One Health Education in Veterinary Curricula: Core Competencies and Teaching Methods
By Dr. Zubair Khalid, DVM, MS, PhD ·

Key Takeaways
- One Health education in veterinary curricula necessitates developing competencies in systems thinking, interprofessional collaboration, population health reasoning, and policy engagement, extending beyond traditional clinical expertise to address zoonotic disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, food safety, and environmental health.
- The VetPro competency framework, validated through expert consensus, identifies seven domains including veterinary expertise, communication, and collaboration, underscoring that effective One Health practice requires integrating these across the curriculum rather than treating it as an isolated module.
- Evidence-based teaching methods for One Health include problem-based learning (PBL) for integrating clinical, epidemiological, and policy considerations in zoonotic disease outbreaks, and simulation-based training for skills like outbreak investigation and surveillance data interpretation.
- Assessment of One Health competencies should move beyond written examinations to include portfolio reviews and entrustable professional activities (EPAs) such as conducting zoonotic disease outbreak investigations or developing farm-level biosecurity plans, reflecting real-world application.
- Common implementation failures include the "bolt-on" approach where One Health is appended without integrated assessment, disciplinary siloing without joint problem-solving, and assessment drift that rewards factual recall over higher-order reasoning, necessitating curriculum mapping and faculty development.
- Graduates require specific competencies for rural mixed practices, including recognizing local zoonoses, applying biosecurity, knowing notifiable disease reporting pathways to authorities like the CDC, and understanding antimicrobial stewardship as both a population and individual health concern.
Veterinary education is being reshaped by the recognition that animal health, human health, and environmental health are inseparable. The World Health Organization frames One Health as an integrated approach that acknowledges these interdependencies, with particular relevance to zoonotic disease control and antimicrobial resistance stewardship WHO One Health Initiative. For veterinary educators and curriculum designers, the practical question is no longer whether One Health belongs in the professional curriculum, but how to translate its principles into measurable competencies and effective instructional strategies.
This article examines the conceptual foundations, core competency frameworks, and teaching methods that support One Health education in veterinary curricula. It is written for veterinary researchers, curriculum committee members, and clinical educators who design or evaluate training programs. The content addresses three questions: what competencies define a One Health-capable veterinarian, which pedagogical approaches have demonstrated utility in health professions education, and how curricula can be structured to integrate these elements without displacing essential clinical training. The evidence base draws from veterinary competency research, comparative studies of health science education, and international standards from the World Organization for Animal Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WOAH terrestrial animal health standards CDC One Health and zoonotic disease resources.
At a Glance
| Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Core competency domains | Veterinary expertise, communication, collaboration, entrepreneurship, health and welfare, scholarship, personal development |
| Framework source | VetPro competency framework, developed through focus groups and Delphi validation |
| Primary One Health drivers | Zoonotic disease surveillance, antimicrobial resistance, food safety, environmental health |
| International standards bodies | WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code, WHO One Health Initiative |
| Teaching methods with evidence | Problem-based learning, objective structured clinical examinations, simulation-based training |
| Assessment approaches | Competency-based evaluation, OSCE stations, portfolio review |
| Common curriculum barriers | Timetable congestion, faculty expertise gaps, fragmented departmental structures |
| Regional variation | Latin America, Japan, Canada, UK, and US programs show different integration timelines |
Conceptual Foundations of One Health in Veterinary Education
One Health is not a single discipline but a framework for cross-sectoral problem solving. The WHO describes it as an integrated, unifying approach that balances and optimizes the health of people, animals, and ecosystems WHO One Health Initiative. In veterinary terms, this means the veterinarian functions simultaneously as a clinician, a public health officer, an ecologist, and a collaborator with human health and environmental professionals.
The veterinary profession has historically engaged with these domains through veterinary public health, zoonosis control, and food safety. What One Health adds is an explicit requirement for interprofessional collaboration and systems thinking. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention operationalizes this through zoonotic disease prioritization and cross-sector surveillance programs that require veterinarians to work alongside physicians, ecologists, and agricultural authorities CDC One Health and zoonotic disease resources. Veterinary curricula must therefore produce graduates who can function effectively in these interdisciplinary settings, also understand the theoretical basis for them.
The Competency Framework Evidence Base
The most rigorous empirical foundation for veterinary competency education comes from the VetPro framework, developed through a qualitative multi-method study involving focus groups with recently graduated veterinarians and clients, followed by Delphi validation with 29 experts representing the full diversity of the profession Development and validation of a competency framework for veterinarians. The resulting framework identifies 16 competencies across seven domains: veterinary expertise, communication, collaboration, entrepreneurship, health and welfare, scholarship, and personal development.
The health and welfare domain is where One Health competencies most directly reside, but the framework's integrative logic is equally important. A veterinarian who cannot communicate across professional boundaries or collaborate with non-veterinary stakeholders cannot implement One Health principles in practice, regardless of technical expertise. The VetPro framework therefore supports curriculum designs that treat One Health not as an isolated module but as a thread running through multiple competency domains.
Core Competencies for One Health Practice
Translating the VetPro framework into One Health-specific competencies requires attention to four capability clusters: systems thinking, interprofessional collaboration, population health reasoning, and policy engagement. These clusters are not separate from clinical competence, they extend it into the broader context where veterinary decisions have consequences for human and environmental health.
Systems Thinking and Disease Ecology
The veterinarian must understand how pathogen transmission operates across species boundaries and environmental reservoirs. This requires competence in basic epidemiology, ecological principles, and the social determinants of disease emergence. Curricula should develop the capacity to trace transmission pathways from wildlife reservoirs through domestic animal populations to human cases, and to identify intervention points at each stage.
Interprofessional Collaboration
Effective One Health practice depends on the ability to work with physicians, public health officials, ecologists, agricultural scientists, and policy makers. The competency framework research emphasizes collaboration as a distinct domain requiring explicit instructional attention Development and validation of a competency framework for veterinarians. Teaching methods that place veterinary students in interprofessional teams with medical and nursing students have shown promise in health professions education generally, though veterinary-specific outcome data remain limited.
Population Health Reasoning
Clinical training emphasizes the individual patient. One Health requires complementary competence in population-level reasoning: disease prevalence estimation, risk factor identification, surveillance data interpretation, and outbreak response planning. These skills align with the scholarship domain of the VetPro framework, which includes the ability to apply scientific evidence to professional practice.
Policy and Governance Literacy
Veterinarians increasingly participate in policy development at local, national, and international levels. The WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code provides international standards for animal health, welfare, surveillance, and trade-related disease control that veterinarians must understand and apply WOAH terrestrial animal health standards. Curricula should introduce students to these standards and to the institutional structures that produce and enforce them.
Teaching Methods with Evidence of Effectiveness
Problem-Based Learning and Case Integration
Problem-based learning has a documented history in health professions education, particularly in Japanese medical schools where it was adopted alongside objective structured clinical examinations and introduction to clinical medicine courses Rapid change in Japanese medical education. For One Health education, problem-based cases can be designed around zoonotic disease outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance clusters, or food safety failures, requiring students to integrate clinical, epidemiological, and policy considerations.
Simulation and Skills-Based Training
Simulation-based training has demonstrated value in veterinary education for specific clinical skills. A pilot study of a canine acute pain assessment teaching tool found that a 30-minute training session combined with one week of practice improved third-year veterinary students' pain knowledge and assessment skills Effects of a pilot training program on veterinary students' pain knowledge, attitude, and assessment skills. While this example concerns pain assessment instead of One Health directly, the instructional model, brief didactic input followed by structured practice with a validated tool, transfers readily to One Health skills such as outbreak investigation or surveillance data interpretation.
Interprofessional Education Formats
Comparative data from health science education indicate that pain education, a similarly cross-cutting topic, is often fragmented and limited in undergraduate curricula. A UK survey of 108 undergraduate programs across seven health disciplines found that documented pain education was limited and fragmentary, with no responses received from veterinary science programs Understanding factors that facilitate the inclusion of pain education in undergraduate curricula. This finding illustrates a broader challenge: topics that cross disciplinary boundaries are vulnerable to omission when no single department claims ownership.
Regional Variation in Curriculum Integration
The pace and structure of One Health integration vary substantially across regions. Latin American veterinary schools have responded to World Organization for Animal Health requirements for animal welfare teaching, with proposals for integrating scientific, ethical, and legal aspects into independent courses Teaching animal welfare in veterinary schools in Latin America. Canadian veterinary programs have demonstrated comparatively strong performance in pain education, with all surveyed programs identifying mandatory designated pain content time averaging 87 hours across the curriculum A survey of prelicensure pain curricula in health science faculties in Canadian universities. These regional differences suggest that curriculum reform is feasible when institutional commitment and regulatory pressure align.
Assessment of One Health Competency in Veterinary Trainees
Competency frameworks provide the structure for assessment, but they do not specify how to measure trainee performance. The validated competency framework for veterinarians developed by Bok and colleagues identifies 16 competencies across seven domains, yet assessment of integrative competencies such as systems thinking and interprofessional collaboration remains methodologically difficult. Direct observation in clinical settings captures some elements, but One Health competencies often manifest in settings outside the teaching hospital, including farm visits, wildlife rehabilitation centers, public health laboratories, and policy exercises.
Workplace-based assessment tools used in veterinary education include the mini-clinical evaluation exercise, direct observation of procedural skills, and multisource feedback. For One Health competencies specifically, the portfolio method has particular utility. Trainees document encounters that required cross-species reasoning, interdisciplinary communication, or population-level analysis, then reflect on their decision-making in structured written entries. Portfolios assess integration across time and contexts, which suits competencies that emerge episodically instead of during every clinical rotation.
Entrustable professional activities offer an alternative framing. An entrustable professional activity is a unit of professional practice that requires the integration of multiple competencies and can be entrusted to a trainee once sufficient competence is demonstrated. Examples relevant to One Health include conducting a zoonotic disease outbreak investigation, developing a farm-level biosecurity plan, and advising a client on antimicrobial stewardship across a multi-species household. Each activity can be rated on a supervision scale, from direct observation to independent practice, providing a practical assessment of readiness.
Assessment Instruments and Their Limitations
Written examinations assess knowledge of disease ecology, zoonotic transmission pathways, and surveillance principles, but they capture declarative knowledge instead of applied competence. Objective structured clinical examinations can assess communication skills in interprofessional scenarios, such as explaining zoonotic risk to a physician or discussing wildlife disease reporting with a public health officer. However, the artificiality of the station format limits the fidelity of these assessments for competencies that require sustained engagement with complex systems.
The survey of prelicensure pain curricula in Canadian health science faculties demonstrated that designated curriculum time varies widely across institutions and disciplines, and similar variation applies to One Health content. Assessment validity depends on curriculum time being allocated to the competencies being measured. A program that dedicates minimal time to interprofessional education cannot validly claim to assess interprofessional collaboration through a single workshop exercise.
Feedback and Remediation
Feedback for One Health competencies should address both the technical accuracy of the trainee's analysis and the quality of their collaboration. For example, a trainee investigating a leptospirosis cluster must demonstrate correct epidemiological reasoning and appropriate communication with the human health partners involved. Feedback that addresses only the epidemiological component misses half of the competency. Remediation for underperforming trainees typically involves repeated exposure to structured cases with progressive complexity, paired with explicit coaching on the specific competency domain that requires development.
Curriculum Mapping and Integration Strategies
One Health competencies cannot be taught in isolation. The teaching of animal welfare in veterinary schools in Latin America illustrates a parallel challenge: welfare competencies require integration of scientific, ethical, and legal aspects across the curriculum instead of a standalone course. The same principle applies to One Health. Curricular mapping identifies where each competency is introduced, reinforced, and assessed across the program, preventing both redundancy and gaps.
Vertical and Horizontal Integration
Vertical integration connects foundational sciences with clinical applications across years of the program. A microbiology course introduces zoonotic pathogens, a pathology course examines their disease mechanisms, an epidemiology course covers transmission dynamics, and a clinical rotation applies this knowledge to patient management and client counseling. Horizontal integration connects disciplines within the same period, such as coordinating microbiology, public health, and clinical skills teaching around a common theme of foodborne disease.
The rapid change in Japanese medical education illustrates how national curriculum reform can drive integration through outcome-based education and common achievement tests. Veterinary programs considering similar reforms should note that integration requires coordination across departments and that assessment systems must align with the intended outcomes.
Clinical Rotation Design
Clinical rotations provide the most authentic setting for One Health competency development. Rotations in food animal medicine, shelter medicine, wildlife rehabilitation, and diagnostic pathology each offer distinct opportunities. A food animal rotation addresses herd health, antimicrobial stewardship, and food safety. A shelter medicine rotation addresses population-level disease control, zoonotic risk assessment, and the interface between animal welfare and public health. The MSD Veterinary Manual provides species-specific clinical reference material that supports these rotations, but the educational design must explicitly frame clinical cases within their population and ecosystem context.
Faculty Development and Institutional Support
Faculty members cannot teach competencies they do not themselves possess. Many veterinary educators trained before One Health became a curricular priority and require professional development in systems thinking, interprofessional collaboration, and population health reasoning. Faculty development programs should include case-based workshops, collaborative teaching with human health and environmental science colleagues, and opportunities to participate in One Health research projects.
Institutional barriers to One Health education include departmental silos, accreditation requirements that emphasize traditional clinical competencies, and limited funding for cross-disciplinary initiatives. The WHO One Health Initiative and the CDC One Health and Zoonotic Disease Resources provide frameworks and surveillance data that can support curriculum development, but institutional commitment remains the critical factor.
Evaluation of Teaching Methods
Teaching methods require evaluation to justify their continued use. The pilot training program on veterinary students' pain knowledge, attitude, and assessment skills demonstrated that a brief training session combined with practice improved student knowledge and skills, providing a model for evaluating educational interventions. Similar pre-post designs can assess One Health teaching methods, measuring changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills related to zoonotic disease management, interprofessional collaboration, and systems thinking.
| Teaching Method | Best Suited For | Key Limitation | Evaluation Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Problem-based learning | Systems thinking, disease ecology | Resource-intensive facilitation | Pre-post knowledge tests, case analysis rubrics |
| Simulation and skills training | Outbreak investigation, risk communication | Equipment and scenario development costs | Objective structured clinical examination, video review |
| Interprofessional education | Collaboration, role understanding | Scheduling across faculties | Multisource feedback, team performance assessment |
| Community-based projects | Population health reasoning, policy literacy | Variable placement quality | Portfolio reflection, supervisor assessment |
| Didactic lectures | Foundational knowledge, surveillance principles | Limited skill development | Written examinations |
The survey of pain education in UK undergraduate curricula identified that documented curriculum content was often limited and fragmentary, and the same risk applies to One Health education. Regular curriculum review should examine whether One Health content is systematically delivered or merely present in isolated electives. The AVMA practice resources and WOAH terrestrial animal health standards provide external reference points for the competencies that graduates will need in professional practice.
Implementation Roadmap for Curriculum Change
Curriculum change proceeds through identifiable stages. The first stage is a needs assessment that surveys current One Health content, faculty expertise, and student interest. The second stage is competency definition, using frameworks such as the VetPro model to specify what graduates should be able to do. The third stage is curriculum mapping to identify where competencies are currently taught and where gaps exist. The fourth stage is method selection, choosing teaching approaches matched to each competency and institutional context. The fifth stage is faculty development, ensuring that instructors have the skills to deliver the new content. The sixth stage is implementation with pilot cohorts before full rollout. The seventh stage is evaluation, using the assessment instruments described above to measure whether the curriculum achieves its intended outcomes.
Each stage requires institutional commitment and dedicated resources. Programs that attempt to implement One Health education without addressing faculty development and assessment infrastructure typically achieve superficial integration that does not produce measurable competency gains. Programs that sequence the stages deliberately, with clear milestones and accountability, can build sustainable One Health education that prepares graduates for the cross-sectoral demands of contemporary veterinary practice.
Recognized Complications and Failure Modes in One Health Curriculum Implementation
The most frequently observed failure mode is the "bolt-on" approach, in which One Health content is appended to existing courses without altering learning outcomes or assessment structures. This produces graduates who can recite the definition of One Health but cannot apply systems thinking to a clinical problem. Early detection relies on curriculum mapping audits that compare stated outcomes against actual teaching activities and examination content. When One Health appears only in elective offerings or guest lectures, the audit will show a gap between institutional rhetoric and the taught curriculum.
A second failure mode is disciplinary siloing disguised as integration. Veterinary, medical, and public health faculties may each deliver One Health content in parallel, but students never practice joint decision-making. The discriminating check is whether any shared assessment or joint clinical exercise exists. The competency framework developed by Bok and colleagues, which identifies collaboration and communication as distinct competency domains, provides a useful benchmark for detecting this failure Development and validation of a competency framework for veterinarians. If collaboration is not assessed, it is not being taught.
A third complication is assessment drift, where written examinations reward factual recall of zoonotic disease lists while the stated competency goals emphasize systems reasoning. This is detected by reviewing examination blueprints against competency statements. When less than 30 percent of assessment items target higher-order reasoning, the blueprint requires revision.
| Observation | Likely cause | Discriminating check |
|---|---|---|
| Students can define One Health but cannot apply it to case work | Content bolted onto existing courses without integrated assessment | Compare examination items against stated competency outcomes |
| Interprofessional sessions occur but students report no shared learning | Parallel delivery without joint problem-solving | Review whether any shared assessment or joint clinical exercise exists |
| One Health content disappears in clinical years | Vertical integration failed, preclinical content not reinforced in rotations | Map clinical rotation objectives for One Health elements |
| Students resist non-clinical content | Perceived irrelevance to practice | Examine whether cases use authentic clinical entry points |
Common Errors by Students and Early-Career Clinicians
Students commonly default to single-species diagnostic reasoning when presented with zoonotic scenarios. They identify the animal patient's condition but omit inquiry into human exposure, occupational history, or environmental factors. The corrective action is structured case templates that force explicit consideration of each One Health domain before a diagnostic plan is accepted. Supervised case discussions should routinely ask what information is missing about human contacts, food chains, or water sources.
A second recurring error is the conflation of correlation with transmission. Students may assume that temporal association between animal illness and human illness proves zoonotic transmission, when common-source exposure or reverse zoonosis are equally plausible. Corrective teaching emphasizes the directionality of transmission and the need for molecular or epidemiological evidence before causal claims are made. The WHO One Health framework explicitly positions zoonotic disease control within a broader system of environmental and food safety factors WHO One Health Initiative.
A third error is the neglect of governance pathways. Students identify a reportable disease but cannot state which authority requires notification or what information must be provided. The corrective action is repeated practice with notifiable disease scenarios using the current standards from the World Organization for Animal Health terrestrial code and national reporting requirements WOAH terrestrial animal health standards. Students should be able to state the reporting threshold, the timeframe, and the receiving authority without reference materials.
Limitations of the Current Evidence
The evidence base for One Health pedagogy in veterinary education remains thin. Most published work describes single-institution interventions without control groups or long-term follow-up. The pain education literature, which has been studied more extensively, shows that curriculum time alone does not guarantee competency. Canadian surveys found that designated pain hours varied widely across veterinary programs, from 27 to 200 hours, yet the relationship between hours and clinical performance was not established A survey of prelicensure pain curricula in health science faculties in Canadian universities. Similar uncertainty applies to One Health: no validated instrument currently measures whether graduates practice more effectively in interprofessional settings.
Expert opinion diverges on whether One Health should be a standalone course or fully integrated across the curriculum. Proponents of standalone courses argue that dedicated time ensures coverage and assessment. Proponents of integration argue that One Health is a way of thinking that cannot be taught in isolation. The Latin American experience with animal welfare teaching suggests that standalone courses can raise the profile of a topic but risk marginalisation if they are not connected to clinical training Teaching animal welfare in veterinary schools in Latin America. The same risk applies to One Health.
Referral, Consultation, and Regulatory Reporting
Veterinarians encountering suspected zoonotic disease should consult with public health authorities when human exposure is possible, even if the diagnosis is uncertain. This consultation is not optional when a notifiable disease is suspected. Laboratory involvement is warranted when clinical signs suggest a zoonotic agent and the diagnostic plan requires confirmation. Reference laboratories should be contacted before sample submission to confirm appropriate specimen types, transport conditions, and testing algorithms.
Regulatory reporting obligations vary by jurisdiction and by disease. The WOAH terrestrial code provides international standards for notification of listed diseases, but national authorities determine local reporting requirements WOAH terrestrial animal health standards. Veterinarians must know which diseases are reportable in their region and the specific reporting pathway. When in doubt, the correct action is to contact the relevant authority and ask, instead of to delay while confirming the diagnosis. The CDC provides practical guidance on zoonotic disease prioritization and cross-sector collaboration that can inform these decisions CDC One Health and zoonotic disease resources.
Specialist consultation is indicated when the clinical presentation exceeds the practitioner's diagnostic confidence, when outbreak investigation requires epidemiological expertise, or when interprofessional coordination extends beyond the practice setting. Veterinary public health specialists, epidemiologists, and wildlife health experts each bring distinct skills that may be required depending on the scenario. Early consultation is preferable to delayed referral, particularly when human health may be at risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can a Veterinary School Implement One Health Education With Limited Faculty and Financial Resources?
Start with horizontal integration instead of new standalone courses. Map existing content in epidemiology, public health, and population medicine against a published competency framework such as the VetPro model, then identify gaps that can be addressed through case modification Bok et al., competency framework for veterinarians. Problem-based learning cases can be rewritten to include human and environmental dimensions without additional contact hours. Interprofessional sessions can begin as single shared lectures with medical or nursing schools, requiring coordination instead of new infrastructure. Simulation exercises using existing mannequins or standardized clients carry minimal marginal cost. Faculty development can be delivered through peer observation and shared teaching materials across institutions. Prioritize competencies that align with existing accreditation requirements, particularly in animal welfare and zoonotic disease control, to build administrative support incrementally WOAH terrestrial animal health standards.
What Are the Minimum Competencies a New Graduate Needs for One Health Practice in a Rural Mixed Practice?
A new graduate should recognize common zoonoses in the local species mix, apply basic biosecurity principles in the clinic and on farm, and know when to report notifiable diseases to the relevant authority. The graduate must be able to take an exposure history from owners and other animal handlers, identify occupational risks such as brucellosis or dermatophytosis, and communicate those risks without causing panic. Practical skills include collecting and packaging diagnostic samples for human health partners and interpreting surveillance alerts from agencies such as the CDC CDC One Health and zoonotic disease resources. The graduate should also understand antimicrobial stewardship as a population health issue, also an individual patient concern. These competencies require less systems theory and more applied epidemiology, clinical reasoning, and communication skill than academic One Health frameworks often emphasize.
How Should a Clinician Document One Health Considerations in the Medical Record?
Document the zoonotic risk assessment, the biosecurity advice given, and any notifiable disease reporting in the same record used for clinical findings. Include the species, the number of animals exposed, human contacts if disclosed, and the rationale for diagnostic or therapeutic decisions that consider public health. Record the owner's understanding of the advice and any follow-up arranged. If samples are submitted to a public health laboratory, note the chain of custody and the results when they return. For antimicrobial prescriptions, document the indication, the duration, and the stewardship rationale. This record serves both clinical continuity and medicolegal protection. It also provides data for practice-level surveillance and for teaching cases in veterinary education. Inconsistent documentation is a common failure mode, so practices should adopt a template that prompts these fields.
How Does One Health Competency Assessment Differ Between Preclinical and Clinical Stages of Training?
Preclinical assessment focuses on knowledge and reasoning, using written examinations, concept mapping, and problem-based learning cases that require students to trace disease transmission across species. Clinical stage assessment shifts to observed performance, using objective structured clinical examinations, case logs, and direct observation of consultations with real or simulated clients. The VetPro framework supports both stages because it defines competencies that can be assessed at increasing levels of independence Bok et al., competency framework for veterinarians. Preclinical students should be assessed on identifying relevant One Health issues, clinical students must be assessed on acting on them, including initiating reporting, coordinating with human health professionals, and adjusting management plans. Entrustable professional activities work well for clinical stage assessment because they define the level of supervision expected for specific tasks such as zoonosis risk counseling.
What Should a Veterinary Educator Do When Clinical Placements Cannot Provide One Health Experiences?
Use case-based teaching that draws on published outbreak investigations and surveillance reports. These materials are freely available from agencies such as the CDC and the World Health Organization and provide authentic decision points without requiring clinical placement capacity WHO One Health Initiative. Structured role-play can substitute for interprofessional placement: veterinary students take the veterinarian role, while peers or actors play the physician, public health officer, or farm owner. Virtual patient platforms and video-recorded consultations offer scalable alternatives. For animal welfare competencies, Latin American veterinary schools have demonstrated that structured theoretical content combined with practical exercises on campus can partially compensate for limited external placements Mota-Rojas et al., teaching animal welfare in veterinary schools. The key is to define the competency outcome first, then select the most feasible teaching method that allows students to practice the relevant decision process.
How Should a Clinician Explain One Health Concepts to a Client Who Sees Them as Irrelevant to Their Pet?
Frame the explanation around the client's own concerns, not around the concept. If the client is worried about a child with recurrent skin lesions and the family cat has dermatophytosis, explain the transmission route and the treatment plan for both the cat and the household. Use concrete language: "This infection can pass between the cat and people, so we will treat the cat and I will give you advice for the family." Avoid abstract terms such as "multispecies health" or "ecosystem approaches." The same principle applies to antimicrobial stewardship: explain that completing the course protects both the animal and the effectiveness of the drug for future infections. The MSD Veterinary Manual provides client-accessible language that can be adapted for discharge instructions MSD Veterinary Manual professional edition. When the client understands the direct benefit to their household, One Health reasoning becomes practical advice instead of an abstract framework.
Related Clinical & Scientific Guides
- Wildlife Disease Surveillance: Designing and Implementing a One Health Program
- Biosecurity Risk Assessment for Livestock Operations: A Practical Framework
- Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis in Veterinary Personnel
References and Further Reading
- Development and validation of a competency framework for veterinarians.. 2011.
- Teaching animal welfare in veterinary schools in Latin America.. 2018.
- Effects of a pilot training program on veterinary students' pain knowledge, attitude, and assessment skills.. 2010.
- Understanding factors that facilitate the inclusion of pain education in undergraduate curricula: Perspectives from a UK survey.. 2016.
- A survey of prelicensure pain curricula in health science faculties in Canadian universities.. 2009.
- Rapid change in Japanese medical education.. 2004.
- WHO One Health Initiative. WHO.
- CDC One Health and Zoonotic Disease Resources. CDC.
- MSD Veterinary Manual, Professional Edition. MSD Veterinary Manual.
Related Articles
- One Health Approach to Antimicrobial Resistance: A Veterinary Perspective
- Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology: Core Concepts and Applications
- One Health Surveillance Data Integration: Challenges and Solutions
- Zoonotic Disease Management in Veterinary Practice: A One Health Framework
- One Health Approach to Emerging Zoonoses: Integrating Veterinary and Human Health Data
This article is educational professional reference material for veterinary audiences. It is not a substitute for veterinary diagnosis, individual clinical judgment, current product labeling, or applicable regulatory requirements.