EChook News/Online courses focus on avian health
From Poultry Hub
Online courses focus on avian health
Friday, 11 August 2006
Due to the increased global demand for veterinary scientists with formal specialist qualifications in Avian Health, the University of Melbourne, in collaboration with the Poultry CRC, has developed two online postgraduate courses for veterinarians:
*Postgraduate Certificate in Avian Health
*Master of Veterinary Studies (Avian Health)
See some course screen shots:
The two courses offered through Avian Health Online are composed of individual learning units, each focusing on topics relevant to the modern poultry veterinarian. The first group of students completed Unit 1 in July, with 16 weeks of study and assessment culminating in a final exam.
“We’re now busy getting Unit 2 ready for September,” says Dr Trevor Bagust, the Course Coordinator and Senior Lecturer with the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Melbourne.
“The students did very well in all of their assessments from Unit 1. Feedback was very positive, with the course’s flexibility proving to be a key attribute for working students.”
“The best part is the online nature of the course,” says student, Nirman Minhas.
“It gives me time to study and work at the same time. It gets pretty demanding, but I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it wasn't online.”
Another student, Gabriel Brown, from Trinidad & Tobago, was equally enthused about the course’s flexible delivery: “I’d been looking for a program like this for sometime… What I especially like about this program is that it enables me to improve my skills as a poultry veterinarian while I continue to work.”
The course’s content also attracted praise from the students: “All the topics were well covered, in depth, with an emphasis on the needs of the poultry industry,” says Nirman Minhas.
“The role the veterinarian has to play in the poultry industry, such as balancing profitability, poultry health and public concerns, was clearly defined. The vet’s role is multi-faceted and the Postgraduate Certificate course is helping me to acquire these skills. Although I have just started, I feel it has already helped me a lot. I would also like to thank the Poultry CRC for their help, as without them I would not have made it this far.”
“The next unit is going live in September and it will be quite different to the first,” says Dr. Bagust.
“Whereas Unit 1 was designed to consolidate the student's understanding of the various aspects of poultry management and production, the focus in Unit 2 is on gross pathology and disease diagnosis.”
Like the students, Unit 2’s tutor, avian pathologist Dr. Juergen Lohr, is also going to be working remotely (Dr. Lohr is based in Germany).
“In Unit 2, we’ll be looking at using more discussion-based forums for students to talk about clinical cases and more case-based learning,” says Dr. Bagust.
“There are 13 topics, each looking at the pathology of an avian body system and these run over the 16-week semester. A number of pathologists have contributed to the unit’s content by supplying images or technical information.”
Visit the Avian Health Online website for more information or contact Dr. Trevor Bagust on +61 3 9731 2011. Alternatively, email Trevor Bagust
