Majors

Veterinary Medicine

Major	Veterinary Medicine 獸醫學
Degree / Award Title	Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine 獸醫學學士
Offering Academic Unit	Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences
Mode of Study	Full-time

Aims of Major

The College aims to train veterinarians that fulfil the Day One Competences as stipulated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and adopted by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC). As a college that strives to be a premier provider of veterinary research, training and service in Asia, the College is also committed to attaining the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) Day One Competences (OIE recommendations on the Competences of graduating veterinarians (‘Day One graduates’)).

Each competency is related to a course learning objective present in the courses of the curriculum which are mapped against the RCVS Day One Competences. Thus it will not be possible for a student to graduate who has exceeded the pass mark for the course by being very proficient at one aspect but at the same time scoring a very low mark for an aspect directly linked to a Day One competency. To graduate, a student must not only exceed the pass mark for a particular course but also achieve Day One competency in the skills and attributes associated with that course.

The curriculum was designed with five objectives:

(a) To meet the accreditation standards set by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC);

(b) To include courses of particular relevance in east, south-east, and south Asia and arranged in themes

• Animal Welfare

• Aquatic Animal Health

• Emerging Infectious Diseases

• Food Safety

(c) To include pre-clinical courses in Year 1 and 2 to prepare students for para-clinical and clinical studies in subsequent years;

(d) To include para-clinical and clinical courses in Years 3 – 6 which are modelled on the veterinary medicine curriculum of our partner, The College of Veterinary Medicine of Cornell University;

(e) To meet the University’s undergraduate requirements.

Intended Learning Outcomes of Major (MILOs)

Have an understanding of the scientific principles underlying veterinary medicine
Acquire the basic clinical skills and attitudes necessary to care for the common domestic animals and other species entrusted to our stewardship
Acquire critical thinking as evidenced by successful problem solving
Demonstrate sound clinical judgment and medical decision-making skills
Show an understanding of the interactions among animals, people, and the environment
Display a commitment to professionalism, including a commitment to animal welfare and to following the best practices in relation to ethical, cultural, global, business management, and legal issues
Subscribe to the need for self-education and lifelong learning skills to promote professional growth
Demonstrate an understanding of the limits of one’s knowledge and skills and the ability to address those limits through effective use of sources of information and expertise
Satisfy a series of Day one competencies
Have particular knowledge and understanding of the issues related to Emerging Infectious Diseases, Food
Safety, Animal Welfare and Aquatic Production

Degree Requirements

Requirements
Gateway Education requirement	30 credit units
College requirement	0 credit units
Major requirement	215 credit units
Free electives / Minor (if applicable)	N/A
Minimum Graduation Requirement:	245 credit units
Maximum Credit Units Permitted:	273 credit units

Professional Recognition

City University of Hong Kong is engaged in a process with the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC), to gain international accreditation of the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine (BVM) programme. The programme was granted “Provisional Accreditation” after the admission of the first cohort of BVM students in September 2017. This accreditation status is ongoing, subject to further yearly assessments by the AVBC. The BVM programme will be eligible to be assessed for full accreditation in 2023 when the leading cohort graduates.

CityU is also engaged with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS, https://www.rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/accrediting-primary-qualifications/accrediting-veterinary-degrees) in a process to achieve RCVS accreditation for the BVM programme, and a full assessment by RCVS will be undertaken, also in 2023 when the leading cohort graduates.

Graduates of AVBC/RCVS accredited schools are expected to be eligible to work as veterinarians in the jurisdictions that recognise these accrediting authorities.

In addition, individual graduates need to fulfil the registration requirements of any relevant professional bodies, which can include certain minimum fitness to practice standards relating to medical or physical conditions, conduct or competence issues, disciplinary findings, convictions, language skills, etc.

Information about registering as a veterinary surgeon in Hong Kong is available on the website of the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Hong Kong: https://vsbhk.org.hk.

The Dean of the Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences may be required to inform the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Hong Kong of any substantiated case of major misconduct by a BVM student at the time of the student’s graduation.

China’s Ministry of Agriculture will also allow veterinary graduates who are Chinese nationals and are registered in Hong Kong or Macau to sit the Chinese National Veterinary Licensing Examination.

City University of Hong Kong trains veterinarians to meet the following minimum essential competences: the AVBC Attributes of Veterinary Graduates, the Day One Competences as stipulated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and adopted by the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) as well as the Competencies of Graduating Veterinarians (‘Day 1 Graduates’) of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).

Additional Information

There are also curricular milestones. These are compulsory requirements, not affiliated with particular courses, that must be satisfactorily completed before a student can advance in the programme. These are:

(a) pass every course in a year (including the core courses and University Gateway Education courses as stipulated in the BVM curriculum) to progress to the next year level:

(b) satisfactorily complete VM1001 Pre-EMS Animal Handling Skills prior to commencing VM1002 Animal Husbandry Extra-Mural Studies (EMS);

(d) satisfactorily complete 26 weeks of Pre-Clinical and Clinical Extra-Mural Studies (EMS) (course code: VM1004 and VM1005) during the Summer Terms and/or teaching breaks prior to graduation;

(e) satisfactorily complete a register of veterinary clinical skills prior to graduation;

(f) satisfactorily pass Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) to be able to participate in Surgery and Anaesthesia practical training activities involving live animals and progress through the programme.