The International Veterinary Student Association (IVSA) and Vetstream have announced a collaborative partnership to provide IVSA members and their universities access to the peer-reviewed clinical content relating to the veterinary care of dogs cats, rabbits, exotics (ferrets, guinea pigs and reptiles) as well as horses and cattle to the veterinary schools or to the individual students on preferential terms that depend on the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA)’s tiered structure of countries. (see the Appendix for the full list of countries in each Tier).
The most preferential terms will be provided to veterinary schools within the Tier 1 and 2 countries, who are the least economically well placed, who will benefit from access to Vetlexicon Canis, Felis, Lapis, Exotis, Equis and Equis and also all the Vetlexicon Learn modules on Vet Academy
free of charge.
Veterinary schools in Tier 3 and 4 countries will benefit from a 50 percent and 20 percent reduction in the price of subscribing to the six Vetlexicon services respectively and their students will also benefit from a 50 percent and 20 percent discount on the cost of Vetlexicon Learn modules.
All veterinary students in Tiers 1 and 2 countries will benefit from free access as individuals to all of the Vetlexicon services; and any students in Tiers 3 and 4 will benefit from a 95 percent discount from list price from subscribing to one or more of the six Vetlexicon services.
Mark Johnston (CEO of Vetstream) explained that as an Educational Partner of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association we are committed to support the less well-developed countries by providing Vetlexicon free of charge to veterinary schools, so that we are doing our best to help level the playing field so that accessing clinical information is enabled for those in the least economically developed countries who might otherwise not be able to benefit.
The IVSA’s Standing Committee of Veterinary Education (SCoVE) Ambassadors will be co-ordinating this initiative around the world. According to Viktoria Hirschhofer (External Relations Officer of SCoVE) online resources have gained great importance in the daily life of students. Even more so during the last year when most of the studies where moved to distance learning. Students are depending on high quality online resources that can further their understanding in the veterinary field. As SCoVE Ambassadors are based in veterinary schools all around the globe, this new cooperation with Vetstream is especially beneficial since it enables the SCoVE Team to support the new generation of veterinarians worldwide with a leading source of peer-reviewed information.
Vetstream will also be working with the IVSA to support the provision of its First Aid eLearning courses for all students and other members of the profession via Vet Academy and those that achieve the required pass mark will be awarded a certificate to demonstrate their understanding of the subject. These first aid courses will be made available at Vet Academy‘s website.
Merel Knoops (President of IVSA) said: “Both IVSA’s and Vetstream’s missions align when it comes to making education more accessible to veterinary students all over the world, especially to those who need it most. I am truly excited to see our members benefit from the Vetstream resources, and to support them on their way to a future full of even more capable and knowledgeable veterinarians.”
