The virtual vet program has exercises like
prepping for surgery and suture tying.
Image: iStockphoto
Before even setting foot into the operating room, veterinary students can familiarise themselves with their instruments, sterilisation techniques and patient preparation, Nerissa Hannink reports.
This significant advantage is due to an interactive training device known as the ‘Virtual Veterinary Surgery’ designed by Associate Professor Glenn Edwards and colleagues from the Faculty of Veterinary Science and the Educational Technology Services.
“What we have created is a virtual operating theatre, an interactive program for teaching the principles of surgery” said Dr Edwards.
“Our students are guided through the program where they can familiarise themselves with the steps to prepare for surgery, their equipment and basic surgical technique.”
The Virtual Veterinary Surgery is designed to be integrated with the undergraduate veterinary science course for second year students.
A total of 120 students each year enter the program and must pass the related assessment tasks before they are permitted into the operating theatre for clinical training. After logging on via the Learning Management System, students find themselves gazing into a panoramic view of a fully equipped operating theatre, complete with the sounds of a ventilation machine.
By using the menu or clicking on the contents of the operating room – such as the surgeon, a piece of equipment or the canine patient – students are taken into the related study unit.
These study units cover areas such as surgical etiquette and how the operating team works together, equipment and patient preparation and post-operative care.
The program uses video segments, images and text to illustrate the important principles of surgical procedures and the practice of ‘aseptic technique’, the process of making surgery as sterile as possible.
Veterinary nurse Carol Bradley has significant experience in these techniques and plays a major role in teaching the students in these principles.
The program’s visuals have been recorded mainly from real cases at the University’s Veterinary Clinic and Hospital over the past two years and the site design was supported by a project grant from the Coursework Design and Development Program from the University.
The educational content was produced in assistance with the Educational Technology Services, led by David Adam.
“At the moment there is nothing quite like this in Australia. No other programs are this interactive while being linked to assessment,” Dr Edwards said. “We’ve had a lot of interest from institutions who train veterinary nurses too.”
The program also provides a series of self-assessment tests, a ‘Case of the Week’ and access to information and tasks associated with the practical exercises which are part of the course and are a prerequisite to entering the clinical training program.
The subject includes four practical exercises which allow the students to acquire and practise technical skills such as proper instrument handling, suture tying, preparation for surgery and submission of a surgery report.
The ‘Virtual Vet Surgery’ is also useful as a reference source for later years in the veterinary undergraduate course, in clinical practice, for nurse training and other non-veterinary postgraduate students undertaking surgical research.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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