Teaching of Physiology to the Veterinary Students in Pakistan: Present, Past, and Future Prospects.

The last decade has witnessed a tangible drift from crop to livestock sector. The livestock sector contributed 53.2% of agriculture value added and 11.4% to national GDP during 2009-10. Severe deficiency of skilled manpower; particularly the inadequacy of qualified veterinarians is one of the major obstacles in the progression of the livestock sector. For this purpose, the government has established many institutes throughout the country to award a five year composite degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) in addition to the already existing University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore and Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Agriculture (UAF), Faisalabad, to produce skillful veterinary graduates. The primary aim of these is the provision of first-hand, up to date, globally compatible professional education related to veterinary and animal sciences. In this paper, various approaches for the teaching of the subject of physiology to the veterinary undergraduates along with its core principles have been presented. A gross overview / comparison of the courses of physiology offered in the 4 year and 5 year degree programs of DVM has also been presented. The aim of this publication is to ignite discussions regarding the course curricula, teaching methodologies for the subject of physiology and to provide comparative information of current situation globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]