Undergraduate Course: Animal Life & Food Safety GEP (BVMS08060)

Course Outline
School	Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies	College	College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	60	ECTS Credits	30
Summary	The course comprises of: Animal Husbandry This will provide an understanding of how to care for and manage farm and companion animals so that the animal's requirements for good health and welfare are met. Species covered include cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, dogs, cats, horses, small mammals, fish, reptiles, and caged birds. Practical classes will be provided on the handling and restraint of domesticated animals. Animal Nutrition Animal Welfare Animal Breeding and Genetics Evidence Based Veterinary Medicine This will cover causality, statistical thinking, disease quantification, the principles and application of diagnostic tests in surveillance and clinical practice, animal disease surveys and the critical evaluation of veterinary medical evidence. Veterinary Public Health This will outline the role of the veterinary surgeon in public health including topics of waste management, HACCP, stable to table, zoonoses, food borne pathogens and biosecurity.
Course description	Course Objectives and Aims 1. To encourage veterinary students to acquire sufficient knowledge and understanding of animal health and husbandry to fulfil the current and future requirements of the veterinary profession. 2. To describe the principles of animal husbandry and the relationships between management, breeding, nutrition, environment, behaviour, health, welfare, productivity, food quality and food safety. 3. To train students to handle animals competently and safely. 4. To provide veterinary students with sufficient understanding of animal husbandry - to maintain and improve the health and welfare of farm and companion animals; - to contribute to the productivity, economic performance and ecological perspectives of the livestock and food industry - to ensure that food producing and companion animals contribute to the social requirements and health of man. 5. To understand the widening role of the veterinary surgeon in public health, food safety and food security. 6. To give students a clear understanding of the principles behind the scientific approach. 7. Give students the basic tools to interpret scientific evidence critically to inform their clinical decisions. 8. To provide the basic principles and techniques for quantitative investigations in animal populations, including causal studies, field surveys, clinical trials and diagnostic techniques. 9. To provide the necessary skills to allow the rational application and interpretation clinical diagnostic tests. 10. To provide a foundation for clinical teaching within the veterinary curriculum. 11. To encourage professional development and communication skills.

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	Students must be enrolled on a BVMS Veterinary Medicine degree programme in order to take this course.

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2023/24, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Full Year
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 600 ( Lecture Hours 83, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 37, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 6, Formative Assessment Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 4, Revision Session Hours 6, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 12, Placement Study Abroad Hours 400, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 51 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 10 %, Practical Exam 10 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	The examination will consist of an in-course Multiple Choice Question assessment, an End of Course written Examination and a Practical Examination. Section A 1. In Course Assessment (10% of final mark) At the start of Semester 2 there will be a Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) Assessment of the course to date (Summer semester and Semester 1 lectures and practicals). 2. The End-of-Course written Examination (80% of final mark) This examination is a combination of written (short answer questions (SAQ)) and multiple choice questions covering all material from the course. A total of 120 marks are available - with the SAQ worth up to 10 marks each and the MCQs each worth 1 mark. Section B 3. The Practical Examination (10% of final mark) Each student will be formally assessed in terms of their ability to handle animals and their practical knowledge of animal husbandry. There are three categories of marks: good pass, pass and fail categories worth, respectively, 2, 1 or 0 marks, respectively per animal group. The practical exam is worth a possible total of 10 % of the overall course mark. Marks are assigned on the first attempt only, as follows. 2 marks: Good pass: Safe and competent handling of animal. Good to excellent knowledge of husbandry as detailed in learning outcomes from the course practical. 1 mark: Pass: Safe handling of animal. Adequate knowledge of husbandry 0 marks: Fail: Handling not considered safe and/or inadequate knowledge of husbandry. The designated animal groups are as follows:- (a) Cattle (b) Sheep and livestock feeds (c) Horses (d) Cats and dogs (e) Exotic pet animals A pass must be achieved in all animal groups shown above. Anyone failing in an animal group will be required to be re-examined in that section. A pass in any section will be retained. A second attempt may be made during a practical exam session in May. Students who fail the practical examination will be re-examined by the Internal Examiner in the presence of the External Examiner at the August diet of re-sit exams. Second attempt (May) and Re-sit (August) practical exams are Pass / Fail only (ie no marks awarded). Section C 4. Extramural Studies Satisfactory evidence of at least twelve weeks extramural experience of animal husbandry in accordance with the guidelines set down by the School. A student who has not completed their extramural experience weeks has not completed the course and will not be allowed to progress to the third year of the professional course. Requirements You are expected to attend 100% of the practical classes for this course (attendance will be recorded). Twelve weeks of Animal Husbandry extra mural studies should normally be completed prior to sitting the End-of-Course written examination. Those students who are unable to complete their Extramural Studies requirement by the time of the written examination will be allowed to sit the written examination but will not be granted a pass until they have completed the Extramural Studies requirement. A student cannot progress to the next year of the course without a pass in Animal Life & Food Safety GEP exam.
Feedback	In Course Assessment feedback session. An opportunity to review the Practical Handling Exam Assessment sheet.
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Outwith Standard Exam Diets April	Animal Life & Food Safety (GEP) Written Paper		2:30
Resit Exam Diet (August)	Animal Life & Food Safety (GEP) Written Paper		2:30

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: understand the principles of the husbandry of farm animals, horses, exotic animals, cats and dogs. Be able to safely handle farm animals, horses, exotic animals, cats and dogs and be able to recognize the common breeds and feeds of these animals. have an understanding of the livestock industry, pet ownership, breeding and genetics and understand the principles of nutrition and ration formulation. understand the basic principles of evidence based veterinary medicine and statistics understand the basic facts of veterinary public health issues and state veterinary medicine. understand the basic principles of animal behaviour and welfare.