Making Teaching Matter...

       Most people have heard "publish or perish."  Professors are expected to publish research as a primary function and time spent on teaching only takes away time from research efforts.  Teaching is something a professor just does.  In one of my previous institutions, teaching is not even considered in promotion and tenure evaluations.   The Regional Teaching Academy which is a consortium of UC Davis, Western University of Health Sciences,  Colorado State University, Oregon State University and Washington State University veterinary educators with the goal of making teaching matter.

        Being a good teacher requires effort effort, skill and knowledge.  Recognizing the scholarly effort involved in developing better keep teaching methods and materials is the first step in matter teaching matter.  This past weekend about 30 faculty members from the five veterinary schools have been working diligently toward this goal.  I'm very proud and inspired to be part of this group of medical educators.  I'm encouraged that teaching may finally get the  recognition that it truly deserves.  

Welcome to 2013!

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

UC Denver Anschultz Medical Campus

DVM 2015 and 2016 have started their first PBL cases for the year.  DVM 2013 have arrived at their 3rd year course sites.  We have two new sites beginning:  Cheyenne Mountain Zoo for Zoo & Wildlife Medicine and UC Denver for Lab Animal Medicine & Research.  DVM 2013 on campus are enjoying a 9:00 am start.  DVM 2014 are still on the road, but many have successfully hurdled the National Boards (NAVLE).  Congrats to the DVM 2013 who have this milestone behind them!

  ~Veterinary Nomad journal 1-8-13

Last WesternU Site Visit Travel for 2011

My original plan had been to drive, but I admit I decided to fly because I wanted one more ticket that had PREMIER printed on it...and it would cost more to drive!  I am ending the year with a great bunch of enthusiastic students in my course.  The weather is bright and clear!  My fellow travelers have donned there gay apparel and are wearing it to the airport.  You gotta love the lady wearing her polyester synthetic red suit with the festive embroidery.  She resembles Bridget Jones' mother.   Her ensemble is adorned with bells in her ears and a jingle bell necklace.   Its topped off with a red hat with black faux fur trim.  You know this outfit has only left the closet during the holidays.   She has just the right jolliness to carry it off.      Flying in clear weather and daylight provided an amazing view of the foothills ringing the Los Angeles basin.  The enormity of the Station Fire destruction was shockingly evident!  Whoa!  It is impossible to perceive how much land was burned in that historic fire until you see it from the air...even two years later.    Safe Holiday Travels from the Veterinary Nomad    Journal Entry Dec. 8, 2011 at Emporio Ralli Gran Caffe at SFO Terminal 3.  Courtesy of free Wi-Fi from American Express.

The Veterinary Nomad and Road Scholarship

WesternU has the newest College of Veterinary Medicine in the United States. Five classes have successfully graduated as of May 2011. The WesternU curriculum is innovative, integrative and complex.  The basic sciences in the first two years of the curriculum are taught through problem based learning.  No lectures.  Inquiry based investigation of cases with associated activities, labs and discussions.  In years 3 and 4, the medical education and clinical instruction is taught in situ through a "distributive" model.  Students begin the life of a Veterinary Nomad when they are sent out into the real world in the third year.   In two week blocks a third year WesternU vet student is assigned to a new veterinary enterprise or disciplines.  The third year will include zoo medicine at the Los Angeles or other  Zoo, beef cattle medicine at the Hastings Center in Nebraska and pathology at Antech Diagnostics in Irvine, CA.  This continues for 32 weeks or 16 courses with four interruptions (exam weeks).  Understand, this is not "shadowing" veterinarians in the field.  Students work to achieve educational objectives through group study, preceptor and faculty guided work in place.  They have continuous assessments and examinations throughout the year.  In the 4th year, the College assigns two CORE rotations, Internal Medicine and Surgery and the veterinary student selects six rotations.  The 4th year could be spent entirely in Southern California or around the world.  I know it sounds complicated.  It is. The logistics are crazy.

I am Associate Professor Diane McClure, a course leader for the third year in Laboratory Animal Medicine and Research.  As students begin this nomadic life of a new place every 2 weeks, my role as Professor is to follow along via cyberspace (black board, e-mail, mobile phone calls, texts and Facebook). I also visit each location at least once during the two week rotation when students are present. Face to face meetings are where the subtle issues come to light so they can be addressed before they become catastrophes. Thus, I am a Veterinary Nomad too.

Beyond learning veterinary medicine in all it's diverse roles, veterinary nomads are learning another set of skills. How to fit into a new work environment every two weeks, how to communicate with a tremendous variety of people in vet med and on public transportation, how to live out of a suit case and still have the resources you need to write papers, create PowerPoint presentations and maintain personal health and hygiene. This is a powerful skill set that is difficult to name, but I call it Road Scholarship.

This blog will share joys and travails of a Veterinary Nomad.

Disclaimer:  This blog is of my own doing and does not represent any official position or opinion by WesternU.  ~ Diane McClure, DVM, PhD