The Day 1 Platform for Veterinary Education is an online platform to house educational resources and teaching tools for use by veterinary faculty around the world. The goal of the platform is to aid in reducing variability in veterinarian
and faculty training, contributing to a reduced inequality in veterinary services and a subsequent improvement in animal health, thereby enhancing economic wellbeing of animal caretakers, particularly smallholder farmers, many of whom are women.
The platform includes two components: an evaluation tool designed to assess current curricula, and teaching materials centered on case-based learning and designed to be specifically relevant for veterinarians working with smallholder
farmers. All materials align with World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Recommendations on the Competencies of graduating veterinarians (‘Day 1 graduates’). Currently, three courses, Herd Health Management and Nutrition, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, and Transmissible Diseases mapped to five Day 1 competencies, are available. Course materials specifically target smallholder farmers and the species of poultry, small ruminants, swine and cattle. Long-term the vision is to build courses to support educational needs for all 11 Day
1 Competencies, expanding species to include others of importance.
This project is a partnership between the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Center for Food Security and Public Health, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine/ College of Public Health, and Massey University School
of Veterinary Science and Institute of Education, and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
