University of Nicosia Medical School and School of Veterinary Medicine

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

The delivery of the curriculum is divided into two components. The intramural studies and the extramural studies. Intramural studies refer to all the courses (as listed below) that constitute the accredited component which will be directly supervised by UNIC. Extramural studies refer to activities which supplement the training received by the students in their intramural studies. This training takes place during the summer break and is not supervised directly by UNIC personnel. Students can choose the sites of their extramural studies having obtained prior approval by UNIC.

Year 1

Semester 1

• Principles of Cellular Function and Biochemistry I
• Body Systems Histology and Development I
• Physiology I
• Anatomy I
• Animal Husbandry

Semester 2

• Principles and Cellular Function and Biochemistry II
• Body Systems Histology and Development II
• Physiology II
• Anatomy II
• Evidence-Based Medicine and Research Methods

Year 2

Semester 3

• Veterinary Reproductive Biology and Genetics
• Comparative Anatomy
• Veterinary Microbiology
• Veterinary Parasitology
• Animal Welfare and Behavior

Semester 4

• Introduction to Pathology and Systems Medicine I
• Animal Breeding and Lambing Rotation
• Veterinary Immunology
• Public Health Management
• Clinical Communication and Skills Development
• Animal Nutrition and Health

Year 3

Semester 5

• Diagnostic Skills Development I
• Food Safety and Hygiene
• Principles of Veterinary Profession
• Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology
• Small Ruminant and Pig Medicine

Semester 6

• Clinical Communication and Surgical Skills Development
• Diagnostic Skills Development II
• Systems Medicine II
• Herd Management and Medicine
• Cattle Medicine

Year 4

Semester 7

• Systems Medicine III
• Systems Medicine IV
• Clinical Pathology
• Obstetrics, Infertility, and Reproductive Medicine
• Poultry and Fish Medicine
• Dentistry

Semester 8

• Pathology Seminars
• Small Animal Practice: Orthopedics, Soft Tissue Surgery, Infectious Diseases, and Differential Diagnosis
• Equine Practice: Medicine, Orthopedics, Surgery
• Clinical Communication and Surgical Skills Development II
• Introduction to Emergency and Critical Care

Year 5

Semester 9

• Small Animal Core Clinical Rotation
• Farm Animal Core Clinical Rotation
• Equine Core Clinical Rotation
• Research Project

Objectives

• Provide students with a strong foundation in the basic sciences and many opportunities to apply their knowledge.
• Train graduates to acquire the necessary skills and competencies to evaluate patients, make diagnoses, treat a wide range of conditions, preserve the quality of life, and alleviate pain in the animals under their care.
• Produce competent and caring graduates with decision-making skills, clinical skills, manual dexterity, and solid communication skills.
• Encourage critical thinking, research, evidence-based decision-making, and lifelong learning.
• Offer students primary care learning opportunities to better prepare veterinary graduates for entry-level practice and provision of affordable care
• Nurture interest in animal welfare, ethics, and public policy, One Health and international veterinary medicine.
• Enhance student competencies in non-technical skills such as communications, financial literacy, and business management.
• Help students to gain a broad understanding of diversity and cultural competencies.
• Provide students with inter-professional learning opportunities, by bringing together students from different fields and encouraging them to work together to reach a common goal: improve patient health outcomes.
• Deliver student-centered teaching that facilitates active learning and understanding.

Accredited by the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA), this degree has been developed to meet the requirements for recognition in EU/EEA countries. All students benefit from a curriculum that has been aligned with Day One Skills and Competences as required by RCVS, AVMA, EAEVE, and the World Organization for Animal Health.

With our devoted Student Success Team, students are matched with a personal tutor, and students meet one-on-one with Career Advisers to track their studies and steps, for practice after graduation. As an accredited degree, listed in the European Union Directive for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications (2005/36/EC), nationals from the EU, EEA / EFTA member states, or Switzerland will be eligible to apply to practice veterinary medicine in these regions. Each member state has its regulations as to which stage of its training program you will enter, and any additional requirements that you will need to demonstrate (such as language proficiency). While the DVM degree is recognized by many different countries internationally, applicants are advised to check with their national authorities, if they wish to practice in their own country. Throughout the journey, students will find support and guidance in aligning with national licensure exams, such as NAVLE based on their preferred postgraduate pathway. Our Student Success Team hosts career experts, and in due course alumni, to advise on best practices for working in different regions of the world in support of students’ goals.

The Careers & Alumni Office at UNIC has been advising an international population of students for more than a decade, by providing personalized career paths to support the career aspirations and options of our students and assisting with employment applications. Students have scheduled, required meetings as they progress in their studies. In addition, our Careers Advisers are available for ad hoc one-to-one meetings so that veterinary students can plan their pathways to practice. Students will meet with Careers Advisers from their first year to discuss their goals and the framework for licensing in their country of choice. The Careers & Alumni Office supports students from their first year, throughout their studies, and well into their careers.

The Careers & Alumni team develops routes to registration for our multi-national student body to facilitate student understanding of timelines and the requirements for licensure. This includes information for those seeking to practice in the UK, USA, Israel, and more. This one-to-one guidance provides a personalised, student-centred approach recognising that each student has different goals.

Quality Framework

At the School of Veterinary Medicine, an over-arching Quality Framework sets out the areas of quality management that we are responsible for and how we achieve these through specific procedures and committees.

Through these formal processes, we aim to satisfy our reporting obligations to the University of Nicosia; any regulations as set by external bodies (for example, but not limited to, the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (CYQAA); as well as conditions of our agreements with partner institutions.

Overall, through these formal processes, our goal is to:

• Improve outcomes for students through enhancing the quality of services delivered;
• Improve outcomes for staff through enhanced professional practice and through linking the framework to staff development plans;
• Ensure that findings from quality monitoring and review are dealt with appropriately; commending work that satisfies the framework conditions and dealing constructively with potential improvements; and
• Communicate effectively to all staff all outcomes from reviews.
• On an operational level, senior staff, each responsible for their areas of expertise, meet regularly to ensure the effective implementation of the strategy and processes and their continual evaluation and review.

Program management structures are in place to provide formal reporting lines for the relevant areas of the Quality Framework, and we have a range of committees that feed into this structure. Cross-membership of committees by senior staff with responsibilities for quality management allows all groups to remain informed of key quality activities.

Operational responsibility for implementing the Quality Framework has been delegated to the School’s Quality Assurance Committee (SQAC). Reporting to the SQAC is the Departmental Quality Assurance Committee. The QA committee of the Department meets at least twice per year. Further details about these, their remit, and their membership, can be found in the Quality Framework, available on request from the Quality Assurance office.

The Role of Students

Students play an instrumental role in implementing the Quality Framework and in contributing to the programs of external bodies; thereby ensuring the quality of education at the School of Veterinary Medicine. Through feedback and committee representation, students are integral to the evaluation of the course as a whole, as well as individual teaching sessions that are delivered. In addition, we encourage students to feedback on an individual level.

The processes and programs of review we undertake are a healthy and constructive way to ensure that our School provides educational excellence in line with local and internationally-recognized standards. They provide assurance that our programs are thoroughly monitored, evaluated, and improved.