Use the search engine below to find a specific content.
Veterinary and Veterinary Paraprofessional Education
The provision of high-quality veterinary education is key to equipping potential veterinarians with the necessary knowledge to perform efficiently and to support Veterinary Services effectively.
Veterinary and Veterinary Paraprofessionals Education
Veterinary Education
The provision of high-quality veterinary education is key to equipping potential veterinarians with the necessary knowledge to perform efficiently and to support Veterinary Services effectively. However, indications from PVS Evaluation reports relating to the competencies of veterinarians suggested that in many countries, Veterinary Education Establishments (VEE) were not adequately preparing their veterinary graduates to possess the necessary competencies at graduation to protect the public good in the areas of animal and zoonotic disease control and food safety.
As a result, and in order to address these deficiencies, the WOAH (founded as OIE) developed the following to support its Member Countries:
| WOAH Recommendations on the Competencies of graduating veterinarians (‘Day 1 graduates’) | WOAH Guidelines on Veterinary Education Core Curriculum | |
 |  | |
| This set of recommendations provides an overview of the competencies necessary for the Day 1 veterinary graduate to be adequately prepared to participate in National Veterinary Services at the entry-level. | The WOAH developed these Guidelines for a Model Core Veterinary Curriculum to serve as a companion to it recommendations regarding the competencies of graduating veterinarians (Day 1 Graduates) to assure the quality of the public and private components of National Veterinary Services. These Guidelines are meant to serve as a tool for Veterinary Educational Establishments (VEE) in WOAH Member Countries to use when developing curricula to educate veterinary students to the expected level of competency. |
 | WOAH Guide to Veterinary Education Twinning Projects: A VEE Twinning Programme was also established to create the opportunity for a ‘beneficiary’ VEE wishing to improve its performance, to link with a ‘parent’ VEE in a formal partnership to address specific, agreed upon targets for curriculum development and other aspects of educational capacity building, with WOAH support. |
|
Veterinary Paraprofessionals (VPPs) Education
Based on the clear success of the efforts in veterinary education, WOAH has made a similar effort in the area of veterinary paraprofessional (VPP) education. The WOAH recognises the importance of veterinary paraprofessionals in veterinary service delivery and the PVS Pathway Tool includes assessments related to the staffing and competency of veterinary paraprofessionals as well as veterinarians in national veterinary Services.
Once again, the PVS Evaluation missions have indicated deficiencies in veterinary paraprofessional training and competency. In 2016, the WOAH established an ad hoc group on veterinary paraprofessionals to develop expected competencies for three different categories of VPPs, namely animal health, veterinary public health and laboratory diagnosis.
| WOAH Competency Guidelines for Veterinary Paraprofessionals | WOAH Curricula Guidelines for Veterinary Paraprofessionals | |
 |  | |
The ad hoc group completed the preparation of the proposed competencies for the three VPP categories in 2018 and those competencies have now been published as the WOAH Competency Guidelines for Veterinary Paraprofessionals. | The ad hoc group has also completed the development of the WOAH Curricula Guidelines for Veterinary Paraprofessionals. The purpose of this document is to help veterinary paraprofessional training institutions to develop curricula in all three tracks to produce veterinary paraprofessionals with the desired competencies. A Curriculum Alignment Matrix (CAM) Tool has also been developed which allows a training institution to compare its Veterinary Paraprofessional (VPP) training programme against the WOAH Curricula Guidelines for Veterinary Paraprofessionals to determine alignment, or “match” with these Guidelines. The CAM Tool is available here and instructions for its use are here. NOTE: If you wish to use the CAM Tool, download it to your own computer first, as any entries you make online will not be saved. |
Veterinary Statutory Bodies
The role of a Veterinary Statutory Body (VSB) is to oversee the quality and competence of veterinarians in a country. A competent Veterinary Statutory Body, autonomous from any political or commercial interests, can ensure the excellence of the veterinary profession through appropriately licensing or registering veterinary professionals and veterinary paraprofessionals, and providing minimum standards for (initial and continuing) education and professional conduct for those registered. The functional and legislative framework within which a Veterinary Statutory Body exercises its regulatory capacity is defined in Article 3.2.12 and Article 3.4.6 of the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code.
WOAH Guide to Veterinary Statutory Body Twinning Projects:
A VSB Twinning Programme was established to create the opportunity for a ‘beneficiary’ VSB wishing to improve its performance, to link with a ‘parent’ VSB in a formal partnership to address specific, agreed upon targets for improvement. The Twinning Programme is currently being reviewed and may be replaced or supplemented in the future with alternative approaches for improving performance of VSBs.
Contacts: Veterinary Education and Veterinary Statutory Bodies
Contacts: VPPs – Dr David Sherman ([email protected]) and Sonia Fèvre ([email protected]) |