A novel way of bringing One Health to veterinary students

One Health promotes the integration and collective consideration of human, animal and ecosystem health, resulting in value-adding to all disciplines. Many undergraduate curricula teach One Health and post-graduate courses also exist, to great effect. However, the mechanics of the day-to-day integration of One Health in generalist medical and veterinary practice appears difficult to influence.Wagga Wagga is a regional city in Australia with a population of 65,000, a large rural referral hospital, numerous generalist medical and veterinary clinics, a veterinary school and two regional medical school campuses: a perfect environment to explore the interface between human and animal health. In order to do this, a “One Health Day” (1HD) is run to provide specific teaching and, moreover, to promote and facilitate interaction between medical and veterinary disciplines.The 1HD is a full day of teaching for 5th year veterinary and medical students in the region. It is attended by all 5th year undergraduate students and a selection of specialists. In 2017, the day was attended by a GP, infectious disease specialist, cardiologist, paediatrician, public health registrar, two veterinary epidemiologists, a veterinary internal medicine specialist and a number of other clinical veterinarians. The day is structured to include minimal didactic teaching (pre-emptive lectures are delivered to veterinary and medical students prior to the day to ensure baseline knowledge), case-based learning and challenging provocative cross-group discussion. It covers infectious and non-infectious diseases, with specific reference to human-animal interaction and antimicrobial resistance. Cross-table and cross-room discussions are facilitated by staff to ensure that the synergies, differences and potential for value-adding across disciplines are adequately explored and appreciated. We experience enthusiastic “buy-in” in the 1HD from staff and students. This represents a small, but important, step towards integration of One Health principles at the level of primary veterinary and medical practice in regional Australia.