Colby Lesley A, Turner Patricia V, Vasbinder Mary Ann
Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Michigan, 018 Animal Research Facility, 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0614, USA.
ILAR J. 2007;48(2):143-55. doi: 10.1093/ilar.48.2.143.
The field of laboratory animal medicine is experiencing a serious shortage of appropriately trained veterinarians for both clinically related and research-oriented positions within academia, industry, and government. Recent outreach efforts sponsored by professional organizations have stimulated increased interest in the field. It is an opportune time to critically review and evaluate postgraduate training opportunities in the United States and Canada, including formal training programs, informal training, publicly accessible training resources and educational opportunities, and newly emerging training resources such as Internet-based learning aids. Challenges related to each of these training opportunities exist and include increasing enrollment in formal programs, securing adequate funding support, ensuring appropriate content between formal programs that may have diverse objectives, and accommodating the training needs of veterinarians who enter the field by the experience route. Current training opportunities and resources that exist for veterinarians who enter and are established within the field of laboratory animal science are examined. Strategies for improving formal laboratory animal medicine training programs and for developing alternative programs more suited to practicing clinical veterinarians are discussed. In addition, the resources for high-quality continuing education of experienced laboratory animal veterinarians are reviewed.
实验动物医学领域正面临着严重的人才短缺问题，在学术界、工业界和政府部门中，无论是临床相关岗位还是研究导向型岗位，都缺乏受过适当培训的兽医。专业组织近期开展的推广工作激发了人们对该领域的更多兴趣。现在正是对美国和加拿大的研究生培训机会进行严格审查和评估的时机，这些机会包括正规培训项目、非正规培训、公众可获取的培训资源和教育机会，以及新出现的培训资源，如基于互联网的学习辅助工具。与这些培训机会相关的挑战依然存在，包括增加正规项目的招生人数、获得充足的资金支持、确保目标各异的正规项目之间内容适当，以及满足通过实践经验进入该领域的兽医的培训需求。本文审视了目前为进入实验动物科学领域并已在该领域立足的兽医提供的培训机会和资源。讨论了改进正规实验动物医学培训项目以及开发更适合临床执业兽医的替代项目的策略。此外，还对经验丰富的实验动物兽医高质量继续教育的资源进行了审查。
