Evaluation of medical and veterinary students' attitudes toward a one health interprofessional curricular exercise

Abstract

This study evaluates whether medical and veterinary students’ attitudes toward “One Health” and interprofessional education changed after participating in a joint small group learning exercise focused on risk factors associated with zoonotic disease. A survey was distributed to third-year medical students (n = 98) and second-year veterinary students (n = 140), each with a 95% response rate. Overall, 92% of veterinary students and 73% of medical students agreed or strongly agreed that “One Health” was relevant to their desired specialty. Students from both schools largely agreed that interprofessional education should be a goal of the curriculum for their school, and that interprofessional approaches strengthen their overall education. Students reported increased confidence in their communication skills and improved ability to contribute to One Health collaborative teams. This educational intervention, built around a patient case, focused on a variety of learning objectives including skills (such as communication), knowledge (of zoonotic toxoplasmosis) and attitudes (toward collaborative learning and practice). By sparking an interest in One Health during their early professional education, we sought to encourage a new generation of physicians and veterinarians to adopt a more collaborative spirit to their clinical practice, which will ultimately benefit human, animal and environmental health.

• Collaboration
• interprofessional education
• interprofessional learning

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Kelsey Meagher, University of California-Davis Sociology, PhD student, for providing assistance with statistical analysis. They would also like to thank Paulina Zielinska, DVM, MPVM, MPH, for her assistance with survey development, Haley Mcdermott, MPH, for her guidance with data analysis, and Amy Mellon for her logistical help with case implementation. We also thank the University of California-Davis Schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine for embracing our curricular exercise.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors are responsible for the writing and contents of this paper.

Notice of Correction:

A change has been made to the title of this article since its original online publication of July 22, 2014.