The amount of veterinary information continues to grow, almost exponentially. (Just ask the veterinary students trying to learn it all in 4 "short" years.) Thanks to the World Wide Web, the accessibility of educational resources has increased dramatically in just a few years. Now, many professional journals are online (at least in part) and one can easily find continuing education opportunities offered at most of the veterinary schools.

The purpose of this article is to inform practitioners and veterinary students of the excellent learning aids available the Internet. The sites discussed below are from the Computer-Aided Learning Project at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. These sites go beyond presenting information to read and digest; they stimulate thought and encourage decision-making. This interactive type of web surfing is a fun way to study and test your diagnostic skills.

The Emergency Case Simulator
Hone your emergency decision-making skills. You are presented with Fluffy the cat, who is in distress. You make the decisions - do you perform a full examination? Should you give emergency medications first? What diagnostic tools do you want to use? Most importantly... will Fluffy live and flourish your care?!

The Land of Lameness
Choose questions (from a list questions) that will help you learn the history and signalment of your equine patient. As your 'exam' proceeds, you will be able to watch video of the patient, 'perform' diagnostic tests, and finally arrive at a diagnosis that you can talk to the owner about.

Principles of Surgery
Learn about surgical instruments, preparation of the surgeon and the patient for surgery, and how to handle suture materials. A combination of video and photo galleries make this a quality learning experience on proper surgical techniques.

Diagnostics of Veterinary Endoparasitic Infections
Read overviews of diagnostic tests for internal parasites, or go straight to the case study quizzes. Decide which diagnostic tests to perform and interpret the results.

The Computer-Aided Learning Project is just one of many learning sites on the web. For more educational sites, please visit the Online Learning section of this site.

Text: Copyright © Janet Tobiassen Crosby. All rights reserved.

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