J Pharm Pharmacogn Res 2(Suppl. 1): S16, 2014
Special supplement with the abstract book of LATINFARMA 2013
Oral Communication
CO 029: BEST PRACTICE AND ALTERNATIVES TO ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS IN EDUCATION
Jukes N.
InterNICHE, Leicester, England.Abstract
The design of the curriculum and of training courses in biological science, medicine and veterinary medicine involves choices about the tools employed to meet teaching objectives. Ensuring that the tools are the most appropriate requires an awareness of developments in technology, educational practice and ethics. Harmful animal use, such as animal experimentation and the dissection of purpose-killed animals, continues to be employed in some practical classes and training courses. However, innovative and humane alternatives are now widely available and are increasingly being implemented to enhance knowledge and skills acquisition and to replace harmful animal use worldwide. This process of transition reflects a growing commitment to best practice, a realization of the potential of technology, and the demands of students, trainees and campaigners. Alternatives include non-animal alternative tools such as multimedia software and virtual reality (VR), training models, mannequins and simulators. They also include alternative approaches such as student self-experimentation, the use of ethically sourced animal cadavers, and clinical learning opportunities with patients. In this presentation, the alternatives employed within pharmacology and other disciplines will be detailed, and selected products will be demonstrated. Teaching objectives and the lessons of the hidden curriculum will be explored, and published studies will provide further evidence of the pedagogical, ethical and economic advantages of alternatives. The positive impact of humane education on students, teachers, society, the professions and the animals will be traced, and case studies will show that such tools and approaches are often no longer considered ‘alternative’, but the norm.