The Southeast Asian One Health University Network – One Health Research and Training Project (SEAOHUN-OHRT) conducted two significant activities. Part I is the Online Webinar Series, wherein various topics under Biorisk Management (BRM) were discussed in preparation for Part II, which is the Crafting of the Biosafety Syllabus for the Veterinary Medicine Program. Both parts have been attended by Dr. Marjorie A. Cortes, the faculty handling VPb 104 Environmental Animal Health and Biosafety, and Dr. John Philip Lou M. Lumain, the Head of the Department of Veterinary Paraclinical Sciences, where the subject belongs.
The training workshop on crafting the Unified Biosafety Syllabus for the Veterinary Medicine Program in the Philippines was conducted at the Hotel Kimberly Manila, Manila City, Philippines, from September 9 to 10, 2024.
Various Higher Education Institutions (HEI) offering Doctor of Veterinary Medicine have participated in this training workshop. The CMO No. 1, Series 2018—Policies, Standards and Guidelines (PSG) for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Program has included Environmental Animal Health and Biosafety. Unfortunately, the topics under this subject have not been elaborated on well (i.e., Course Outcomes and Learning Outcomes). Thus, this training workshop aims to craft a unified syllabus, especially on the Biosafety aspect of the subject.
On the first day of the event, the participants were welcomed by Dr. Rodel Jonathan Vitor II (University of the Philippines – Manila), the organizer of the training and Dr. Neil Tanquilut, the president of the Philippine Association of Veterinary Medical Educators and Schools Inc. (PAVMES) and Dean of the CVM—Pampanga State Agricultural University. The first speaker, Mr. Victor Lorenzo Wong, a licensed professional teacher, talked about the Learning Domains and how this impacts the teaching pedagogy. He further differentiated it into three domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. He also discussed how to use Bloom’s Taxonomy of Verbs effectively and creating assessment tasks.
Dr. Jose Obedencio, the Dean of the CVM—Central Mindanao University, discusses the syllabus’s Contents. In the afternoon, a series of workshops followed. Dr. John Philip Lou Lumain moderated the workshop component, which is the creation of the Biosafety outcomes-based education (OBE) syllabus.
On the second day, another set of workshops was conducted, covering facility designs, animal laboratory equipment, and biosafety and molecular biology equipment. After the talks, the biosafety syllabus was finalized. Dr. Veronica Matawaran, the Chairperson of the CHED Technical Working Group for the DVM Program, attended the presentation of the final Biosafety syllabus output crafted by the attendees. Dr. Matawaran commends the organizers’ efforts in spearheading the event and approves the final OBE output for Biosafety.
This training workshop to craft a Biosafety syllabus for veterinary medicine is vital for ensuring the standardization of biosafety education, the comprehensiveness of the curriculum, and its alignment with global health initiatives. This training promotes the continuous improvement of the veterinary education system in the Philippines by identifying gaps and providing solutions for curriculum development. Hopefully, this activity will start a more in-depth review of the different subjects for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program in the Philippines.
[This article aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals: No. 4 (Quality Education), No. 15 (Life on Land), and No. 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)]
Tags: #iloveVSU, #PAVMES, #SEAOHUN-OHRT, #SoarCVM-VSU, #SustainableDevelopmentGoals, #Viscan, #VSU
