Case-Based Distance Learning for Food Animal Veterinarians

This proposal addresses USDA NIFA Veterinary Services Grant Program 006344 Education, Extension and Training Grants focusing on food animal veterinarians. A significant decline in the number of veterinarians serving the agricultural sector in rural communities poses serious problems for animal health and wellbeing, food safety, public health and producer profitability. A major contributor to this decline is the lack of current, easily accessible continuing education geared towards food animal medicine and health. The focus of this proposal is to address current continuing education shortcomings by developing and implementing an integrative, evidence-based, long distance educational program that will provide convenient, affordable, time-efficient access to information on new advances and reinforcement of key concepts in disease control and prevention. The program’s information will be packaged for educational and outreach delivery to veterinary practitioners, especially those in rural, underserviced areas. By using print, face-to-face, and electronic delivery vehicles, veterinarians will become proficient in utilizing current and newly developed diagnostic tools to perform productive on- farm investigations that improve food animal health. Implementation of cost effective disease prevention and control strategies will result in higher food quality, increased producer satisfaction, and improved veterinary profitability, all of which will enhance the sustainability of the veterinary industry in shortage areas. This proposal aligns with Goal 1 of the NIFA Strategic Plan by enabling veterinarians to advance food security and safety through improved animal health, and by catalyzing education and extension programs that will strengthen the workforce needed to support sustainable agricultural systems, particularly in underserved rural areas.