Drs. Nicola Ritter and Molly Gonzales at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University, were awarded a competitive contract from Iowa’s Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
“This award will help Iowa strengthen their training capacity to respond to potential foreign animal disease outbreaks that threaten the states and nation’s food supply,” said Dr. Ritter.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) is expanding Iowa’s current Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) response capabilities and the number of veterinarians in the state capable of participating in all aspects of FAD preparedness and response (pre-response, response, and post-response). To accomplish this, they are creating a certification program for veterinarians licensed in Iowa that already have USDA category II accreditation.
The project focuses on developing a certification program for veterinarians licensed in Iowa that currently have a USDA category II accreditation. The certification process will be two tiered, with the first tier completing an in-person course and the second-tier online modules. Four possible certifications will be offered: Diagnosis, Biosecurity, Permitting, and Outbreak Investigation. The Center for Educational Technologies will be hosting the online continuing education program. More information on the Center’s hosting services, see below.
Since 2012, the Center for Educational Technologies has completed several continuing education courses on foreign animal disease response with federal and state entities. One of these courses is available to USDA category II accredited veterinarians free of charge at: https://usdatraining.com.
About Service Center at the Center for Educational Technologies
The Center for Educational Technologies’ service center enables the CET’s faculty and staff to serve as contractors to government agencies, private companies, and researchers. The service center accounts for 15% of the CET’s revenue from entrepreneurial activities.
The CET continues to serve our state, nation, and world through various research, teaching, and entrepreneurial endeavors – all of which are centered on providing engaging online educational resources.