Preparing veterinary students for extramural clinical placement training: issues identified and a possible solution

Catriona Bell – ORCID: 0000-0001-8501-1697 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8501-1697Item not available in this repository.Item previously deposited in the University of Edinburgh repository at: https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/fa503683-7a33-4bb5-bcd9-8850b1949d9dExtramural clinical placement training is an important part of many veterinary degree programs and provides students with valuable learning experiences in private practice, often focusing on the management of typical first-opinion cases. In the United Kingdom, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has a mandatory requirement that students take 26 weeks of clinical placement or extramural studies (EMS) before graduation. However, if students are to maximize their learning opportunities during these placements, it is important that they be adequately prepared. In response to recent topical issues surrounding EMS in the United Kingdom, the current project undertook an iterative consultation process with key stakeholders, including students and placement providers, to identify key issues associated with students attending placements. These findings then informed the development and content of a computer-aided learning (CAL) package titled “The EMS Driving Licence” that aimed to improve the preparation of students for placements. The CAL package included sections covering the main identified areas of concern: Preparation (including what to take), Working With People (staff and clients), Professionalism (including confidentiality), Frequently Asked Questions (from students), and Top Tips (from practitioners). The CAL package was evaluated by students, and feedback was gathered by means of a questionnaire. Students recognized that the content addressed many of their concerns, and all reported that they would recommend the package to others. The CAL package has been made available to all UK veterinary schools and has received backing from the RCVS as part of their current recommendations on EMS to the UK veterinary profession.The development of the EMS Driving Licence was supported by a mini-project grant from the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. The evaluation was supported by an Innovation Fund award from the Centre for Excellence in Professional Placement Learning, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.37.2.19037pubpub

UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings

Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.g., the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, may afford more direct assessment of cognitive development but they require language translation, cultural adaptation, and population norming. Further, they are not always reliable predictors of future outcomes when assessed within the first 12–18 months of a child’s life. Neuroimaging may provide more objective, sensitive, and predictive measures of neurodevelopment but tools such as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are not readily available in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). MRI systems that operate at lower magnetic fields (< 100mT) may offer increased accessibility, but their use for global health studies remains nascent. The UNITY project is envisaged as a global partnership to advance neuroimaging in global health studies. Here we describe the UNITY project, its goals, methods, operating procedures, and expected outcomes in characterizing neurodevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.publishedVersio

UNITY : a low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings

DATA AVAILABILITY : Data collected as part of the UNITY network will be made available to researchers from the academic communities at varying levels of granularity depending on site-specific IRB approvals. For some sites, full access to individual raw and processed data will be provided, whilst for others, owing to national policies (e.g., those located in India) may only be able to provide de-identified composite values (e.g., regional volumes, mean relaxometry measures, etc.). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to open access and broad data availability as permitted.Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.g., the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, may afford more direct assessment of cognitive development but they require language translation, cultural adaptation, and population norming. Further, they are not always reliable predictors of future outcomes when assessed within the first 12–18 months of a child’s life. Neuroimaging may provide more objective, sensitive, and predictive measures of neurodevelopment but tools such as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are not readily available in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). MRI systems that operate at lower magnetic fields (< 100mT) may offer increased accessibility, but their use for global health studies remains nascent. The UNITY project is envisaged as a global partnership to advance neuroimaging in global health studies. Here we describe the UNITY project, its goals, methods, operating procedures, and expected outcomes in characterizing neurodevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, and through a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award and a Wellcome Trust Strategic Award.https://www.elsevier.com/locate/dcnhj2024Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology (BGM)ImmunologyPaediatrics and Child HealthRadiologySDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingSDG-17:Partnerships for the goal

Racing, ornamental and city pigeons carry Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) with different Shiga toxin subtypes, urging further analysis of their epidemiological role in the spread of STEC

Pigeons are known to shed zoonotic pathogens. Therefore, in this study a total of 366 droppings from pigeons were analysed using PCR and DNA-DNA-hybridization for Shiga toxin producing E coli (STEC). Specimens were collected from three different groups of pigeons: 247 collective and 3 individual droppings from racing pigeons, 26 collective and 40 individual from ornamental pigeons as well as 50 collective droppings from city pigeons. Initial screening experiments revealed a total 245 (66.9%) droppings to be Shiga toxin gene positive. Of these 36% were positive for stx1,9% for stx2 and 37% for stx2f. Prevalence significantly (p < 0.001) differed in regard to the pigeon groups examined. Droppings from racing pigeons showed prevalence of 45.6% for stx1,3.2% for stx2, and 33.2% for stx2f, while the distribution of stx-positive specimens was more even in ornamental pigeons (15% stx1, 27% stx2, and 26% stx2). In specimens from city pigeons, stx2f was found to be most prevalent with 76% (2% stx1, 16% stx2). In 161 samples, stx genes were detected by PCR as well as DNA-DNA-hybridization. From these 161 samples, 20 were randomly chosen for isolation of STEC. A total of 27 STEC strains were isolated from 13 of these 20 samples. Six of the STEC were positive for stx1, 21 harbored stx2f. Further typing for virulence factor genes revealed the existence of eae in 4 of the 6 stx1-positive strains, as well as in 19 of the 21 stx2f-positive strains. eae is known to be crucially involved in the ability of E coli strains to cause the "attaching and effacing" lesion in the gut, while stx2f-STEC are assumed to be host specific for pigeons. Here we report the first description of stx1- and eae-positive STEC strains in pigeons from Germany, especially in racing and ornamental pigeons. Taking into account the close contact between fanciers and pigeons, these findings warrant a more critical appraisal of these zoonotic pathogens in pigeons

Racing, ornamental and city pigeons carry Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) with different Shiga toxin subtypes, urging further analysis of their epidemiological role in the spread of STEC

Pigeons are known to shed zoonotic pathogens. Therefore, in this study a total of 366 droppings from pigeons were analysed using PCR and DNA-DNA-hybridization for Shiga toxin producing E coli (STEC). Specimens were collected from three different groups of pigeons: 247 collective and 3 individual droppings from racing pigeons, 26 collective and 40 individual from ornamental pigeons as well as 50 collective droppings from city pigeons. Initial screening experiments revealed a total 245 (66.9%) droppings to be Shiga toxin gene positive. Of these 36% were positive for stx1,9% for stx2 and 37% for stx2f. Prevalence significantly (p < 0.001) differed in regard to the pigeon groups examined. Droppings from racing pigeons showed prevalence of 45.6% for stx1,3.2% for stx2, and 33.2% for stx2f, while the distribution of stx-positive specimens was more even in ornamental pigeons (15% stx1, 27% stx2, and 26% stx2). In specimens from city pigeons, stx2f was found to be most prevalent with 76% (2% stx1, 16% stx2). In 161 samples, stx genes were detected by PCR as well as DNA-DNA-hybridization. From these 161 samples, 20 were randomly chosen for isolation of STEC. A total of 27 STEC strains were isolated from 13 of these 20 samples. Six of the STEC were positive for stx1, 21 harbored stx2f. Further typing for virulence factor genes revealed the existence of eae in 4 of the 6 stx1-positive strains, as well as in 19 of the 21 stx2f-positive strains. eae is known to be crucially involved in the ability of E coli strains to cause the "attaching and effacing" lesion in the gut, while stx2f-STEC are assumed to be host specific for pigeons. Here we report the first description of stx1- and eae-positive STEC strains in pigeons from Germany, especially in racing and ornamental pigeons. Taking into account the close contact between fanciers and pigeons, these findings warrant a more critical appraisal of these zoonotic pathogens in pigeons