Open AccessAssessing Readiness for Clinical Practice: Students’ Perspectives of their Veterinary Curriculum
Author(s) -
L. Chris Sanchez,
Alison Kwiatkowski,
Jeff Abbott,
Da. Zimmel,
Linda S. BeharHorenstein
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2016.2505
Subject(s) - curriculum , grading (engineering) , preparedness , autonomy , medical education , focus group , medicine , psychology , veterinary medicine , pedagogy , sociology , political science , law , civil engineering , anthropology , engineering
Studies describing the effectiveness of a veterinary curriculum from the student perspective are currently sparse. The overall purpose of this investigation was to describe students’ perceived preparedness for clinical practice. Three focus group meetings with fourth year veterinary students were conducted. Data were open-coded and categorized to identify themes. Four main themes emerged: Challenging communications, Un/appreciating curricular experiences, Documenting demands impede case involvement, and Hungering for timely, effective feedback. Overall students felt comfortable talking to clients about medicine but less comfortable discussing euthanasia or money; they appreciated the split clinical curriculum but questioned the value of the 1st/2nd year courses; they felt that paperwork on clinical rotations negatively impacted patient involvement; expressed the need for well-defined expectations regarding grading/assessment and autonomy on clinical rotations. Despite the reported issues, students expressed satisfaction with the split curriculum and readiness to enter their chosen field of study.