Mohr, AJ, Magagula, JS and Lewis, DI orcid.org/0000-0003-3014-3427 (2023) Learning outcomes for the education and training of laboratory animal caretakers in South Africa. Journal of the South African Veterinary Association, 94 (1). pp. 16-22. ISSN 1019-9128
Abstract
Education and training is essential for laboratory animal caretakers (LACs), but there are no courses available in South Africa. A national workshop was thus held to collaboratively establish the learning outcomes (LOs) for the education and training (E&T) of LACs. Eighty-five stakeholders from 30 institutions took part in small group discussions interspersed with plenary sessions to draw up the consensus LOs.
One-hundred-and-twenty LOs were identified, grouped into the following three main themes and 15 topics: 1) Focus on animals (animal care and husbandry, animal ethics, animal welfare, basic biology, environment); 2) Focus on humans (administration, health and safety, lifelong learning, professionalism, psychological wellbeing); and 3) Focus on systems (biosecurity, equipment, jurisprudence, logistics, and quality management).
This E&T framework provides a foundation for a career path in the laboratory animal science field. The psychological (i.e. mental and emotional) wellbeing of LACs forms a noteworthy component of the focus on humans, since working with research animals is stressful and coping mechanisms are needed in order to promote compassion satisfaction and prevent compassion fatigue and burnout.
Approximately 75% of the LOs are knowledge-based, while 25% are competencies in practical skills. It is recommended that competencies should be assessed by direct observation of practical/procedural skills, where competence in a procedure or practical task is assessed against predetermined criteria.
These LOs are published with the intent that they will promote animal and human wellbeing, support ethical science, maintain public confidence, and in so doing, contribute to a just and civilised society.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Author(s). Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License [CC BY-NC 3.0] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0. |
Keywords: | learning outcomes, animal caretaker, laboratory animal science, education, training |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biomedical Sciences (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number BBSRC (Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council) BB/T017287/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 18 Apr 2023 10:17 |
Last Modified: | 04 Mar 2025 15:09 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | AOSIS |
Identification Number: | 10.36303/jsava.520 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:198255 |
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