Learning Outcomes:
The learning outcomes of the module reflect the role of the farm animal practitioner in a rapidly changing agricultural industry of the 21st century. At the individual animal level, students will learn to become competent clinicians with appropriate practical skills and a good understanding of internal medicine and surgery as it applies to the common diseases of farm animals and in particular ruminant species. Apart from exposure to common internal medicine cases, e.g. respiratory disease; calf diarrhoea; chronic weight loss; parasitism, and common surgical cases including displaced abomasum, caecal dilation, umbilical hernia and spastic paresis, students will also learn about the day one treatment of metabolic and reproductive diseases e.g. milk fever, metritis, retained placenta, mastitis and ketosis.
Having completed this module, students will be able to:
Learning Outcome 1(Individual Animal Knowledge and Clinical Reasoning)
a. Take and record a patient history and conduct and record a complete physical examination demonstrating problem identification and decision-making, prioritisation of differential diagnoses and logical evidence-based case management
b. Display clinical proficiency across all the major ruminant body systems
c. Apply relevant medicines and welfare legislation in the context of therapeutic management and management of e.g. injured animals
d. Display and apply knowledge in sedation and regional anaesthesia of farm animal species and surgical decision making together with post-operative
medical management
e. Apply clinical examination and clinical reasoning to case decision making on fluid therapy requirements, antimicrobial and anthelminthic usage and analgesia
f. Display proficiency in interpretation of haematology/biochemistry blood results; blood gas analysis; ultrasound scanning images; radiographs of clinical cases
g. Display knowledge and application of knowledge of animal welfare with respect to farm animals
Learning Outcome 2 (Individual Animal Practical Skills) Demonstrate practical approaches to the following:
a. Demonstrate understanding of bovine dystocia including surgical intervention(s) like Caesarean
Section
b. Demonstrate knowledge of sedation and regional anaesthesia, as well as practical skills for routine husbandry procedures e.g. castration, dehorning, disbudding
c. Practice common surgical skills on calf cadavers, including tibial neurectomy, umbilical surgery, digital flexor tenotomy, enucleation
d. Demonstrate understanding of fluid therapy including blood transfusion
e. Demonstrate understanding of and participate in surgical management of displaced abomasum
f. Demonstrate understanding of medical and surgical management of urinary obstruction across species
Learning Outcome 3 (Transferrable skills)
At the completion of the rotation, the student will have displayed evidence of:
a. Communication and interpersonal skills
b. Participation and the ability to work in a team
c. Professionalism and reliability
d. Enthusiasm for the subject of farm animal clinical studies
Indicative Module Content:
Clinical examination of the bovine, ovine, caprine, camelid and pig.
History taking and communication.
Common therapeutics for use in farm animal practice including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, anthelminthics and vaccination strategies.
Clinical decision making and approach to the work-up of common clinical diseases of farm animals.
Clinical skills development including intravenous, intramuscular and subcutaneous injections, epidurals, cornual nerve block, orogastric tubing and urinary catheterisation.
Regional anaesthesia techniques suitable for surgical interventions.
Sedation and general anaesthesia techniques suitable for field surgery restraint of farm animals in practice.
Common surgical procedures and development of surgical skills including the use of different suture patterns.