Research in veterinary education is a rapidly growing field at Bristol’s Veterinary School. This group aims to promote evidence-based teaching and assessment methods within a nurturing and supportive environment.
Veterinary Education
Bristol’s Clinical Skills Booklets
A series of clinical skills instruction booklets has been developed by the Clinical Skills Lab team (staff and recent graduates) and are now available freely on the School’s website under a Creative Commons License from the University of Bristol.
A guide to the OSCE process
The group collaborates with external veterinary educators nationally and internationally, and shares ideas and resources with other universities. This improves the experience of all vet students, preparing new graduates for their professional lives.
Veterinary education research is comprised of the following areas:
- Curriculum development and leadership
- Clinical skills and simulation
- Student mentoring, feedback and reflection
- Supporting skill development in Evidence-Based Veterinary Education
Some of the group’s interests and achievements include:
- Approximately 30 peer- reviewed papers and 70 conference presentations in the last 5 years.
- An internationally-recognised Clinical Skills Lab with progressive development of models and simulators for students to practise clinical procedures in a relaxed and friendly setting.
- The implementation of a curriculum for our Accelerated Graduate Entry BVSc programme, supporting students to develop skills in teamwork and lifelong learning.
- Leading an international team to develop and evaluate an online resource to train veterinary professionals in Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine EBVM learning.
- Teaching with the Haptic Cow and Haptic Horse allowing students to carry out virtual examinations using touch-feedback that mimics bovine and equine anatomy.
- Aspects of workplace-based learning including methods for supporting clinical staff in their development as teachers and the role of feedback in the workplace.
Selected Publications:
- Promoting Evidence-based Veterinary Medicine through the online resource 'EBVM Learning': User feedback
- Directly Observed Procedural Skills (DOPS) assessment of clinical examination skills in cattle: student perceptions
- The individual in the system: the role of affect in recent veterinary graduates' reflective activity
- Evaluation of a silicon skin pad and a tea towel for learning a simple interrupted suture
- Flipped Classroom Use in Veterinary Education: A multinational survey of faculty experiences
- Development and Evaluation of vetPAL, a Student-led Peer-Assisted Learning Program
- Faculty Development for a New Curriculum: Implementing a strategy for veterinary teachers with the wider University context