Abstract
Shelter medicine is a veterinary discipline of growing importance. Formally accepted as a clinical specialty in the US in 2014, the practice of shelter medicine worldwide is expanding. As a topic in veterinary pre-registration (undergraduate) education, it is frequently used as an opportunity to teach primary care skills, but increasingly recognized as a subject worthy of teaching in its own right. The aim of this study was to use a Delphi consensus methodology to identify learning outcomes relevant to shelter medicine education. Shelter medicine educators worldwide in a variety of settings, including universities, non-governmental organizations and shelters were invited to participate. Participants were initially invited to share shelter medicine teaching materials. These were synthesized and formatted into Learning Outcomes (LOs) based on Bloom's taxonomy and organized into five subject-specific domains. Participants were then asked to develop and evaluate the identified LOs in two rounds of online surveys. Consensus was determined at > 80% of panelists selecting "agree" or "strongly agree" in response to the statement "please indicate whether you would advise that it should be included in a shelter medicine education program" for each LO. In the second survey, where re-wording of accepted LOs was suggested, preference was determined at > 50% agreement. Through this method, 102 agreed LOs have been identified and refined. These LOs, as well as those which did not reach consensus, are presented here. These are intended for use by shelter medicine educators worldwide, to enable and encourage the further development of this important veterinary discipline.
Highlights
Shelter medicine is one of the newest disciplines within veterinary medicine, recognized as a specialty by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners in the US in 2014.1 Internationally, practice in this field is widespread and of increasing importance.Shelter medicine describes the veterinary care and management of unowned animals in shelters or other rehoming establishments
Two groups of Delphi panel participants were recruited from the following groups: 1. Participants at a Shelter Medicine Educators Workshop, including international shelter medicine educators, held on October 23–24, 2016 in Athens, Georgia (USA)
Panelists were located in Europe, Australia, Asia, and North and South America
Summary
Shelter medicine describes the veterinary care and management of unowned animals in shelters or other rehoming establishments. The practice of shelter medicine is wide-ranging and includes many aspects of physical and behavioral health of animals in shelters, epidemiology, population dynamics, high quality clinical decision-making, resource management, and reducing companion animal homelessness.[2,3]. Shelter medicine is an integral element of small animal veterinary teaching in many universities, encompassing a variety of underpinning principles of veterinary medicine.[4,5] The inherent value of teaching these topics combines the opportunity for practice and application of many aspects of small animal primary care.[6] shelter medicine is itself increasingly recognized as independently worthy of study. Student interest and engagement has been a further driver of inclusion of shelter medicine in education.[7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
