Zur tierärztlichen Ausbildung in Großbritannien und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland

The objective of this dissertation was to depict the structural
parallels and differences of veterinary education in Germany and
Great Britain from the point of view of the general framework as
outlined by the European Commission. One of the main differences
was the definition of the occupational area of veterinary surgeons
and therefore the objectives of veterinary training. While the
veterinary occupational image in Great Britain targeted to animal
health care, the occupational image of veterinarians in Germany was
aimed towards an "polyvalent" veterinary scientist. This difference
was to be reflected strongly in the undergraduate education.
Already the assessment of the number to the veterinary course
presented significant differences. While in Great Britain the
number of admitted candidates to the veterinary course was
determined by the British veterinary schools and the professional
association for veterinary surgeons, the number of applicants in
Germany was calculated by a formula which was defined in the
"Kapazitätsverordnung". Therefore the profession in Germany was not
as protected as its counterpart in Great Britain. Major
discrepancies between the University of Cambridge and the
Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Munich could be found in the
admission procedures. The University of Cambridge had a specific
and very complex admission procedure. Various parameters shall
provide to select only the most skilled applicants to sign on the
course. As the number of applicants in Germany exceeded the number
of places as well, the places were distributed by a central agency,
the ZVS, in accordance with the entry criteria: partly taking in
consideration the marks of the Abitur and partly the date of
application. Simplification of the course curriculum was the main
characteristic of the Cambridge course. In order to prevent
repetitions of the course content, modules were formed covering a
variety of subjects. In addition the practical application of the
modules was emphasised. Therefore the Cambridge course showed a
reduction in overall hours and para-clinical subjects as well as an
orientation towards clinical practice. The target objective to
introduce the students into research work was achieved by imbedding
small research projects into the course. The obligation to provide
adequate training in food safety was poorly achieved by the
Cambridge curriculum, when compared to the Munich one. With respect
to the advanced academic training, the Munich degree of a Doktor
der Veterinärmedizin could correspond to three different research
degrees in Great Britain: the Certificate of Postgraduate Study,
the Master of Science or the Master of Philosophy. The degree of a
Doctor of Philosophy was comparable to the Tiermedizinischen
Habilitation on a scientific point of view but an examination of
the pedagogical skills was only performed for the Tiermedizinischen
Habilitation. The differences in the continuous professional
development (CPD) systems in Great Britain and Germany are mainly
noticable by their organisation. While the German CPD - system was
one-staged and controlled through the regional professional
association, the British established a three-stage CPD system,
which was controlled centrally. As this dissertation aimed to
discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the veterinary education in
Germany and Great Britain it had to point out on the one hand the
practical and efficient clinical training in Cambridge and on the
other hand the widespread training on food safety in Munich.