An Appraisal of Training in Veterinary Parasitology in Teaching Institutions of Pakistan: Contrasts with Global Approaches in Veterinary Education

This paper describes the advantages and disadvantages of various approaches of teaching veterinary parasitology, including the disciplinary, the problem-oriented and combined approaches. In the disciplinary approach, parasitology is taught in the classical manner as a coherent subject, covering parasite morphology, biology, molecular biology, epidemiology, pathology and immunology, as well as clinical manifestations, diagnosis, therapy, control and prevention of parasitic diseases. Problem-oriented teaching approaches the subject, starting from diseases in animal species or from organ systems or other objectives (e.g. food safety); it also tackles training of skills for problem solving and self-learning. Combined approaches include elements of the disciplinary approach and those of other methods. As an example, a new curriculum (as a combination of organ-focused and problem-based approach) of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Berne, Switzerland, has been discussed. Based on the observations and experiences regarding teaching veterinary parasitology, some suggestions have been made which may be helpful in the development of curriculum of veterinary parasitology in Pakistan.