Today's students have a wonderful opportunity to advance the efforts of the One Health Initiative. Your growing knowledge, skills, and abilities are essential as we move forward to achieve optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. As part of the Interdisciplinary Healthcare course, students break into interprofessional groups to learn about others’ professions as they facilitate review of a One Health case that deals with zoonotic diseases under the guidance of faculty from our various academic programs. One Health electives have been added to all college curricula. Examples include Veterinary Pharmacology; Introduction to Veterinary Pharmacy; Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products in the Environment; Development of Newly Approved Drug Therapies; a One Health Grand Rounds course; and a Public Health course.
The Speech-Language Pathology Program on the Downers Grove Campus developed a required One Health course to ensure student understanding of One Health applications to their practice. On the Glendale Campus, the Speech-Language Pathology Program developed an Animal-Assisted Therapy Institute utilizing equine/hippotherapy with faculty and student colleagues in physical and occupational therapy and veterinary medicine programs.
The College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove adapted its longstanding Student Leadership Institute into an interprofessional program including students from the medical, dental, and health sciences programs. Thirty-three students successfully completed the program.
Pet-facilitated therapy is now a component of student learning for osteopathic medicine and occupational therapy students. The Occupational Therapy faculty integrates One Health within didactic education in Pediatric Practice, teaches pet ownership as a valued occupation, and also partners with Horses Help, a therapeutic and recreational agency serving the local special needs population, to offer clinical rotations and volunteer opportunities in equine therapy. In addition, resident therapy dogs Gracie and Maggy have aided Glendale students in stress relief during finals weeks and a similar program on the Downers Grove Campus brings in local therapy dogs to ease student stress and anxiety.
One Health continuing education opportunities benefit alumni and other healthcare professionals. The College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove included One Health aspects at its Diabetes Annual Continuing Education (CE) Program; the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine’s One Health Symposium offered CE credit for attending physicians.