Agricultural News
Oklahoma State's Veterinary Medicine Program Earns Full Accreditation
Wed, 30 Oct 2019 16:25:27 CDT
The veterinary medicine program at Oklahoma State University is moving forward as they strive to become innovative world leaders in healthcare, research, and professional education. Thanks to implemented recommendations made by the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education (COE), Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine is once again fully accredited by the COE.
Facility upgrades were made in the College's Veterinary Medical Hospital and a state-of-the-art classroom building, the Roger J. Panciera Education Center, is under construction with an anticipated completion date of March 2020. All three years of the pre-clinical curriculum will be taught in the new building where flexibility in classroom layout and new technology will allow instructors to incorporate newer practices for teaching and learning for students. Instructors will have the freedom to decide which method of instruction will be best for that particular content.
Additional faculty and staff were hired to increase the ratio of students to faculty and elevate the learning experience for OSU veterinary graduates. Factoring in new hires and retirements, we netted nine new faculty positions, including a continuing education director/beef cattle extension specialist, and the Veterinary Medical Hospital added ten staff positions. The college also hired a curriculum manager and a full-time counselor for the well-being of students, faculty and staff.
Faculty continue to collaborate with veterinary college colleagues, across the OSU campus and with other organizations such as OU Health Sciences Center and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. When our total research funding is normalized to faculty numbers, the highly competitive program at OSU CVM ranks 13 of 30 among U.S. colleges of veterinary medicine.
The college underwent a strategic planning process creating a new mission, vision and core values. Strategic goals and tactics were developed and the college is now in the implementation phase of that strategic plan.
Based on a thorough clinical curriculum review, outcomes data from surveys and stakeholders, and faculty and student input, the revised clinical curriculum includes more options for increasing student exposure to general practice knowledge, skills, and procedures. The review committee also looked at length of rotations, core vs. elective options, and the overall length of the clinical curriculum making adjustments where necessary.
"I want to personally thank our faculty and staff for diligently working to improve our learning and teaching facilities," said Dr. Carlos Risco, dean of OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine. "They meticulously moved us through the important process of a complete curriculum review and established learning outcomes and expectations. The college will continue to look at expanding our faculty and staff numbers to ensure the best possible learning experience for our students."
The pre-clinical curriculum went through the same rigorous process reviewing the core content of years one through three to identify gaps, redundancies, and inconsistencies. Additional courses in finance and nutrition were added to address needs expressed in those areas.
"The result is a curriculum that complies with COE guidelines, addresses the current needs of the profession, and provides our graduates with entry-level skills and knowledge to be safe, competent, confident, resilient professionals and successful veterinarians," added Risco. "OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine is on a mission of innovation in animal and human health. Full accreditation and the changes we implemented improve how we train tomorrow's veterinarians and how we ensure that our veterinary graduates continue to receive the highest quality education and are career-ready and able to address the veterinary medicine needs of society no matter what direction they chose to take in the profession of veterinary medicine."
Source: Oklahoma State University
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