Alumni-based evaluation of a novel veterinary curriculum: are Nottingham graduates prepared for clinical practice?

摘要

Introduction Outcomes-based education has been the core of the curriculum strategy of the Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine and Science (SVMS) since its inception in 2006. As part of the ongoing curriculum evaluation, the first two graduating cohorts were invited to provide an appraisal of their preparation by the SVMS curriculum for their role in clinical practice. This paper provides brief accounts of the SVMS curriculum model, the development of the evaluation instrument and the findings of the alumni survey. Materials and Methods The evaluation instrument contained 25 attributes expected of SVMS graduates. Alumni rated their preparation for practice in relation to each attribute. Results The four highest rated characteristics were compassion for animals and the application of ethics to animal welfare; communication skills; recognising own limitations and seeking help and advice where needed and clinical examination skills. The four lowest rated were clinical case management and therapeutic strategies; dealing with veterinary public health and zoonotic issues; knowledge of current veterinary legislation and dealing with emergency and critical care cases. Free text responses were in line with these quantitative findings. Conclusion The results indicate that this sample of SVMS graduates were satisfied with their undergraduate education and felt well prepared for their role in clinical practice. Defining the ILOs and developing the graduate survey Although ILOs had previously been written for the SVMS course prior to its inception in 2006, it was decided to review and redefine the ILOs to ensure they were representative of the current intentions of all teaching staff. The RCVS day one competences (RCVS 2014a) were considered as the learning outcomes for the study. However, these outcomes are not specific to the Nottingham graduate and were under review at the time the research was carried out. It was therefore decided to produce a set of outcomes that were a more appropriate reflection of the current SVMS curriculum. The new learning outcomes were based on the results of a literature review, a subsequent focus group discussion and a survey of SVMS staff. These new learning outcomes provided the basis of the graduate survey of 2011 and 2012 that took place in 2012–2013. In this report, these are referred to as expected attributes of graduates rather than intended learning outcomes although this term is used in the undergraduate curriculum documents. Fig?3 summarises the development of the alumni survey. View larger version: In a new window Download as PowerPoint Slide Validating the ILOs In a wider survey, a questionnaire was sent to 33 academic members of SVMS staff and clinical associate employees to validate the final list of graduate attributes. This online questionnaire was delivered using a web-based survey tool: SurveyMonkey (www.surveymonkey.com). Participants were asked to rate each of the attributes for importance on a scale of 1–5 and also to provide any comments they had on the individual outcomes. Fig?4 provides an example section from the questionnaire. View larger version: In a new window Download as PowerPoint Slide