| Unit name | Equine Practice 2 |
|---|---|
| Unit code | VETSM0053 |
| Credit points | 70 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Ms. Busschers |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
Equine Practice 1 |
| School/department | Bristol Veterinary School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
This unit will develop students’ clinical skills in equine veterinary surgery and allied fields through exposure to clinical cases in a specialist veterinary hospital. In this unit students will rotate through 3 specialities; equine orthopaedic surgery (10 weeks), equine soft tissue surgery (10 weeks) and equine emergency care (6 weeks).
In order to maximise case exposure a single student is allocated at any one time per specialism. The rotations are split into blocks of 1 or 2 weeks. A period for assessment for learning will be provided mid way through and in the second half of a rotation. The order of the rotations is designed to spread the workload over the course of the year and balance night and weekend work. For this reason, specialities from Unit One will be intermingled with specialities from Unit Two. Hence this unit will run for 12 months to allow each student to complete all 3 specialisms within this unit.
The aim of this programme is that students will consolidate and build upon existing clinical knowledge and skills from their UG programme, and prior professional practice (for example the RCVS Professional Development Phase) in equine veterinary medicine and allied fields. The consolidation is necessary for them to maintain their knowledge and skillset. In order to ensure that both consolidation and the learning of new skills occurs students will need a high level of exposure to clinical cases. This will be achieved through full time immersion in clinical rotations. When all compulsory Units for this PG Diploma are taken into consideration this will result in a higher than standard number of hours of student input and this is reflected in total credit points for this PGDiploma being more than the standard 120. This will allow students to be properly equipped with the required knowledge for entry into the University of Bristol’s MSc in Veterinary Practice or similar programmes (ie analogous to senior residents) at other vet schools. Students will apply their knowledge and skills to the effective treatment and care of a range of clinical cases under the direction of veterinary specialists.
Attendance at weekly journal clubs and radiology rounds will form a mandatory part of this unit and will provide additional supporting clinical and scientific knowledge.
Students will be introduced to the concepts of evidence- based veterinary-medicine and its application to their clinical practice by producing an Evidence-based review based on a clinical question identified during the rotations included in the Unit. Students will be supported by academic staff and web-based teaching material for this.
Veterinary undergraduates are taught to achieve ‘Day one competency’, the minimum standard required for registration with the RCVS, and the starting point for a practising veterinary professional.
The aim of the PG Dip in Veterinary Clinical Practice is to develop greater knowledge and understanding of equine practice.
Overarching learning outcomes for both units include:
Consolidation of the day one level of competency in practical skills, knowledge and understanding of common conditions
Increased levels of knowledge and understanding to include less common conditions and those seen at referral veterinary practice
Observation of more advanced diagnostic techniques and procedures employed in referral veterinary practice
Specific learning outcomes for each speciality within the Unit:
Equine Soft Tissue Surgery
Equine Orthopaedic Surgery
Equine 'Emergency 'Care
Journal club 45 min per week, Imaging rounds 30 min per week
Students will be on clinics full-time during the week while on rotation. We expect much of this time will be consolidation of prior undergraduate learning / day one level of competency. Direct contact which contributes to learning new techniques and greater knowledge and understanding while on clinical rotations will be approximately 20 hours a week.
Independent study reading round subject 4 hour/ week
Preparation and writing of Evidence based-review 50 hours
Contact Hours Per Week
22 hours/week average direct contact
Student Input
Breakdown of notional total student input (To include number of contact hours, independent learning, assessment, other activities)
This unit will take place over 25 weeks
Contact hours including MCQ Exam 550 hours
Independent study 100 hours
Evidence based review 50 hours
When combined with the second Unit on this PG Diploma it results in a total credit point of 140. This is higher than the standard expectation of 120 and this is justified within the paperwork above.
Assessment Outline
| Clinical competency | 3 x mini-CEX or CbD | During second half of rotations |
| Practical skills | Reflective log-book | Throughout rotations |
| MCQ | 25 questions delivered on-line | June |
| Evidence-based review | 1 | June |
Equine Emergency Care
Equine emergency and critical care
by Louise Southwood and Pamela A Wilkins, Taylor and Francis, ISBN:1840761946
Equine Emergencies
By James A Orsini and Thomas J Divers, Elsevier health Science, ISBN:1455708925
Equine Orthopaedic Surgery
Diagnostic and Surgical Arthroscopy in the Horse
By McIlwraith, Wright and Nixon, 4th ed, Mosby, ISBN:978-0723436935
Equine Fracture Repair
By Nixon, 1st ed, Saunders, ISBN:978-0721667546
Equine Soft Tissue Surgery
Equine Surgery
By Auer and Stick, 4th ed, Elsevier/Saunders, ISBN:978-1437708676
