A crisis of lost opportunity - Conclusions from a symposium on challenges for animal population health education

Abstract

Results from a symposium and workshop on animal population health education held in Davis, California on May 9-11, 2002 indicate an urgent need to expand the number of veterinary graduates who are capable of working effectively in public agencies, private corporations, animal production industries, and other settings. These settings call for veterinary graduates with skills in animal population health, leadership, and multidisciplinary teamwork and with broad perspectives on issues of environmental/human/animal health and well-being. Participants identified lines of action that would lead to increased production of such graduates. They proposed an implementation strategy that would utilize a consortium of veterinary colleges with strong support from public agencies, private corporations, professional associations, and related groups.