Students at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College are going into classes this fall expecting less use of live, anesthetized animals as they learn surgical skills.
The OVC said earlier this month it will now focus more on the use of surgical skills models and cadaver animals, rather than performing procedures on animals that are anesthetized, then euthanized.
OVC student vets will also now gain added experience with anesthetic recoveries and with spays and neuters for shelter animals, which are then returned to shelters for adoption.
Students would still take part in supervised anesthetic and surgical procedures at OVC’s new Primary Healthcare Centre, as well as in the usual surgery, anesthesia and other rotations in their fourth year of their DVM program, the college said in a statement.
OVC emphasized that this change in curriculum won’t affect the college’s accreditation status with the American Veterinary Medical Association and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.
Those accreditations, the college said, are “based on outcome assessment, not on specific teaching methodologies.”
