Climbing the Integration Ladder: A Case Study on an Interdisciplinary and Case-based Approach to Teaching General Pathology, Parasitology and Microbiology in the Veterinary Curriculum

The School of Veterinary Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland restructured the teaching of general pathology, parasitology and microbiology in third year in 2018 as part of the development of an outcome-based curriculum. A new integrated teaching module was created, called Veterinary Pathobiology, which encompassed the three paraclinical subjects, worth 20 ECTS credits. Subject integration was driven and supported by case-based learning (CBL) activities, and practical classes, which were aimed at facilitating the understanding of basic disease processes, infectious agents and the application of diagnostic tests. The disciplines maintained their identities within lectures which were aligned by content. The restructuring led to a reduction of contact hours by 20% and of assessment time by 40%. The examinations included integrated questions with an emphasis on the material students had covered in their CBL. Despite positive outcomes which included equivalent examination scores and positive written feedback by students on teaching and learning, understanding, assessment, relevance, CBL, group work and generic skills, the average scores for overall student satisfaction dropped dramatically in the second academic year of implementation. This followed the introduction of new regulations by the University relating to student progression, which was capped at "carrying" 10 ECTS credits, thus preventing students that failed the new module from progressing. Other criticisms of the new module by students included too little communication on the changes implemented in its first iteration and workload perceived to be too heavy. Further restructuring is therefore necessary. This study highlights the process/pitfalls of integration/curricular innovation.