Alternatives in Education—Evaluation of Rat Simulators in Laboratory Animal Training Courses from Participants’ Perspective
Melanie Humpenöder,
Giuliano M. Corte,
Marcel Pfützner,
Mechthild Wiegard,
Roswitha Merle,
Katharina Hohlbaum,
Nancy A. Erickson,
Johanna Plendl,
Christa Thöne-Reineke
Affiliations
Melanie Humpenöder
Institute of Animal Welfare, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Giuliano M. Corte
Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Marcel Pfützner
Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Mechthild Wiegard
Institute of Animal Welfare, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Roswitha Merle
Institute for Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Katharina Hohlbaum
Institute of Animal Welfare, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Nancy A. Erickson
Institute of Animal Welfare, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
Johanna Plendl
Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Christa Thöne-Reineke
Institute of Animal Welfare, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Freie Universität Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany
In laboratory animal science (LAS) education and training, five simulators are available for exercises on handling and routine procedures on the rat, which is—beside mice—the most commonly used species in LAS. Since these simulators may have high potential in protecting laboratory rats, the aim of this study is to investigate the simulators’ impact on the 3R (replace, reduce, refine) principle in LAS education and training. Therefore, the simulators were evaluated by 332 course participants in 27 different LAS courses via a practical simulator training workshop and a paper-based two-part questionnaire—both integrated in the official LAS course schedule. The results showed a high positive resonance for simulator training and it was considered especially useful for the inexperienced. However, the current simulators may not completely replace exercises on live animals and improvements regarding more realistic simulators are demanded. In accordance with literature data on simulator-use also in other fields of education, more research on simulators and new developments are needed, particularly with the aim for a broad implementation in LAS education and training benefiting all 3Rs.
