What does the guide for vet schools include?
During the last decade, research indicates that as veterinary students progress through veterinary education they become less sentimental, altruistic, and empathic.
Their belief in animal sentience and the importance of the human-animal bond also decreases.
In addition, students are less inclined to provide post-operative pain relief to patients as they pass through their education.
Many veterinary schools across the world include some form of teaching on animal welfare as a discipline. However, there is an unwritten curriculum of other experiences that students come into contact with, that can undermine excellent teaching in the subject.
If we accept that attitudes towards animals are largely culturally transmitted in the context of veterinary education – as is thought to be the case in human medicine education – then more needs to be done beyond curriculum change to support both staff and graduating vets.
Within human medicine education there is increasing focus on establishing a ‘culture of care’ in order to tackle some of the problematic issues highlighted above.
We propose that a system for recognising excellence in animal welfare should be implemented globally within veterinary education and we created these guidelines with the intention of catalysing this process.
Download guide for vet schools