Students’ and Recent Graduates’ Perception of Clinical and Communication Skills Training in the Veterinary Curriculum

Developing clinical skills is an essential part of veterinary education. The objective was to evaluate the clinical skills training in the veterinary curriculum at Ghent University based on a qualitative study. Semistructured interviews among 82 final-year veterinary students and 53 recent graduates were conducted by bachelor students in pedagogical sciences as part of an introductory course in pedagogical research. Veterinary students and graduates were asked to score the perceived importance of different clinical skills and comment on the reasons for higher or lower importance. They also scored their own self-efficacy in these skills and commented on what made them score high on certain skills. Finally, they were asked about the contribution of skills laboratory training, intramural clinical rotations, and extramural rotations to the development of their clinical skills. The most important skills identified by students and graduates were animal handling, clinical examination, treatments (eg, injections or bandages), and communication skills. These were seen as a basic requirement or crucial skills for the (future) job, important for use in daily clinical practice, important for clients' trust, and essential for animal and veterinarian safety. Perceived self-efficacy was high for the same skills. Although skills laboratory training was considered valuable, the main factor contributing to self-efficacy was repeated practice during intramural clinical rotations and extramural rotations along with professional experiences during the first year after graduation. Skills laboratory training can be used as a first step for teaching clinical skills, but repeated practice in a clinical setting remains crucial.