EMERGING ISSUES IN VETERINARY PRACTICE AND VETERINARY EDUCATION

• Radhika Vaidya • BVSc&A.H.• DGCNCOVAS• Palampur

Antibiotic resistance in veterinary medicine

Veterinary use and antibiotic resistance

Globally, an estimated 50% of all antimicrobials serve veterinary purposes.

Bacteria that inevitably develop antibiotic resistance in animals comprise food-borne pathogens, opportunistic pathogens and commensal bacteria.

The same antibiotic resistance genes and gene transfer mechanisms can be found in the microfloras of animals and humans.

Veterinary antibiotic usage as a growth promoter or for prophylactic and therapeutic indications is a major contribution to the resistance scenario, as majority of these antibiotics are also used for disease control in humans.

There are clinical and epidemiological evidences that resistant bacteria or resistance determinants might be passed from animals to humans directly or indirectly via food, environment, or during animal husbandry practices.

The magnitude of veterinary antibiotic usage is not well studied in India.

Privatisation of veterinary services

As per FAO/OIE estimates, in 1996 there were1055 PVPs in India and there had been 200% increase in the number of PVPs in India from 1985 to 1993.

OIE (2001) reported that in 2000, there were 1800 PVPs in India.

Constraints Not many young veterinarians dare to

venture into the field of private practice, especially in semi-urban and rural areas, probably due to the unfair competition between private and government veterinarians.

However, the urban areas are increasingly offering opportunities for younger veterinarians to venture into private practice as compared to the rural areas.

In 1976, the National Commission on Agriculture recommended the Government of India to encourage private veterinary practice by providing suitable incentives to the veterinarians (GOI 1976).

However, the Government of India, faced with budgetary constraints, has now decided to encourage young veterinarians to start their own private practice through the provision of agri-clinics as envisaged in the budget 2001-2002.

Projects like the diversified agricultural support project (UPDASP) initiated in Uttar Pradesh and financed by the World Bank in which 180 private veterinary clinics will be set up throughout Uttar Pradesh (UPDASP 1999).

Current scenario Private practice in India is in the domain of

mainly retired veterinarians who venture into private practice after retirement from the public sector.

Though private practice generates a substantial amount of money ,very few PVPs rely on it as a sole source of income. Private practice is viewed primarily as an additional source of income.

Private practitioners are mostly restricted to urban belts and very few practise in rural areas.

conclusion the animal health service sector may not be

fully privatized in developing countries like India, as these services under government provision still have a strong role.

But, the private sector can play a complementary role to the public sector veterinary services by bringing in vast areas of the country under modern veterinary health care which are till the present date uncovered.

Gender shift

Gender shift Explanations that have been put

forward for the feminization of the veterinary profession include the following:

(1) elimination of discrimination at admission based on gender;

(2) improvement in chemical restraint for large animals;

(3) an increase in the number of female role models, especially in physically challenging aspects of the profession; and (4) the caring image of veterinarians portrayed in books and on television

Is there a problem with the veterinary profession becoming feminized??????

Some say it will lead to declining veterinary incomes and the establishment of practices primarily centered on small animals.

Others have expressed the concern that women will not participate fully in professional life, including practice ownership.

Women veterinarian in india

In India, it was in 1948, Madras Veterinary College at Vepery, Chennai , opened its portal for admission to girls for the Bachelor of Veterinary Science course.

Dr. Sakkubhai Ramachandran the first woman Vet of India graduated in 1952 and later assumed many prestigious posts and retired as Scientist from IVRI, Bangalore in 1971.

Following her foot steps, Dr. Pushpa Ranaparkhe, Dr. Amritha Patel and many stalwart lady vets have shown the way to the youngsters and at present there has been an increase in the number of girls preferring this profession .

it is estimated that there are more than 3000 lady vets in the country registered with different State Veterinary councils of India.

Women vets of India have formed an Association called Indian Association of Lady Veterinarians which was started on 2nd October 1985 at Veterinary College, Thrissur, and Kerala.

Change in agricultural practice

According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the gradual decline in livestock numbers witnessed by the agricultural sector has been developing over recent decades (Defra, 2010).

A gradual decline in income from traditional farming activities has forced many farming businesses to diversify in order to remain viable.

All of this has had a negative impact on the veterinary community, as the trend toward smaller farms with fewer livestock and diversified activities has resulted in less demand for veterinary services overall.

EMERGING ISSUES IN VETERINARY EDUCATION

There is an increasing perception among many stakeholders in the livestock sector that the graduates are not equipped enough to face the emerging challenges and fast changing needs of the sector.

The graduates are generally believed to have little appreciation of indigenous knowledge, herbal medicine, livestock environmental interactions, participatory techniques, farmers’ traditional wisdom etc.

graduates in the 21st century face an increasingly competitive and volatile employment market and it is critical that they are equipped with skills that enable them to maximise their full potential.

In the recent past, issues like internationalization of curriculum and global core competencies for veterinary graduates have been advocated

The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) is working to provide guidelines and tools to enable all countries to apply a standardized approach to improving the quality of veterinary education

Major issues in veterinary educationLow Field OrientationImbalanced orientation of curriculum

Alternate practices and home remedy not put on the curriculum.

Veterinary education in india Within the last decade, changes in society

have placed the VCI curriculum at the forefront of many contemporary challenges.

Students now need training not only in basic, production, para-clinical and clinical aspects, but also on issues like climate change, animal welfare and modern biotechnological approaches for profitable livestock production.

Privatization of Veterinary Education and Manpower Planning

Imbalance in Course Credits and Faculty Ratio

Outdated Model, Urban Bias and Brain Drain

Regional Barriers

Conclusions and Recommended Action Plan

Review curriculum at least once every five years by consulting all stakeholders for needs assessment, quality assurance and to establish standards on par with global norms.

Remove overlapping course content, rearrange courses based on prior knowledge requirements and integrate courses by merging related disciplines.

Provide more practical, contextual and discovery-based learning experiences to students for optimum learning outcomes and to help graduates to either take up employment or to start their own enterprise.

Thank you