Development of core entrustable professional activities linked to a competency-based veterinary education framework

Purpose: Despite the adoption of competency-based education in some veterinary schools over the past 15 years, only recently has a concerted effort been directed toward this in veterinary education internationally. Methods: In 2015, educational leaders from the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) member schools came together with a strong call to action to create shared tools for clinical competency assessment. Results: This resulted in the formation of the AAVMC Competency-Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) Working Group, which then embarked on the creation of a shared competency framework and the development of eight core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) linked to this framework. Conclusions: This paper will report on the development of these EPAs and their integration with the concurrently-developed CBVE Framework

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Collaborative Development of Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Veterinary Education

Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) have been proposed as a practical framework for the implementation of competency-based education. As veterinary education moves toward a competency-based approach, core EPAs provide a context for assessment of workplace activities. This article reports on the development of eight core clinical EPAs for veterinary education created through multi-institutional collaboration, with international input from veterinary educators and veterinary educational leaders. These core EPAs are intended as minimal expectations for clinical activities that should be assessed for every graduate of Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges member institutions. Adoption of the core EPAs and the associated Competency-Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) framework by veterinary schools is intended to promote Day One graduate competence and thereby enhance patient care and client service

Collaborative Development of a Shared Framework for Competency-Based Veterinary Education

Competency-based medical education is an educational innovation implemented in health professions worldwide as a means to ensure graduates meet patient and societal needs. The focus on student-centered education and programmatic outcomes offers a series of benefits to learners, institutions and society. However, efforts to establish a shared, comprehensive competency-based framework in veterinary education have lagged. This article reports on the development and outcome of a competency-based veterinary education (CBVE) framework created through multi-institutional collaboration with international input from veterinary educators and veterinary educational leaders. The CBVE Framework is designed to reflect the competencies expected of new graduates from member institutions of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). The CBVE Framework consists of nine domains of competence and 32 competencies, each supplemented with illustrative sub-competencies to guide veterinary schools in implementing competency-based education in their local context. The nine domains of competence are: clinical reasoning and decision-making; individual animal care and management; animal population care and management; public health; communication; collaboration; professionalism and professional identity; financial and practice management; and scholarship. Developed through diverse input to facilitate broad adoption, the CBVE Framework provides the foundation for competency-based curricula and outcomes assessment in veterinary education internationally. We believe that other groups seeking to design a collective product for broad adoption might find useful the methods used to develop the CBVE Framework, including establishing expertise diversity within a small-to-medium size working group, soliciting progressive input and feedback from stakeholders, and engaging in consensus building and critical reflection throughout the development process

Collaborative Development of a Shared Framework for Competency-Based Veterinary Education

Competency-based medical education is an educational innovation implemented in health professions worldwide as a means to ensure graduates meet patient and societal needs. The focus on student-centered education and programmatic outcomes offers a series of benefits to learners, institutions and society. However, efforts to establish a shared, comprehensive competency-based framework in veterinary education have lagged. This article reports on the development and outcome of a competency-based veterinary education (CBVE) framework created through multi-institutional collaboration with international input from veterinary educators and veterinary educational leaders. The CBVE Framework is designed to reflect the competencies expected of new graduates from member institutions of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). The CBVE Framework consists of nine domains of competence and 32 competencies, each supplemented with illustrative sub-competencies to guide veterinary schools in implementing competency-based education in their local context. The nine domains of competence are: clinical reasoning and decision-making; individual animal care and management; animal population care and management; public health; communication; collaboration; professionalism and professional identity; financial and practice management; and scholarship. Developed through diverse input to facilitate broad adoption, the CBVE Framework provides the foundation for competency-based curricula and outcomes assessment in veterinary education internationally. We believe that other groups seeking to design a collective product for broad adoption might find useful the methods used to develop the CBVE Framework, including establishing expertise diversity within a small-to-medium size working group, soliciting progressive input and feedback from stakeholders, and engaging in consensus building and critical reflection throughout the development process

Short-rotation coppice of willow for phytoremediation of a metal-contaminated agricultural area: a sustainability assessment

Large areas of land contaminated with cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) are currently in agricultural production in the Campine region in Belgium. Cadmium contents in food and fodder crops frequently exceed legal threshold values, resulting in crop confiscation. This imposes a burden on agriculture and regional policy and, therefore, encourages proper soil management. One way to increase agricultural income and improve soil quality is by growing alternative nonfood crops such as willows in short-rotation coppice (SRC) systems that remediate the soil. This paper compares SRC of willow with rapeseed and energy maize regarding four attributes: metal accumulation capacity, gross agricultural income per hectare, CO2 emission avoidance potential, and agricultural acceptance. Based on multicriteria decision analysis, we conclude that, although SRC of willow has a high potential as an energy and remediating crop, it is unlikely to be implemented on the short term in Flanders unless the economic incentives for the farmers are improved

Phytoremediation of contaminated soils and groundwater: lessons from the field

Background, aim, and scope: The use of plants and associated microorganisms to remove, contain, inactivate, or degrade harmful environmental contaminants (generally termed phytoremediation) and to revitalize contaminated sites is gaining more and more attention. In this review, prerequisites for a successful remediation will be discussed. The performance of phytoremediation as an environmental remediation technology indeed depends on several factors including the extent of soil contamination, the availability and accessibility of contaminants for rhizosphere microorganisms and uptake into roots (bioavailability), and the ability of the plant and its associated microorganisms to intercept, absorb, accumulate, and/or degrade the contaminants. The main aim is to provide an overview of existing field experience in Europe concerning the use of plants and their associated microorganisms whether or not combined with amendments for the revitalization or remediation of contaminated soils and undeep groundwater. Contaminations with trace elements (except radionuclides) and organics will be considered. Because remediation with transgenic organisms is largely untested in the field, this topic is not covered in this review. Brief attention will be paid to the economical aspects, use, and processing of the biomass. Conclusions and perspectives: It is clear that in spite of a growing public and commercial interest and the success of several pilot studies and field scale applications more fundamental research still is needed to better exploit the metabolic diversity of the plants themselves, but also to better understand the complex interactions between contaminants, soil, plant roots, and microorganisms (bacteria and mycorrhiza) in the rhizosphere. Further, more data are still needed to quantify the underlying economics, as a support for public acceptance and last but not least to convince policy makers and stakeholders (who are not very familiar with such techniques)

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least 4 m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 yr, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit