# The Use of Simulators in Training for Bovine Reproductive Procedures: A Scoping Review

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how simulators are used to train veterinary students in bovine reproductive procedures, highlighting their benefits and limitations in replacing live animal training.

## Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive scoping review of simulators for bovine reproductive training, emphasizing their educational and ethical implications.

## Key findings

- Simulators improve skill acquisition and reduce reliance on live animals but often lack rigorous validation and anatomical accuracy.
- Most simulators do not adequately represent Bos indicus anatomy, limiting their global applicability.
- Simulation-based training enhances learner confidence and procedural efficiency while reducing anxiety and ethical concerns.

## Abstract

Training in bovine reproductive procedures is essential for animal health, food production, and welfare. Traditionally, students learned these skills directly on live animals, but this approach raises ethical concerns, depends on animal availability, and poses safety risks for both learners and animals. Addressing these challenges, training simulators have been developed, allowing students to practice procedures in controlled, humane environments before working with live cattle. This scoping review systematically examined the scientific literature to identify available simulators for teaching cattle reproductive skills, assess their anatomical accuracy, evaluate validation methods, and explore their contribution to ethical training practices. The findings reveal that, while numerous simulators exist and are widely adopted in veterinary education, most lack rigorous validation based on objective learning outcomes and instead rely primarily on user satisfaction surveys. Additionally, breed-specific anatomical variations and real-world clinical conditions are often inadequately represented in current simulator designs. Despite these limitations, simulators demonstrate strong potential to enhance skill acquisition while reducing reliance on live animals, aligning with ethical principles of animal use in education. However, further research is needed to establish their educational effectiveness and ethical impact. This evidence-based synthesis guides educators, institutions, and policymakers seeking to improve veterinary training while prioritizing animal welfare.

Training in bovine reproduction requires not only technical proficiency but also ethical responsibility and adherence to animal-welfare standards. Traditional instruction relies heavily on repeated practice in abattoir-collected specimens and live cattle, raising concerns about stress, variability, logistical constraints, and student anxiety. Simulation-based education (SBE) has therefore emerged as a pedagogically robust and ethically sound complement to clinical teaching, enabling learners to acquire psychomotor and cognitive skills in structured, low-risk environments. This scoping review synthesizes current evidence on validated simulators used to train bovine reproductive procedures, with particular emphasis on artificial insemination, transrectal palpation, and pregnancy diagnosis. Following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, a comprehensive search of three international databases identified 13 eligible studies that described simulator typologies, validation approaches, implementation strategies, and educational outcomes. Simulators ranged from low-cost handmade models to high-fidelity haptic and hybrid systems, each offering distinct advantages across diverse instructional contexts. Evidence consistently showed that simulator-based training improves anatomical orientation, technical performance, procedural efficiency, and learner confidence, while reducing anxiety and the need for novice practice on live cattle. However, validation standards remain inconsistent, long-term transfer to clinical practice is poorly documented, and most commercial models inadequately represent Bos indicus anatomy, limiting global applicability. Simulation can substantially strengthen competency-based animal and veterinary curricula and advance the 3Rs by replacing or refining early live-animal procedures. To fully realize this potential, future efforts should prioritize rigorous validation, greater anatomical representativeness, and improved accessibility through modular, low-cost designs. Simulation-based training thus represents both an educational innovation and an ethical imperative in modern veterinary practice.