Pitfalls and opportunities of teaching veterinary parasitology within an integrated curriculum

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University has seen three major curriculum changes, in 1995, 2001 and 2007. The last change was made because of the European change to a Bachelor-Master system. Almost each time teaching hours tagged for veterinary parasitology have been reduced to currently a minimum of between 46 and 51.5 h, which is much less than the WAAVP-recommended minimum of 70-90 h. This results in a challenge to maintain a qualitatively adequate veterinary parasitology program in a curriculum. Following a brief historic account of previous curricula and implemented curriculum changes, experiences, limitations and opportunities are discussed, including the potential of introducing new teaching materials based, for example, on digital technologies and gaming.