The role of individual animal diagnosis and treatment in the training of food supply veterinarians.

Instruction of individual animal skills remains a core component of food supply medicine education. Recent surveys clearly demonstrate that food animal practitioners consider individual animal medicine skills to be central to the practice of veterinary medicine. Instruction of individual animal medicine skills can occur in a variety of venues, including in-house medicine and surgery, traditional ambulatory practice, specialized instruction in production medicine, and private practiced-based instructional experiences. The traditional in-house clinical rotation has both advantages and disadvantages in the instruction of veterinary students. Optimal instructional experiences should attempt to match both the content and context of instructional experiences with students' future professional employment.