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What makes an ideal veterinarian? That was the first question in the survey about the review of the Master’s programme sent out to Veterinary Medicine alumni. About 300 veterinarians completed the survey. Their answer: the ideal veterinarian combines theoretical knowledge with a practical attitude, is empathic, and has outstanding social and communication skills.

The results of the survey are valuable input for the Master’s programme review committee under the leadership of Vice-Dean and Educational Director, Merel Langelaar. The committee is developing a revised curriculum from 2022 onwards, based on input from veterinary practice, lecturers and students.  

More practical internships, earlier on

The survey shows that besides theoretical knowledge, the internship at a veterinary practice and the internships at the university clinics are aspects of the Master’s programme that alumni highly appreciate. But survey respondents would like to see even more practical education integrated into the curriculum. Robert Hendrickx is a Veterinary Medicine student and member of the Master’s programme review committee. He just finished his 5 week internship at a veterinary practice and is about to graduate. The outcomes of the survey mirror his own experiences.

‘In the current curriculum, the external internship is the concluding part of the three-year Master’s programme. Gaining experience at a veterinary practice is very valuable, but I think that students should have this opportunity earlier in the curriculum and more often too. Now, as a Master’s student, you might spend three years worrying whether you will be able to vaccinate or palpate; practical skills that turn out to be quite simple. Once you have done it a few times in a first internship, you can then use the next one to focus your attention on acquiring other competencies that proved to be more challenging in practice.’

Sometimes you have to deal with emotional animal owners

Interacting with animal owners

One of those challenging elements of the job is, according to the survey, communicating with animal owners. Respondents indicate that young veterinarians have thorough theoretical knowledge and are skilled at clinical reasoning and making diagnoses. However, they struggle with deciding on a particular treatment and discussing the options with animal owners. Owners may not be able to afford certain treatments, or can be in a very emotional state. More attention to communication skills in the programme and more real life experience with it during internships at the university clinic or at an external veterinary practice could help students build competencies and confidence in this area. 

Balancing practical skills and academic knowledge

While survey respondents feel that recently graduated veterinarians have solid theoretical knowledge, they are critical about their practical, primary veterinary care skills. Hendrickx: ‘I can understand that, as a vet, you’d prefer to have a new colleague who can hit the ground running. However, veterinary medicine is a university degree programme at a high level, and as far as I am concerned, it is more important to learn to reason clinically than to perform a perfect castration on day one. But this does not mean that a certain basis in practical skills may not be expected from a graduate.’

Students learn much more than just how to give a vaccination: what impact does the disease you are vaccinating against have on the animal and humans?

It's a familiar discussion which seems to pop up time and again, says Langelaar. ‘Mastering skills is comparable to getting a driving licence: you have the basic competency to drive on the road, but very few people can genuinely drive well at this stage. You learn that by doing in practice, over time.’ It is no coincidence that clinical reasoning and veterinary expertise are and will remain at the top of the list of programme outcomes, adopted in 2018. These outcomes describe the required competencies of students finishing their Master’s degree.
Langelaar: ‘Students learn much more than just how to give a vaccination: what impact does the disease you are vaccinating against have on the animal and humans? How do you deal with an owner who expresses doubts about the usefulness of vaccination? And how do you discuss diseases of pedigree or imported animals with owners, with colleagues but also with policy makers to drive change at national level?’

New Master's programme in 2022

‘We can be proud of our programme and our profession. Anyone who completes the Master’s programme is an academically trained professional who has many career options, in veterinary practice and beyond. That is already the case today, and will be hopefully even more so after the introduction of the new Master’s programme. We will take the results of the survey on board, while developing the new curriculum. That includes the demand for more experience in veterinary practice and attention for communication skills.’ The revised Master’s programme is expected to start in September 2022.

This is an article from Vetscience no. 9