VETM802C

041720

The Professional Skills coursework (VETM 802A, 802B, 802C, and 802D) represents four consecutive semesters of interactive learning designed to introduce students to key occupational attributes that are required for success in clinical practice. In VETM 802B, students were tasked with using communication skills and self-reflection to explore and process thematic content concerning:

- how we ourselves and each other
- how we establish and build onto our evolving professional identity
- how we define our role in the profession as individuals and as colleagues
- how we communicate as team-members and as clinicians
- how we bolster connectivity within the veterinary team and strengthen rapport-building to practice relationship-centered care

VETM 802C will take these clinically relevant conversations to the next level. Students will actively engage in dialogue about:
- client and team member dynamics
- practice management
- decision-making surrounding patient care
- diagnostic test interpretation (what do we know about a given patient's condition? What do we not know? And how do we bridge the gap?)
- contracting with clients for next steps in terms of case management
- challenging clinic conversations (I.e. disagreement over diagnostic and/or treatment recommendations, bad news delivery, finances, ethical dilemmas in veterinary medicine).

Emphasis will be placed on crucial conversations in clinical practice: the value of diagnostic tests, the value of referral, the pros and cons of different imaging modalities, and how to evaluate screening tests. Additional thematic elements include interpersonal skills and professional behavior.

Students will have an opportunity to work through simulated encounters, using one-on-one experiences with standardized clients as a means of reinforcing Calgary-Cambridge communication skills.

As students develop proficiency in foundational communication skills, their encounters with standardized clients will advance in difficulty. Topics for simulated encounters in VETM 802C include taking a patient history to differentiate emesis from regurgitation and small bowel diarrhea from large bowel diarrhea; how to describe the results of diagnostic imaging studies to clients; and how to discuss treatment options, including indications for abdominal surgery.

This course is intended to complement core course curriculum by aligning class sessions with Gastrointestinal and Cycle of Life coursework. Accordingly, content areas that are discussed in Professional Skills will focus largely on the digestive and reproductive tracts, in addition to the endocrine system.

PNP - Pass/Fail

Veterinary Medicine