Survey of students’ experiences of bovine externships

Externships are an important adjunct aspect of veterinary students’ learning experiences to refine and improve tech­nical skills, experience other areas of practice and to meet potential employers. Externships are highly variable in re­quirement by the veterinary schools and may overlap with rotations in a distributive model program. In efforts to better understand externship experiences of clinical year, student members of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners were asked to respond to a survey detailing up to 2 bovine externships that they had undertaken. Students answered questions regarding the practice itself, skills they performed and how the externship was structured. Seventy-five students from 33 institutions completed details for 1 externship, with 19 students completing information for 2 externships. The most frequent sector of the bovine industry experienced was cow-calf followed by dairy. Overall top skills that were per­formed included history taking, transrectal palpation, tran­srectal ultrasound, physical examination and left displaced abomasal surgeries. The survey revealed key insights into stu­dents’ externship expectations in bovine practice, including their reasons for participation, skills gained, and externship structure. Students from distributive model schools reported externships with more structure primarily in receiving orien­tation. The findings emphasize the importance of designing externships that meet both student learning needs and prac­tice goals, benefiting both students and practitioners.