PRODUCTION ANIMAL STUDIES - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module is relevant to production animal species and reviews production animal practice in the UK, clinical reasoning shills, husbandry, nutrition, pharmacology, anaesthesia, surgery, theriogenology, disease, population health and management.

Module provider

School of Veterinary Medicine

Module Leader

AZEVEDO SOARES Luisa (Vet Med)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

The module covers the UK livestock industry, the knowledge, skills and attributes to support production animal practice. Topics covered include production animal health management, husbandry, therapeutics, anaesthesia, surgery, nutrition, reproduction, and disease control.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

None

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate:

• Problem solving skills, ability to assimilate and interpret diagnostic findings.


• Clinical reasoning and case-management skills at an individual/population level.


• Knowledge of production animal health management protocols.


• Understanding of the relationships between life-stage, disease risk and preventative strategies, health and welfare.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of two units of assessment that must be passed:

• Production Animal Single Best Answer examination


• Production Animal Short Answer Question examination

Formative assessment

MCQ exercises and Case based learning will be employed as formative assessments.

Examples of feedback may include, but are not limited to:

• Discussion of responses to questions during engagement sessions.


• Discussion forums via SurreyLearn and other platforms.


• Formative assessments written feedback.


• Group feedback on self-directed case-based learning.

This assessment pattern has been chosen as it follows that of the RCVS statutory membership examination.

Module aims

• Apply existing knowledge to production animal practice across the different stages of the animal's life.
• Develop a rational, problem-solving approach to the common presentations in production practice at an individual and/or population level.
• Develop the ability to interpret diagnostic results and formulate an appropriate treatment and/or management plan for medical and surgical cases.
• Develop the skills required to work as a veterinary surgeon in the UK.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Provide students with the knowledge, skills and attributes required for day one competency in production animal practice.

Teaching will be delivered online and will include pre-recorded lectures which include elements of flipped classroom, self-directed e-learning, case-based sessions, and live engagement sessions which will be recorded.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: VMSM004

Other information

The Surrey Framework consists of the attributes: employability, global and cultural capabilities, digital capabilities, sustainability and resourcefulness and resilience. This module includes the following key topics which further develop one or more of the attributes as indicated.

Employability: Demonstrate their technical skills in the safe performance of clinical skills and medical procedures, and critically reflect on their practice to secure employment in the veterinary industry.

Digital capabilities: Enhance digital capability by interpreting findings of health data analyses from groups of animals, integrating these with observations, weighting their significance in order to prioritize problem lists, synthesize differential diagnoses considering both welfare and economics.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: Within this module, decision-making tasks and assignments provide opportunities to collaborate, communicate and build relationships with people from different backgrounds, reflecting on different experiences and adapting norms and belief systems.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: This module teaches and encourages reflective engagement, collaboration and active learning through online, supported self-learning, active learning workshops and reflective exercises. Activities and assessments challenge and stretch students and are geared towards promoting resourcefulness and resilience.

Through opportunities to self-evaluate and reflect on their own performance, students are able to build self-efficacy and confidence by learning from experience.

Students are guided to optimize feedback opportunities, to reflect thoughtfully and in a structured manner on learning and experiences, and to respond flexibly to challenges throughout the module, thus enhancing their resilience and resourcefulness.

Sustainability: Students will develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attributes needed to work, live and lead in a way that meets the current needs of the profession without compromising on the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Students are aware of the requirements for the safe handling, storage and disposal of veterinary medicines and clinical waste and the need for pharmacovigilance and reflect on how this can impact sustainability.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.