A distributive model of education has recently become a popular method for training veterinary technicians in the United States. Although this model has significant benefits, such as decreased cost of program infrastructure, there are significant challenges in managing students and their clinical skill acquisition using private veterinary…

Social interactions are integral to clinical workplace functioning and are recognised to play an important role in clinical workplace learning. How, why and to what end students, in the context of today's culturally and linguistically diverse cohorts, interact with members of clinical workplace communities during clinical workplace learning is not…

One of the greatest challenges in veterinary education is adequately preparing students with the clinical skills they need to be successful healthcare providers. Integration of simulation-based medical education (SBME) approaches into the veterinary curriculum can help address challenges to clinical instruction. The SBME model of learning aims to…

Good teaching that supports final year students' learning in clinical placements is critical for students' successful transition from an academic environment to professional practice. Final year internship programmes are designed to encourage student-centred approaches to teaching and deep approaches to learning, but the extent to which clinical…

Students' perceptions of clinical readiness typically derive from their educational immersion. Training occurs within a bifurcated curriculum, one that is marked by a distinction between didactic courses and clinical training in the veterinary teaching hospital. This study describes students' perceived preparedness or readiness for clinical…

Experiential learning is essential in medical and veterinary student education and can improve students' communication with clients during medical appointments. There is limited research in veterinary education investigating the effectiveness of experiential learning environments to provide an "integrative approach" to teaching. The…

This study investigated veterinary students' experiences of clinic-based learning (CBL) during a comprehensive final year internship programme. Open-ended surveys (n = 93) were used to gather qualitative data about students' conceptions of what is learned during CBL and their approaches to learning in clinics. Phenomenography was used for detailed…

A one-semester, two-credit course is described that was developed cooperatively by the colleges of pharmacy and veterinary medicine at Washington State University to help resolve an acute shortage of clinical pharmacologists in veterinary medicine and veterinary medical education. Course procedures, content, and evaluation are outlined (MSE)

A program that paired third-year veterinary students with fifth-year students for exposure to veterinary hospital procedures is described. It is noted that this experience costs little, provides important peer influence and informal peer instruction, and is voluntary. (MSE)

The authors synthesize preliminary findings from an interdisciplinary study of the practicum/clinical phase of undergraduate pre-service education in the professions. Early data analysis identified similarities and differences across disciplines in terms of: (a) the terminology describing each practicum program, (b) the programs' key…

Greater flexibility in clinical instruction in the veterinary field through the introduction of a course in Correlative Medicine at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine is described. The changes in the course over the past 10 years are described and the course's original objectives are assessed. (Author/MLW)

Describes a program at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis to give students experience in diagnosis and management of urinary tract diseases. Students request from computer data banks that laboratory information they deem most useful in the medical management of each clinical problem. (JT)

This project for large-group, problem-based learning at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine developed 47 case-based videotapes that are used to model clinical conditions and also involved veterinary practitioners to formulate true practice cases into student learning opportunities. Problem-oriented, computer-assisted diagnostic…

Data from the 6th Symposium on Veterinary Medical Education, the Arthur D. Little, Inc. report, and the survey of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine are reported as they pertain to the need for more residency programs, program quality and accreditation. Program funding is also discussed. (JMD)

The Small Animal Medicine program at the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital is described. Instructional goals and the creation of two medicine rotations oriented to problems of different difficulty are outlined. Student evaluations that cover five categories are provided and conclusions from program experiences are drawn. (MLW)