By: Laura Pulscher, MSc, PhD
Jesus Franco and Austen Herron, third year UTMB medical students, are quick to describe their experiences in a virtual One Health course at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Within the first few minutes of our zoom chat, it becomes quite clear how inspiring
and impactful this course was. Not only did it provide the opportunity to learn more about One Health paradigm, but as Franco stated it also provided a sense of normalcy among the craziness that was the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. What was
supposed to be a field-based outbreak investigation course transitions to a completely online setting. Trying to teach a course which focused on interprofessional collaboration and teamwork among disciplines is no easy task in the everyday world,
let alone online. In their new journal article “Interprofessional Perspectives
for a Virtual One Health Experience” published in the 2022 International Student One Health Alliance (ISOHA) journal, Franco and Herron, along with colleagues from the University of Texas El Paso and Texas A&M discuss their experiences and
perspectives after taking a virtual one health course.
Like many incoming medical students, Franco and Herron had little, if any, knowledge of the One Health concept prior to enrolling in the UTMB One Health Outbreak Investigation course. Herron recalls one of the first assignments where students were asked
to create a One Health collage “documenting things nearby that can impact health”. This assignment allowed students to appreciate the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health. In the midst of a pandemic, it became
apparent how something as simple as a nature park became so important for the health of people in such an uncertain situation. Other assignments included creating “DIY” mosquito traps and movie nights focused on outbreak investigations.
Both students also discuss the final assignment, where students had to take on different stakeholder roles and debate an ongoing outbreak investigation. As Franco states, in many ways it was “refreshing to have such an interdisciplinary focus
and obtain those interprofessional aspects.” When asked if the course changed their perspectives on health in any way, Herron states that the course has altered his perspective on infectious diseases and has expanded his understanding and appreciation
of interprofessional perspectives on these complex disease issues.
While Franco and Herron don’t know what lies ahead, they hope they can continue to implement the One Health framework in their future career. Presently, they both agree that promoting the One Health concept and encouraging students to take similar
One Health courses is the best way forward. Since the virtual One Health course, and with the help of fellow One Health course students from Texas A&M, Herron has helped to initiate a newly established ISOHA chapter at UTMB to continue promoting
One Health among medical students. While the online format of this course sparked many doubts about how to teach a naturally collaborative topic online, students ended up “learning a great deal about each other and the importance of interdisciplinary
collaboration.”
A link to this journal article can be found here.
More information on the One Health and Outbreak Investigation Course offered through UTMB can be found here.