THE VETERINARY SERVICES > 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. In numerous countries, however, notably in many developing and in-transition countries, the quality of veterinary education is failing to meet the requirements for delivering highly competent Veterinary Services. This has therefore highlighted the need for veterinary education to be strengthened, with particular emphasis on establishing minimum competencies and harmonising key curriculum elements to facilitate theinternational mobility of veterinarians.

The OIE Recommendations on the Competencies of graduating veterinarians (‘Day 1 graduates’) to ensure National Veterinary Services of quality provide a basis for advanced training and education for veterinarians wishing to pursue a career in the public or private components of national Veterinary Services. These recommendations prepare the Day 1 veterinary graduate to promote global veterinary public health and are applicable to all OIE Member Countries.

To support these recommendations, the OIE has developed guidelines for a model core veterinary curriculum. It is strongly recommended that the guidelines be consulted by veterinary education establishments in OIE Member Countries when developing veterinary medical education. The OIE Guidelines on Veterinary Education Core Curriculum represent a basis on which national needs and circumstances could be added, and are offered primarily to developing and in-transition countries as an initial step to enhance and sustain national Veterinary Services.

As means of improving institutional capacity and expertise in these countries, the OIE has initiated its twinning programme between Veterinary Education Establishments. Each project under this programme is a partnership between one or more recognised or accredited Veterinary Education Establishment(s), known as the ‘Parent’, and a ‘Candidate’ Veterinary Education Establishment. The overall aim of the OIE Veterinary Education Twinning Programme is to foster quality veterinary education through the exchange of teachers and students, thereby allowing a better geographic balance of well-educated veterinarians. The OIE Guide to Veterinary Education Twinning Projects details the scope and processes involved in a twinning project and can be consulted here. The length of the project would depend on its scope. OIE twinning projects last a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years (extensions may be envisaged).