Assistant Clinical Professor Tufts University Grafton, MA, United States
Abstract: Background – Clinical reasoning is a vital but complex skill required by veterinarians that assess equine colic. The veterinary student’s ability to use clinical reasoning in these cases must be evaluated, as this skillset is ‘content-specific’.Hypothesis/Objectives – To investigate how veterinary students approach equine acute colic following completion of an alimentary teaching module. The study goal was to discover information that helps or hinders student learning or the development of clinical reasoning skills.Methods – Fifteen third-year students were recruited to participate in focus groups after completion of an alimentary teaching module. Reflexive thematic analysis was performed on focus group data.Results – Two main themes with six subthemes were developed: 1) How to Help Students (with subthemes ‘as close to real life as possible’, ‘challenging topics/foundational concepts’ and ‘teaching environment’) and 2) Student Struggles (with subthemes of ‘uncertainty’, ‘horses as unicorns’ and ‘clinical reasoning’).Conclusions – Students struggle in developing clinical reasoning skills in many areas of equine colic due to lack of underlying knowledge and case experience. These data support the need for developing further educational tools to advance student skills to an appropriate level for new graduates. Foundational knowledge (anatomy, pathophysiology, parasitology) and realistic case exposures should be incorporated, while fostering positive relationships with clinicians or teachers in a safe learning environment. Strategies to expose students to the ‘grey zone’ of veterinary medicine are important, since uncertainty is a significant yet unavoidable challenge.
