The annual Primary Care Veterinary Educators World Symposium will begin Thursday at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. The symposium brings together veterinarians who work in community practice education from 40 veterinary schools and colleges around the world, including Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States. Presentations and networking opportunities help small animal primary care veterinary educators generate new ideas and develop more effective educational strategies.
Richard Meadows, DVM, who is a Curators Distinguished Teaching Professor and leads the Community Practice Section at the MU Veterinary Health Center, is one of the symposium organizers. He said Mizzou has a well-established and vibrant community medicine program.
“It is an honor for us to host this forward-looking, hard-working, international group of veterinary educators,” Meadows said. “The focus of this group, and this conference, is to prepare veterinary students to represent our proud profession to the small animal owning public.”
In addition to discussion about what is happening at colleges in small animal primary care veterinary education, there will be poster presentations highlighting pedagogical innovation and research in primary care veterinary education, and a swap shop designed for sharing best teaching practices, innovations and overcoming challenges.
Symposium attendees will have the opportunity to visit the Warm Springs Ranch Budweiser Clydesdale horses breeding facility in Boonville, Missouri, and the Katy Trail State Park as a preconference excursion.
Educational sessions begin Friday with a presentation entitled, “Diversity, Inclusion, and Wellness: It Takes a Village.” Other Friday activities include primary care program presentations by the University of Melbourne and Cornell University, poster presentations and a discussion of best practices on a variety of topics.
Saturday sessions include a panel of MU educators and administrators discussing, “Advancing and Inspiring Veterinary Primary Care Educators from Theory to Practice and Back Again,” a “Clinical Teaching Tools Carousel,” a presentation on “Developing Competency-Based Veterinary Education,” and a tour of the MU CVM.
The focus on Sunday will be “Enhancing Resilience in Clinical Education.”
The MU College of Veterinary Medicine is Missouri’s only institution that confers the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. Thank you for exploring how you can partner with us to make a positive difference in the lives of animals and people.