importantes cambios curriculares desde el primer curso de Medicina Veterinaria de Brasil en 1910. El proyecto pedagógico se ha centrado en el alumno como sujeto de aprendizaje con apoyo de los docentes como mediadores críticos de este proceso; con la pandemia de COVID-19 se aceleró este cambio. Muchos profesores han impartido lecciones en video para garantizar la continuidad de la docencia, la investigación y la extensión, incluso a distancia. Este artículo tiene como objetivo informar sobre el desarrollo de los contenidos didácticos sobre la anatomía animal, aplicados en plataformas online en portugués. Para ello, se desarrollaron ocho investigaciones que abordan la enseñanza-aprendizaje de contenidos de Ciencias Morfológicas para ser incorporados en plataformas de educación a distancia que enfocaran la anatomía canina y felina, el estudio de la neuroanatomía en las especies ovina, bovina, equina y primate, y la anatomía quirúrgica del aparato locomotor de la especie equina. De esta forma, la plataforma virtual de enseñanza-aprendizaje puede complementar las clases presenciales en la obtención de las habilidades y actitudes requeridas para la formación de los estudiantes de veterinaria en Brasil.

Evaluation of the online learning of veterinary anatomy education during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown in Egypt: Students' perceptions.

The sudden shift of veterinary anatomy teaching from traditional to online mode during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic lockdown was a major challenge used for the first time in Egyptian veterinary medical schools. This study aimed to evaluate the students' perspectives regarding the shift of veterinary anatomy teaching to online mode during the lockdown in Egypt. A total of 502 students from all veterinary medical schools in Egypt (n = 17) answered the questionnaire. The results revealed that nearly two-thirds of students felt enthusiastic about studying anatomy online during the pandemic. Moreover, approximately 63% of students were satisfied with the provided learning materials, 66% were able to understand anatomy using the online learning system during the lockdown period, 67% were comfortable with technological skills during their online study, and 47% believed that online learning of anatomy could replace face-to-face teaching. Therefore, despite the problems associated with the emergency switch to remote teaching, it appears to be a suitable alternative in teaching veterinary anatomy in Egyptian universities during this pandemic crisis in Egyptian universities. Moreover, the study provided several measurements to overcome the common problems associated with this challenging method for future application, such as providing three-dimensional virtual tools and electronic devices with either free or low-priced Internet packages, and measuring students' understanding before and after each lecture. This is the first study to solicit the early students' feedback regarding the emergency shift to online veterinary anatomy teaching which might help decision-makers in Egypt for future implementation of online learning of veterinary anatomy.

Interaction Identified as both a Challenge and a Benefit in a Rapid Switch to Online Teaching during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The recent emergence and subsequent global spread of COVID-19 has forced a rapid shift to online and remote learning at veterinary schools. Students in a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine program were taught using a real-time online platform for one semester, with recorded synchronous lectures and tutorials, virtual laboratories, and clinical skills classes where possible. Students in all years of the program were surveyed twice, 8 weeks apart to assess their perceptions of online teaching and to identify challenges they experienced. Using a 10-point Likert scale, students agreed that they could achieve their learning outcomes using online learning with no more difficulty than with face-to-face teaching, allocating average scores of 7.6 and 8.2 at each time point. Students were overwhelmingly positive about the impact of online teaching on time-management of their learning due to the loss of travel time. They enjoyed aspects of teaching such as recorded lectures, online polls quizzes, and chat boxes that allowed more student-focused learning. However, there were concerns about the reduction in face-to-face interactions including loss of classroom atmosphere and reduced interaction with peers. Students experienced technical problems in a median of 20% of lectures (range 10%-50%) at the first survey and 10% at the second (range 10%-50%). Increased use of strategies to optimize peer interactions is recommended to facilitate student learning using online platforms. Moving forward beyond the pandemic, allowing flexible time management and a shift toward student-centered learning using strategies such as flipped classrooms may be beneficial.

Drawing in Veterinary Anatomy Education: What Do Students Use It For?

In contrast to medical education, information on the use of arts as a learning approach is scarce in veterinary anatomy. The aim of this prospective, questionnaire-based study was to survey students' use of drawing in various aspects of veterinary anatomy learning (self-study, examinations, preparation for, and reflection on cadaver dissection). The quantitative data showed that first-year students with artistic preferences used drawing significantly more often in most aspects of anatomy learning than students with no such preferences, apart from the reported use of drawing in examinations and for reflection after cadaver dissection. The lack of significant correlations of the reported use of drawing in examinations with any other study variable provided support for the author's observation that student-generated drawings are not as commonly used in examinations as previously. In contrast to the study hypothesis, previous university studies did not correlate significantly with any aspect of the use of drawing in anatomy learning. None of the reported uses of drawing addressed the benefits of drawing in learning the comparative anatomy of animal species, a characteristic distinguishing veterinary anatomy from human anatomy. Qualitative student feedback indicated that encouragement and teacher-produced images would increase the use of drawing as a learning approach even if the implementation of drawing into the curriculum is not feasible. Conclusions from this study were implemented through self-directed learning in anatomy courses that replaced the canceled cadaveric dissections during the COVID-19 outbreak and also through the ongoing drawing workshops to further advance the use of drawing in veterinary anatomy learning.