Marenzoni Maria Luisa, Ciappelloni Raoul
Small Animal Infectious Diseases and Animal Husbandry Hygiene, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia.
Scientific Journalist, Editor-in-Chief of the e-Journal Sanitá Pubblica Veterinaria.
J Vet Med Educ. 2025 Aug;52(4):440-449. doi: 10.3138/jvme-2023-0143. Epub 2024 Sep 2.
The European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education emphasizes the importance of communication skills and teamwork for student success in clinical practice. Traditionally, many veterinary curricula lacked standardized formal training in acquiring these essential skills. Effective communication and collaborative teamwork are not only crucial for fulfilling the clinical responsibilities of the veterinary profession but also play a pivotal role in the broader societal context. Veterinarians, in their social role, serve as scientific communicators for the community. This role involves conveying scientific concepts, even complex ones, with a particular emphasis on their significance for public health, reaching a diverse audience. Currently, there is a growing public health necessity to improve health literacy, which refers to the ability to access, understand, appraise, and use information to support healthy choices by society, especially for topics like infectious diseases and vaccination. This became more evident during the global COVID-19 pandemic. This teaching tip describes the development, organization, and broad outcomes of a student competition introduced during a standard veterinary medicine course to design novel resources on microbiology and infectious disease-enhancing health literacy. Three separate events were organized during the academic years 2020-2023. The third-year veterinary medicine students attending the 3-month course on infectious diseases of small animals participated in a student competition aimed at promoting creativity and innovation. Their task was to develop novel resources that delivered informative content to the public concerning microbiology and infectious diseases. Participation was voluntary and students participated in groups of five or six. Overall, 125 students created 22 projects on microbiology and infectious diseases that were able to enhance health literacy. This approach allowed students to engage with the content and convey foundational knowledge to others in an easily accessible way. This skill of communicating with the public using easy-to-understand language is essential for success in the veterinary medicine profession. The resources produced, such as drawings, comics, games, and videos, constitute informative sources. Thus, they were published online on a scientific journal to disseminate knowledge of infectious diseases to a broader audience.
欧洲兽医教育机构协会强调沟通技巧和团队合作对于学生在临床实践中取得成功的重要性。传统上，许多兽医课程在获取这些基本技能方面缺乏标准化的正规培训。有效的沟通和协作团队合作不仅对于履行兽医职业的临床职责至关重要，而且在更广泛的社会背景中也发挥着关键作用。兽医在其社会角色中，是社区的科学传播者。这一角色包括传达科学概念，甚至是复杂的概念，特别强调其对公共卫生的重要性，面向不同的受众群体。目前，提高健康素养的公共卫生需求日益增长，健康素养是指获取、理解、评估和使用信息以支持社会做出健康选择的能力，特别是对于传染病和疫苗接种等主题。这在全球新冠疫情期间变得更加明显。本教学提示描述了在一门标准兽医学课程中引入的一场学生竞赛的开展、组织和广泛成果，该竞赛旨在设计关于微生物学和传染病的新颖资源，以提高健康素养。在2020 - 2023学年期间组织了三项独立活动。参加为期3个月的小动物传染病课程的三年级兽医学学生参与了一场旨在促进创造力和创新的学生竞赛。他们的任务是开发新颖的资源，向公众提供有关微生物学和传染病的信息性内容。参与是自愿的，学生以五到六人一组的形式参与。总体而言，125名学生创建了22个关于微生物学和传染病的项目，这些项目能够提高健康素养。这种方法使学生能够参与其中，并以易于理解的方式将基础知识传授给他人。使用通俗易懂的语言与公众沟通的这项技能对于兽医学专业的成功至关重要。所制作的资源，如图画、漫画、游戏和视频等，构成了信息来源。因此，它们在一份科学期刊上在线发表，以便向更广泛的受众传播传染病知识。
