Models

Center for Innovation in Veterinary Education and Technology
- Models

Teaching Day One Clinical Competencies Using Models

Veterinary clinical training has historically been subject to the availability of suitable patients. However, models allow educators to teach procedures without having to wait for a patient to present itself. They allow students to practice skills without risk to live patients, and they've taken the clinical skills training world by storm.

The educators who founded the Center for Innovation in Veterinary Education and Technology (CIVET) at LMU-CVM have created and validated numerous models for training veterinary students to perform critical clinical skills.

The LMUterus Spay Model

The LMUterus model is a spay model consisting of a reusable wood and PVC base with a replaceable 3-layer silicone outer layer. The LMUterus is used to teach 2^nd year veterinary students how to perform a spay surgery from draping the patient to the final suture. Students must pass this practical examination before being permitted to move on to surgery on a live patient.

LMUterus 1

LMUterus 3

LMUterus 4

LMUterus 2

A study utilizing the LMUterus model was published in a Veterinary Surgery article: https://doi.org/10.1111/vsu.13224

The Canine Neuter Model

The canine neuter model is a silicone model with a reusable base and replaceable testicles. The model is used to teach 3^rd year students how to perform a canine neuter surgery before they participate in live surgery.

A study validating the canine neuter model was published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education: https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.1117-158r1

The Feline Medial Saphenous Venipuncture Model

Cats are among the least cooperative species to work with in the clinical skills laboratory, yet students require practice performing tasks on them in order to gain the proficiency required for clinical work. After noticing that our students were ill equipped to perform medial saphenous venipuncture on cats during our junior surgery program, we decided to create a model for teaching this skill. The model is used in conjunction with a live cat handling laboratory in students' 3^rd year.

A study validating the feline medial saphenous venipuncture model was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.

The Canine Dental Cleaning Model

The canine dental cleaning model is used in conjunction with students' Veterinary Dentistry course in 2^nd year. Students learn to scale and polish the model's teeth using the ultrasonic scaler and low-speed dental hand piece. This model replaces a flat, two-dimensional model that didn't require students to manipulate the head in order to open the jaw or work around a three-dimensional tooth surface.

Canine Dental Model

A study comparing the canine dental cleaning model with two other dental cleaning models is currently in progress.

The Bovine Castration Model

The bovine castration model is a silicone model consisting of reusable testicles and disposable testicular cords and scrotum. The model is used for 3^rd year students to learn this skill prior to performing it during their clinical year of veterinary school. The model can be used to teach surgical and non-surgical castration methods such as banding.

Bovine Surgery Model

A study validating the bovine castration model was recently accepted for publication in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education.

The Equine Neck Model

The equine neck model was created to teach 1^st and 2^nd year students to perform jugular venipuncture, intravenous catheterization, and intramuscular injection. The model features a mix of lower-fidelity materials such as a fabric cover and latex character head as well as higher-fidelity materials such as silicone and flexible foam. The intramuscular injection pad and jugular vein are replaceable.

A study validating the equine neck model was published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education: https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme.0915-159R

Other Models We Have Made

Turtle Shell Repair

Chelonian (turtle) shell repair model

Canine Ear Exam

Canine otoscopic (ear) exam model

Horse Head Model

Equine Nasogastric intubation model

Bovine Dehorning Model

Bovine Dehorning model

Feline Neuter Model

Small ruminant dystocia (difficult birth) model

Canine fundic (retinal) exam model

Large animal uterine torsion model

Feline urethral obstruction (blocked cat) catheterization model

And many more.

We continue to build models with the goal of educating veterinary students who are capable of entering clinical practice with a robust and diverse skill set.

A Few of Our Recent Model-Based Research Publications:

Trantham N, Kelly C, Hunt JA, Bonnema H, Stephens S, Miller LMJ. Development and validation of a bovine coccygeal venipuncture model and rubric. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme-2024-0111

Bonnema H, Kelly C, Hunt JA, Trantham N, Miller LMJ. Can a simple model have value without validation? A study to develop and (attempt to) validate a bovine caudal epidural model and rubric. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. DOI: 10.3138/jvme-2024-0103

Miller LMJ, Scully CM, Morris V, Bonnema H, Trantham N, Hunt JA. Validity evidence for a bovine uterine prolapse reduction model and rubric for use in teaching and low-stakes assessment of veterinary students. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme-2024-0139

Hunt JA, Hendrix R, Anderson SL. Teaching experience, not surgical residency training, is the critical factor in optimizing student learning outcomes in performing ovariohysterectomy on a model. Veterinary Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1111/vsu.14205

Devine E, McCracken M, Miller L, Miller D, Anderson SL, Hunt JA. Development and validation of an equine castration model and rubric. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 2024. 51(6):834-843. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme-2023-0118

Hunt JA, Gilley RS, Gilley A, Thompson RR, Anderson SL. Simulating ovariohysterectomy: What type of practice promotes short- and long-term skills retention? Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 2024. 51(1):122-129. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme-2022-0115

Hunt JA, Rogers-Scarlett S, Schmidt P, Thompson RR, Gilley A, Devine E, Kelly CK, Anderson SL. Validation of a rubric used for skills-based assessment of veterinary students performing simulated ovariohysterectomy on a model. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 2023. 50(3):327-336. https://doi.org/10.3138/jvme-2022-0011

Gibbons P, Devine E, Dutton D, Pulliam T, Anderson S, Hunt JA. Development and validation of an ovine caesarean section model and rubric. Clinical Theriogenology. 2022. 14(4):348-355. https://doi.org/10.58292/ct.v14i4.9170

Hunt JA, Anderson SL, Spangler D, Gilley R. The influence of instructor to student ratio on the effective teaching of suturing skills on veterinary models. Veterinary Surgery. 2021. 50(3):556-563. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/vsu.13585

Hunt JA, Heydenburg M, Anderson SL, Thompson RR. Does virtual reality surgical training improve veterinary students’ first canine surgical performance? Veterinary Record. 2020. 186(17):562. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.105749

Williamson JA, Brisson BA, Anderson SL, Farrell RM, Spangler D. Comparison of 2 canine celiotomy closure models for training novice veterinary students. Veterinary Surgery. 2019. 48(6):966-974. DOI 10.1111/vsu.13224

Williamson JA, Johnson JT, Anderson S, Spangler D, Stonerook M, Dascanio JJ. A randomized trial comparing freely moving and zonal instruction of veterinary surgical skills using ovariohysterectomy models. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 2019. 46(2):195-204. DOI 10.3138/jvme.0817-009r

If you would like to collaborate on model-based research, please contact Dr. Julie Hunt at Julie.Hunt@LMUnet.edu.