Читать книгу The Veterinary Dental Patient: A Multidisciplinary Approach - Группа авторов - Страница 55

Since universities do not provide postgraduate continuing education, and in the absence of an EU directive defining veterinary specialization (as is done in the human medical field), professionals continue to develop their skills and clinical specialization regardless of the absence of official EU bylaws. Some European countries, like Germany, have their own national specialization recognition system, but the requirements are not equivalent across countries, according to what is stated in the veterinary EU Directive 2005/36. Specialization can also be interpreted academically as PhD training, but such a degree is of low interest for the veterinary practitioner.

Small‐animal practitioners can find an enormous number of continuing‐education courses in response to their need to acquire advanced veterinary professional skills. The level and quality of these courses are extremely variable and cannot be compared with the professional specialization process.

To show the need for postgraduate professional requirements at the general practitioner level, a small group of specialists created a document describing the fundamentals of small‐animal dentistry, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Global Dental Guidelines (WSAVA) (Niemiec et al. 2017) (Figure 3.5).

Intensive courses of three to five days' duration cover different aspects of oral and dental therapy. They are organized in a systemic way and taught by board‐certified dental specialists. All available educational methods are used, with a focus on practical solutions. There are two programs for small‐animal dentistry in Europe and Asia offering comprehensive education, aimed at general practitioners and nurses who want to develop their dental skills. Courses are dedicated to selected subjects and the participants can select those that are most interesting to them after obtaining basic knowledge of oral diagnostic, prophylaxis, and surgery.