Integration of innovative sheep models into a veterinary curriculum

Introduction
As with veterinary curriculums globally, City University’s Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) program requires a high level of technical skills and integration and application of knowledge to achieve ‘Day One Competencies’. Contrasting with students based in tertiary institutions where farms and livestock are readily accessible, in Hong Kong there are a limited number of farms our students are able to visit as part of their training. There are a small number of goats, but no sheep in Hong Kong, thus all sheep clinical skills are taught with models and during overseas placements. This has driven the creation of innovative and realistic sheep models that we have incorporated into our teaching program. Additionally, there is increasing emphasis on the reduction of animal use for teaching procedural skills. Using models before students gain access to live animals helps ensure competency and increases confidence in these skills, while improving welfare outcomes for the animals.

Material and methods
We have focused our models on those needed for students to master core skills such as physical examination, ram breeding soundness examination, blood sampling and surgical skills. Models have been built through various techniques, with 3D printing using open access software commonly used. The increasing affordability and availability of 3D printing, combined with increased availability of open-access scans of anatomically correct body-parts makes development of these types of models more accessible to a number of veterinary schools.

Results and discussion
We will highlight some of our key sheep models, including how they were created and how we have incorporated them into clinical skills teaching, using examples from each stage of the BVM as students progress from basic handling and identification through to more complex clinical procedures. In Year One, we use 3D printed models for aging sheep by dentition, a skill that many students find challenging as it requires differentiation of deciduous and permanent incisors. In Year Three, jugular veins have been inserted into life-size model sheep, allowing students to practice blood sampling techniques, an essential skill for a sheep veterinarian. For Year Five, we have created models for ram breeding soundness examination, with normal and abnormal scrotal models available for palpation. Models are also used for surgical classes, specifically ram vasectomy and sheep caesarean, integrating individual skills to perform procedural tasks. Surgical models have parts that can be easily replaced (for example vas deferens and tunics in the vasectomy models), allowing each student to complete the whole procedure, yet reducing the overall cost and waste, as only a few replicates of the main model parts are needed.

Conclusion and implications
Our models could be easily replicated in other schools and incorporated into curricula, increasing the tools available for teaching the next generation of veterinarians