Vet students get support from The Donkey Sanctuary

The veterinary team at The Donkey Sanctuary has been helping veterinary students across the world during the pandemic by providing online teaching support.

The charity has traditionally played a role in helping to teach the next generation of vets, VNs, farriers and equine dentists, but EMS placements took a hit during the course of the year-long pandemic and its resultant lockdowns.

So Alex Thiemann, senior vet surgeon and education lead for the charity, and her team got together a suite of resources suitable for preclinical and clinical students, including webinars, fact sheets, narrated slideshows, web links and case studies.

‘Hands-on teaching’

Dr Thiemann said: “In a normal year, we would devote many hours to hands-on teaching at our state-of-the-art donkey hospital or would spend time at universities and colleges in the UK and abroad.

“It’s really important to us that we share our expert knowledge on donkey welfare and care with the next generation of veterinary professionals. COVID-19 means we have to work differently to deliver this support, taking our teaching online to reach thousands of students.”

Expansion

The University of Nottingham initially requested the free resources, but they were later shared with other vet schools in the UK, and students from as far away as New Zealand and Canada have subsequently benefited.

Sarah Freeman, from the University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, said: “We are hugely grateful to The Donkey Sanctuary for sharing its fantastic resources and expertise. It has been a difficult time for the students with so many opportunities and practical experiences cancelled.

“Being given access to a range of excellent resources, and their staff’s advice and expertise, and learning more about donkeys and the amazing work that The Donkey Sanctuary does has been a real positive experience in challenging times.”