Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 13, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Gazette
VETERINARY PROFESSION
Dr yes or Dr no? MY perspective on the question of whether veterinary surgeons should be allowed to use the courtesy title doctor is as an American, having earned a BSc university degree before a DVM postgraduate degree. I have been concerned for many years that the UK system of veterinary education is failing to adequately prepare its graduates for life in the profession. The problem begins with a system that pressurises 13- to 14-year-old students to chose a profession (who are often too immature to make such decisions) and then begins to restrict their education at GCSEs and then severely restricts it at A-levels. If their academic scores are high enough in those three subjects, they qualify at the tender age of 18 to enter a veterinary college. This, I fear, is inadequate preparation for the life skills needed to thrive in the veterinary profession. This system also perversely affects the male:female vet student ratio, the average UK graduate’s longevity in the profession and possibly, I suspect, its tragic depression and suicide rates. As a comparison, in the USA, to 178 | Veterinary Record | February 14, 2015
graduate high school, one typically takes six subjects through to graduation. Forty-eight semester credits are required for high school graduation: eight language arts credits, six mathematics credits, seven social studies credits, six science credits, two physical education credits, one health credit, two fine/performing arts credits, one technology credit, six foreign language credits (four in the same language), and nine elective credits. Having graduated high school at the age of 17 or 18, you need not have decided that you wish to enter the veterinary profession and you will certainly not be entering a US veterinary college at this stage. If it is your ambition, you will enter a BSc degree programme and over a typical three- to fouryear period be required to take a broad range of courses, including some in the liberal arts, and not be allowed to simply take the required science subjects. This ensures a well-rounded education and allows time to make a more mature decision about entering the profession. It means a much bigger commitment to university – typically four years of veterinary college after a four-year BSc degree. The doctor title should be reserved to reflect a comparable investment in education that presently has a three- to fouryear deficit in the UK. It would be a very positive development for the UK veterinary
profession to embrace a doctoral level of educational experience. The problem, however, has become the money. The average vet in the USA graduates with a debt three times their average income – that is economic madness. Though UK graduates’ debt:income ratio is much lower, the economics of life in the profession have become woefully inadequate. It has become uneconomic to finance the DVM degree in the USA. What chance then to give UK veterinary students the educational background they deserve and need to earn the title Dr? Dietrich Graf von Schweinitz, Orchard Paddock, Iron Lane, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey GU5 0BY e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.h671
IT was stated in RCVS News (RCVS 2014) and elsewhere, that the level of training and educational attainment of medical and veterinary graduates is identical. Academic standards may be the same and practical training similar, but identical, surely not. Veterinary undergraduates study multiple species and are required to note comparative
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 13, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Letters features, while their practical training, especially for farm work, is necessarily different from health centre or hospital service demands. Over an extended career, both in the UK and abroad, in practice and academia, I have never felt at a disadvantage being first and foremost recognised as a veterinary surgeon, even without a doctorate. Whether attending Council of Europe committee meetings at Strasbourg, in discussions at the World Health Organization in Geneva, or on consultancies with medical connotations, I never felt at a disadvantage or wished to be regarded differently. Experience and application seemed to be what was valued. An integral part of the approach to One Health is collaboration with medical colleagues. Both vets and doctors are important partners in this endeavour, as well as associated scientists: there seems to be no sense in blurring boundaries between the professions. Two heads are better than one and the background of each should be easily recognisable. If the answer, as to whether or not vets should assume an honorific prenominal title of doctor, resulted in a ‘yes’, this would do little to clarify the situation regarding numerous postnominals and specialist categories. Ramsay Hovell, The Old Stocks, 62 The Avenue, Worminghall, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP18 9LE
Reference
RCVS (2014) Doctor in the house? www.rcvs.org.uk/ publications/rcvs-news-november-2014. Accessed February 5, 2015
doi: 10.1136/vr.h693
RCVS
Reporting illegally imported puppies RECENTLY our practice treated an injured puppy out-of-hours for a ‘non-client’. The puppy appeared to be about six to seven weeks of age, unchipped with no history of vaccination. During the course of taking the history, the owner admitted that he had brought the animal back from Spain a few days earlier in his camper van. Having treated the puppy, my colleague informed the owner that the dog had been imported illegally and that, as a veterinary surgeon, he had a duty to inform the authorities. Imagine, therefore, his surprise when he spoke to the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS) and was told that he was under no such obligation and that the decision of whether to inform Trading Standards was
entirely up to him. Moreover, should he decide to tell Trading Standards, he should first inform the RCVS that he was going to breach client confidentiality. It seems to me that this is an unacceptable position to put an individual veterinary surgeon in and I call on the RCVS to make a definite ruling on this. What is the point of strengthening the Pet Travel Scheme if we then turn a blind eye to illegally imported pets? If we are not prepared to be the gatekeepers keeping rabies out of the UK, then what right have we to expect the general public to care either? Andrew Starnes, Fairfield House, New Town, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 5DG e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.h754 Gordon Hockey, the RCVS Registrar, comments: We receive several calls a day from members of the veterinary team, usually veterinary surgeons, for advice on when they can breach confidentiality and report a client to the police or other enforcement body. Some relate, as per the letter from Mr Starnes, to potentially illegal imports, others to dangerous dogs, suspected cases of animal abuse or neglect, or other breaches of the law. Ultimately, the decision to report is for the individual professional. We will support someone who believes they are acting on the basis of animal welfare or public interest, and we make this clear to those who contact us. In the case of the suspected illegally imported puppy, while there is no legal obligation on the veterinary surgeon to inform the police or Trading Standards (the VDS advice was correct), to do so would seem to be in the best interests of animal welfare. Where there is a legal obligation to report is when rabies is suspected – it is a notifiable disease. We would always encourage those unsure about what steps to take to contact our advice team for guidance. Gordon Hockey, RCVS, Belgravia House, 62-64 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.h755
BOVINE TB
Uncertainties about reactive culling of badgers STRICT movement controls are crucial in the eradication of bovine TB from the national cattle herd. Some movement of breeding badgers among social groups occurs normally, especially in spring (Neal and Cheeseman 1996), when bovine TB fulminates in badgers (Gallagher and Nelson 1979); infected males infect other males via bites during fighting on social group boundaries; cubs may disperse in search of food; badgers with advanced clinical TB roam widely. Movement control of badgers is unfeasible, so culling must be prompt and thorough. The possibility of incomplete culling causing spread of bovine TB was raised by Overend (1980). Five variations of culling strategy were used between 1972 and 1997 (Krebs and others 1997). All had deficiencies and declined cumulatively in efficiency from 1982. From 1990 to 1997, there was delay in culling; trapped lactating sows were released to suckle cubs; ‘trap-shy’ badgers were not culled; culling was restricted to the farm or part of the farm involved, not the badger social group, and there was no prevention of recolonisation. Trapping was sporadically disrupted by activists. The Independent Scientific Review Group (ISRG) (Krebs and others 1997) did not fully address the obvious deficiencies in applied culling or attempt to design an acceptable sett-based method. It concluded that, ‘Badger removal might have caused the observed fall in herd breakdown rates, but the possibility remains that some other unidentified factor could have been responsible’ and conceived the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) (Krebs and others 1997). Dunnet and others (1986) had recommended the culling of trapped lactating sows but were overruled by ministers. The ISRG recommended likewise, but the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG), which implemented the RBCT, substituted an annual February 1 to April 30 no-culling period for sows and boars. This variation further weakened an acknowledged defective strategy. It is intriguing that the lactating sows dilemma was not resolved at the ISRG planning stage. Reactive culling in the RBCT was associated with a 27 per cent rise in confirmed cattle herd breakdowns compared to control herds, attributed to the effect of low efficacy culling plus badger immigration (ISG 2007). Estimated social February 14, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 179
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 13, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Dr yes or Dr no? Ramsay Hovell Veterinary Record 2015 176: 178-179
doi: 10.1136/vr.h693 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/7/178.3
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
Gazette
VETERINARY PROFESSION
Dr yes or Dr no? MY perspective on the question of whether veterinary surgeons should be allowed to use the courtesy title doctor is as an American, having earned a BSc university degree before a DVM postgraduate degree. I have been concerned for many years that the UK system of veterinary education is failing to adequately prepare its graduates for life in the profession. The problem begins with a system that pressurises 13- to 14-year-old students to chose a profession (who are often too immature to make such decisions) and then begins to restrict their education at GCSEs and then severely restricts it at A-levels. If their academic scores are high enough in those three subjects, they qualify at the tender age of 18 to enter a veterinary college. This, I fear, is inadequate preparation for the life skills needed to thrive in the veterinary profession. This system also perversely affects the male:female vet student ratio, the average UK graduate’s longevity in the profession and possibly, I suspect, its tragic depression and suicide rates. As a comparison, in the USA, to 178 | Veterinary Record | February 14, 2015
graduate high school, one typically takes six subjects through to graduation. Forty-eight semester credits are required for high school graduation: eight language arts credits, six mathematics credits, seven social studies credits, six science credits, two physical education credits, one health credit, two fine/performing arts credits, one technology credit, six foreign language credits (four in the same language), and nine elective credits. Having graduated high school at the age of 17 or 18, you need not have decided that you wish to enter the veterinary profession and you will certainly not be entering a US veterinary college at this stage. If it is your ambition, you will enter a BSc degree programme and over a typical three- to fouryear period be required to take a broad range of courses, including some in the liberal arts, and not be allowed to simply take the required science subjects. This ensures a well-rounded education and allows time to make a more mature decision about entering the profession. It means a much bigger commitment to university – typically four years of veterinary college after a four-year BSc degree. The doctor title should be reserved to reflect a comparable investment in education that presently has a three- to fouryear deficit in the UK. It would be a very positive development for the UK veterinary
profession to embrace a doctoral level of educational experience. The problem, however, has become the money. The average vet in the USA graduates with a debt three times their average income – that is economic madness. Though UK graduates’ debt:income ratio is much lower, the economics of life in the profession have become woefully inadequate. It has become uneconomic to finance the DVM degree in the USA. What chance then to give UK veterinary students the educational background they deserve and need to earn the title Dr? Dietrich Graf von Schweinitz, Orchard Paddock, Iron Lane, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey GU5 0BY e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.h671
IT was stated in RCVS News (RCVS 2014) and elsewhere, that the level of training and educational attainment of medical and veterinary graduates is identical. Academic standards may be the same and practical training similar, but identical, surely not. Veterinary undergraduates study multiple species and are required to note comparative
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 13, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Letters features, while their practical training, especially for farm work, is necessarily different from health centre or hospital service demands. Over an extended career, both in the UK and abroad, in practice and academia, I have never felt at a disadvantage being first and foremost recognised as a veterinary surgeon, even without a doctorate. Whether attending Council of Europe committee meetings at Strasbourg, in discussions at the World Health Organization in Geneva, or on consultancies with medical connotations, I never felt at a disadvantage or wished to be regarded differently. Experience and application seemed to be what was valued. An integral part of the approach to One Health is collaboration with medical colleagues. Both vets and doctors are important partners in this endeavour, as well as associated scientists: there seems to be no sense in blurring boundaries between the professions. Two heads are better than one and the background of each should be easily recognisable. If the answer, as to whether or not vets should assume an honorific prenominal title of doctor, resulted in a ‘yes’, this would do little to clarify the situation regarding numerous postnominals and specialist categories. Ramsay Hovell, The Old Stocks, 62 The Avenue, Worminghall, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire HP18 9LE
Reference
RCVS (2014) Doctor in the house? www.rcvs.org.uk/ publications/rcvs-news-november-2014. Accessed February 5, 2015
doi: 10.1136/vr.h693
RCVS
Reporting illegally imported puppies RECENTLY our practice treated an injured puppy out-of-hours for a ‘non-client’. The puppy appeared to be about six to seven weeks of age, unchipped with no history of vaccination. During the course of taking the history, the owner admitted that he had brought the animal back from Spain a few days earlier in his camper van. Having treated the puppy, my colleague informed the owner that the dog had been imported illegally and that, as a veterinary surgeon, he had a duty to inform the authorities. Imagine, therefore, his surprise when he spoke to the Veterinary Defence Society (VDS) and was told that he was under no such obligation and that the decision of whether to inform Trading Standards was
entirely up to him. Moreover, should he decide to tell Trading Standards, he should first inform the RCVS that he was going to breach client confidentiality. It seems to me that this is an unacceptable position to put an individual veterinary surgeon in and I call on the RCVS to make a definite ruling on this. What is the point of strengthening the Pet Travel Scheme if we then turn a blind eye to illegally imported pets? If we are not prepared to be the gatekeepers keeping rabies out of the UK, then what right have we to expect the general public to care either? Andrew Starnes, Fairfield House, New Town, Uckfield, East Sussex TN22 5DG e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.h754 Gordon Hockey, the RCVS Registrar, comments: We receive several calls a day from members of the veterinary team, usually veterinary surgeons, for advice on when they can breach confidentiality and report a client to the police or other enforcement body. Some relate, as per the letter from Mr Starnes, to potentially illegal imports, others to dangerous dogs, suspected cases of animal abuse or neglect, or other breaches of the law. Ultimately, the decision to report is for the individual professional. We will support someone who believes they are acting on the basis of animal welfare or public interest, and we make this clear to those who contact us. In the case of the suspected illegally imported puppy, while there is no legal obligation on the veterinary surgeon to inform the police or Trading Standards (the VDS advice was correct), to do so would seem to be in the best interests of animal welfare. Where there is a legal obligation to report is when rabies is suspected – it is a notifiable disease. We would always encourage those unsure about what steps to take to contact our advice team for guidance. Gordon Hockey, RCVS, Belgravia House, 62-64 Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AF e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.h755
BOVINE TB
Uncertainties about reactive culling of badgers STRICT movement controls are crucial in the eradication of bovine TB from the national cattle herd. Some movement of breeding badgers among social groups occurs normally, especially in spring (Neal and Cheeseman 1996), when bovine TB fulminates in badgers (Gallagher and Nelson 1979); infected males infect other males via bites during fighting on social group boundaries; cubs may disperse in search of food; badgers with advanced clinical TB roam widely. Movement control of badgers is unfeasible, so culling must be prompt and thorough. The possibility of incomplete culling causing spread of bovine TB was raised by Overend (1980). Five variations of culling strategy were used between 1972 and 1997 (Krebs and others 1997). All had deficiencies and declined cumulatively in efficiency from 1982. From 1990 to 1997, there was delay in culling; trapped lactating sows were released to suckle cubs; ‘trap-shy’ badgers were not culled; culling was restricted to the farm or part of the farm involved, not the badger social group, and there was no prevention of recolonisation. Trapping was sporadically disrupted by activists. The Independent Scientific Review Group (ISRG) (Krebs and others 1997) did not fully address the obvious deficiencies in applied culling or attempt to design an acceptable sett-based method. It concluded that, ‘Badger removal might have caused the observed fall in herd breakdown rates, but the possibility remains that some other unidentified factor could have been responsible’ and conceived the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) (Krebs and others 1997). Dunnet and others (1986) had recommended the culling of trapped lactating sows but were overruled by ministers. The ISRG recommended likewise, but the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB (ISG), which implemented the RBCT, substituted an annual February 1 to April 30 no-culling period for sows and boars. This variation further weakened an acknowledged defective strategy. It is intriguing that the lactating sows dilemma was not resolved at the ISRG planning stage. Reactive culling in the RBCT was associated with a 27 per cent rise in confirmed cattle herd breakdowns compared to control herds, attributed to the effect of low efficacy culling plus badger immigration (ISG 2007). Estimated social February 14, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 179
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on July 13, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Dr yes or Dr no? Ramsay Hovell Veterinary Record 2015 176: 178-179
doi: 10.1136/vr.h693 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/7/178.3
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
