Mastery of basic skills is critical for surgical training. Such training is best obtained by experiential learning, which requires an element of self-reflection. Self-reflection is not always an automatic process, however; guidance may be required. The purpose of this study was to determine whether guided self-assessment would help facilitate student mastery of learned skills in a veterinary basic surgery course. The course consisted of 18 lectures and eight laboratories. Students were provided with written notes and presentation slides before the course. At the end of each lab, students completed a self-assessment of their skills. Skills were practiced in multiple labs; at the end of the course, each student was given a graded, practical examination to evaluate skills mastery. Statistical analysis was performed to compare students' mean self-assessment over the eight labs and to determine whether self-assessment scores correlated with examination grades. Results from 80 students were included. Students' overall self-assessments improved significantly from lab 1 to lab 8, and their self-assessment of two specific skills (closed gloving and simple continuous suture pattern) also improved. Students' self-assessments after the eighth lab were predictive of their practical exam scores. These results suggest guided reflection in the form of self-assessment could help facilitate student mastery of basic surgery skills. Correlation between self-assessment and practical examination results suggests instructors may use these self-assessments to detect students who need extra practice or instruction.Gross anatomy is considered one of the most challenging subjects in teaching veterinary medicine. The use of body painting is reported in teaching surface human anatomy, but such reports are scarce in veterinary medicine. The aim of this study was to describe a practical session for teaching surface anatomy using body painting with second-semester students of veterinary medicine. Two practical sessions using live animals (equine and bovine) were offered with a focus on the locomotor and nervous systems and splanchnology. Students believed that the body painting sessions helped them to understand the localization of structures, promoting long-term retention and integration of knowledge, and to approach large animals with more self-confidence. Forty-nine students took three short theoretical and practical exams a pre-test on splanchnology (Q1), an immediate post-test on splanchnology (Q2), and a post-test after 7 weeks on the locomotor and nervous systems (Q3). Correct answers for theoretical Q1 and Q2 were statistically different (2.04 and 3.11 out of 5, respectively; p less then .001), and higher scores were found for Q3 compared with Q1 (2.49 and 1.02 out of 5, respectively). The most common error observed in practical Q1 was underestimation of the real size of organs such as lungs, rumen in cattle, and cecum in horses. The results showed that body painting sessions improved learning of anatomical concepts and could serve as a bridge between cadaver anatomy and living animal anatomy. More body painting sessions could be included in other semesters of the veterinary medicine curriculum to better integrate anatomy knowledge.As central members of the veterinary education community, students are well placed to highlight current problems in veterinary education. Motivated by the lack of current formal student involvement, the largest global veterinary student association, the International Veterinary Students' Association (IVSA), realized the necessity for students to express their opinions within the veterinary education field. Thus, two standing committees related to veterinary education were created the Standing Committee on One Health in 2013 and the Standing Committee on Veterinary Education in 2014.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/mivebresib-abbv-075.html  For 7 years, veterinary students have been acting in a four-dimensional plane to involve students in (a) electronic educational resources and e-learning, (b) interdisciplinary collaboration and One Health, (c) curriculum involvement, and (d) vocational guidance. Through multiple projects, such as student and tutor interaction, idea exchanges, developing e-resources, and curriculum development campaigns, IVSA has managed to increase awareness to students and schools of the important role students play within veterinary education. This article highlights students' ability to work together to help other students learn and succeed within their veterinary studies, as well as the necessity for student engagement in curricular renewal and development. Consequently, IVSA's projects and achievements are described, highlighting a from students-to students approach to promote active student involvement in veterinary education and curricula globally.Although veterinarians encounter ethical challenges in their everyday practice, few studies have examined how they make sense of and respond to them. This research used semi-structured interviews and a qualitative methodology (phenomenological and constructivist/interpretivist approaches) to explore ethical challenges experienced by seven small animal city veterinarians and their ethical decision-making strategies. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts identified four broad ethical issues The first concerned disagreements about the best interests of the animal; the second centered on clinical uncertainty about the most appropriate treatment for the animal; the third involved factors influencing ethical reasoning and decision making; and the fourth concerned how ethics education might prepare veterinary students for future ethical decision making. An overarching theme identified in the analysis was one of enormous personal distress. Furthermore, a sense of veterinarians being interested in how others might think and feel about ethical challenges came through in the data. The results give insight into how veterinarians experience and respond to ethical challenges. The research also provides empirical information about everyday practice to inform future education in ethics and ethical decision making for veterinary students.