A Veterinary Approach to Sustainable Food and Farming - Feedback

Many farm veterinarians (and allied professionals) are looking to build knowledge and confidence talking to their clients about sustainability, so they can approach difficult conversations with an evidence based approach. “A Veterinary Approach to Sustainable Food and Farming”, our online course in partnership with Vet Sustain, is designed to do just that; empowering veterinary professionals to unlock their unique toolbox of skills and knowledge to help producers attain multiple sustainability objectives. 

With our next cohort currently open for enrolment, VetSalus spoke with some previous participants to understand how they found their learning experience, and what impact this has had on their approach to sustainability conversations with their clients.

Ilyse Jennens, practising vet at Franklin Vets in Waitakaruru, New Zealand, has completed the course content and is currently working on her final assignment. 

Ilyse first heard about the course through the VetSalus newsletter. We asked Ilyse what her learning objectives for taking the course were:

“I am interested in supporting farmers in transition to sustainable farming but have limited knowledge in this space, so I enrolled in the course to expand my knowledge and skill set”.

The course is broken up into ten modules covering a range of topics from ‘The Role of Veterinary Professionals in Sustainability’, ‘Farming Systems of the World’ to ‘Driving Change’. The modules take participants on a journey through the topics, understanding the issues we face and learning how to approach them. Alongside the course we invite participants to engage in discussion forums, join a cohort Whatsapp group and attend live meetings with their fellow participants. 

We asked Ilyse about the overall course experience and how she found it:

“The course is very good. I liked how the pages were broken down into small sections which made it easy to work through, and allowed me to regularly complete small sections at a time. It was also useful to have separate tasks and deep dives, which allows the ability to save links for later access and reading for continued reference”

There are no specific entry requirements for the course, however all participants are expected to have undertaken an undergraduate degree, technical qualification as a paraprofessional, or a relevant diploma. The course has been specifically developed for veterinarians and paraprofessionals working with production animals (and the associated busy work and life schedules), and features examples and case studies from around the world. 

We asked Ilyse how this course developed her professionally, and if the course had improved her understanding of and ability to practise sustainably:

“The course expanded my knowledge and thought process in ways I didn’t expect. For example, I initially struggled to see the immediate relevance of the different farming systems internationally, as many are so different to where I practise as a vet. But as the course progressed the relevance of this initial learning became more evident and a core part of understanding the course content. The course brings together the importance of practising sustainably with the tools to support clients on a sustainability journey, by signposting to online resources and carbon calculators.”

Thank you to Ilyse for taking the time to discuss her course experience. To find out more about the course itself, please visit our website. Our next cohort is open for registration until 16th November 2024.