There is a huge unmet need for veterinary diagnostic laboratory services in developing nations such as Liberia. One way of bridging the service gap is for visiting experts to provide veterinary laboratory training to technicians in a central location in a short-course format. An intensive 1-week training workshop was organized for 18 student and faculty participants from the College of Agriculture and Integrated Development Studies (CAIDS) at Cuttington University in rural central Liberia. The training was designed and delivered by the non-governmental organization Veterinarians Without Borders US and funded through a Farmer-to-Farmer grant provided by the United States Agency for International Development. Although at the start of training none of the students had any veterinary laboratory experience, by the end of the course over 80% of the students were able to discuss appropriate care and use of a microscope and name at least three important components of laboratory record keeping; over 60% were able to describe how to make and stain a blood smear and how to perform a passive fecal flotation; and over 30% were able to describe what a packed cell volume is and how it is measured and name at least three criteria for classifying bacteria. The intensive training workshop greatly improved the knowledge of trainees about veterinary diagnostic laboratory techniques. The training provided initial skills to students and faculty who are awaiting the arrival of additional grant-funded laboratory equipment to continue their training.
Keywords: global issues in veterinary education; laboratory science; outcomes assessment; short course; veterinary diagnostics.