Abstract

Veterinary physiology education, faces new challenges in a rapidly changing information technology-based world. The main factors interacting and affecting the veterinary medical education are: the subject matter itself, the new generation of students, new definitions available for knowledge, and the different teaching methods. The objectives of this work were triple. Firstly, to review the factors that impact teaching and learning; Secondly, to provide insights based upon more than twenty years of experience in teaching veterinary physiology to veterinary students at Purdue University, USA, and the University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest. Thirdly, a) To gain an understanding of the physiology teaching in USA and non-USA Colleges through analyzing veterinary physiology topics as well as related subjects and factors; b) To examine the contents of the widely used textbooks. Physiology courses data were collected from schools` public websites of the 28 accredited USA veterinary schools, and selected colleges outside the USA, and analyzed. . Course comparisons included the topics taught in the veterinary physiology courses, number of credit hours, signs of tracking, presence or absence of neurophysiology, clinical physiology, pathophysiology, comparative physiology, and the presence or absence of laboratory practical sessions. The contents of most popular text book were analyzed and compared. Our results showed that there were substantial differences in teaching veterinary physiology and related subjects, such as neurophysiology, pathophysiology, comparative physiology, biochemistry, and clinical sciences within and outside the USA. It was observed that not all (only 36%) physiology courses are coupled with labs, especially wet labs. It worth mentioning here that the order of topics within each physiology textbook is not the same and the depth of coverage of different chapters vary, and some of the topics are underrepresented. Interestingly, veterinary students in developed countries are committed to become veterinarians and are highly motivated. This motivation is reflected on better learning. In addition, these students have the opportunity to select during their studies a career path or track such as small animal. Currently, no track-related physiology courses exist in most curricula. Physiology education could benefit from new technologies and interactive learning approaches such as case-based and g, team-based learning, peer instruction, and the flipped classroom. In addition, the use of e-learning management systems would facilitate the learning process, and the interactions between peers and with the instructor. Further, aligning and integrating basic medical sciences and providing clinical correlations would encourage the application of physiological concepts to solving clinical cases.

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