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Educational Outcomes of an Online Course; Pharmaceutical Use in Cattle
Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a distance-based, online course entitled “Pharmaceutical Use in Cattle” by measuring the cognitive knowledge of agricultural science students (n=27) as felt in their confidence level to explain; legal and regulatory issues that affect responsible pharmaceutical use and food safety principles, basic pharmacokinetics, veterinary drug informatics and classes of pharmaceuticals used in the therapeutic treatment of disease states in cattle. The course goal is to provide any interested animal science, dairy science, meat science, agricultural education, and pre-veterinary medicine student an opportunity to obtain knowledge and skills that can positively impact educational, veterinary and economic outcomes by applying drug knowledge resources to beef and dairy cattle operations.
Methods: Quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum. A one group, pre-post, quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the confidence level and application skills of the students. A 5-point Likert scale was used to measure confidence levels. Improvement in confidence is expressed by standard deviations and confidence intervals.
Results: Cognitive post-course scores improved significantly over the pre-course scores on all 11 survey questions. The analysis for each question indicated an increase in the cognitive measure as a result of completing the course curriculum. The reflective commentary on how students will utilize concepts learned in the course was positive. Students reported that increased knowledge in all topic areas would enhance their ability to; implement patient safety and food safety principles, serve as the basis for educating others under their supervision, and ultimately benefit the end consumer and industry. Additionally students reported; increased awareness of the depth of drug control regulations, the desire to demystify drug use in cattle, desire to strengthen working relationship with their attending veterinarian, and improve overall herd health, quality and performance. Students also reported applying what they learned to their personal cattle, to the job market, competitive internships and graduate thesis work. The large majority of students reported a near complete lack of self-awareness on the many facets of pharmaceutical use in cattle prior to this class.
Conclusion: This online course can be used to increase the confidence level of the student’s cognitive knowledge and skills after completion of the curriculum. The online offering of this course is an effective method to educate any interested agricultural science students in the United States on topics specific to pharmaceutical use in cattle.
Keywords: Cattle, Pharmaceuticals, Education