Simulator-Assisted Training of Abomasal Surgery-A Pilot Study Using Blended Learning and Face-to-Face Teaching

Development and Validation of a Bovine Left Displaced Abomasum Reduction Model and Rubric

Left displaced abomasum (LDA) is a common condition in dairy cattle where the abomasum dilates and migrates to the left side of the abdomen. This condition causes significant economic losses for farmers and can result in life-threatening complications, so it is critical that veterinary students be taught to surgically correct a LDA before graduating and entering food animal practice. Models have been successfully used to teach students to perform other surgical procedures, but limited models exist to teach surgical skills to prospective dairy veterinary students. This study sought to develop and validate a bovine LDA reduction model and scoring rubric using a validity framework consisting of content evidence (expert opinion), internal structure evidence (reliability of rubric scores), and evidence showing the relationship with other variables (comparing expert to novice performance). Experienced veterinarians (n = 12) and novice veterinary students (n = 30) surgically deflated and reduced the model's LDA while being recorded. Videos were scored by a blinded expert. Participants completed a survey afterward. All veterinarians reported that the model was suitable for use in teaching and assessing students, offering content evidence for validation. Scores produced by the checklist had good reliability (α = .886), offering internal structure evidence. Veterinarians achieved higher checklist (p = .025) and global rating scores (p = .005) than students, offering relationship with other variables evidence. The development and use of food animal models promotes students' development of competence in performing food animal procedures, leading to better qualified new graduates entering food animal practice. The use of models also protects animal welfare during students' training.

Come out of Your Shell-A Comparative Pilot Study for Teaching the Central Plastrotomy in Chelonians Using a 3D-Printed Simulator and a Virtual 3D Simulation

A pilot study was conducted with 5th-8th semester students comparing a 3D-printed simulator and a virtual 3D simulation. This study's aim was the comparison of these two resources in three different settings. Assessment of the resources' suitability as teaching devices for performing a central plastrotomy in chelonians took place. One group used the simulator, while the other group used the simulation to practice this method in a preparation course. Afterwards, the practical skills of 28 students were validated in an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The students evaluated their respective resources (simulator and simulation). Additionally, 10 practicing veterinarians evaluated the simulator and rated its fidelity as suitable for practicing a plastrotomy. Furthermore, the self-efficacy of the two student groups was compared with each other. An increase in subjective self-assessment of skills in both groups was identified. Students trained on the simulator achieved better results in the OSCE and self-assessment of skills than those trained with the simulation. However, the differences between the groups regarding these aspects were mostly not significant. This study indicates that a 3D-printed chelonian simulator serves as an appropriate teaching device for veterinary students and is a useful addition to established teaching methods, like using cadavers.

Veterinary teaching in COVID-19 times: perspectives of university teaching staff

The digitalization of university teaching has been taking place for many years and, in addition to traditional teaching formats such as practicals and face-to-face lectures, more and more e-learning courses have been used in veterinary education for several years. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across Germany had to switch to an ad-hoc, purely digital summer semester. This study evaluated the experiences and implementation of the digital summer semester 2020 at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) Foundation from the perspective of the teaching staff. In addition to the technical equipment used by lecturers, this survey also focused on the effects of the digital semester on teaching and the future practicality of digital teaching formats and strategies in veterinary education. Therefore, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among lecturers involved in the digital summer semester 2020. One hundred and three completed questionnaires were evaluated. The results of the evaluation show that teachers see huge potential in blended learning as a teaching method in veterinary education. In addition, teachers were able to digitize teaching well with the available hardware and software. The teaching staff saw difficulties above all in the loss of practical training and in the digitalization of practical exercises. Teachers also needed significantly more time to plan and implement digital teaching compared to pure face-to-face teaching. In summary blended learning offers many advantages, such as increased flexibility for students and teaching staff. In order to be able to use digital teaching methods and strategies profitably in veterinary education in the future, well thought-out didactic concepts and further technical expansion of the universities are required. In addition, the digital skills of teaching staff should be further trained and promoted.