Using a Standardized Client Encounter to Practice Death Notification after the Unexpected Death of a Feline Patient Following Routine Ovariohysterectomy

Surveying dog owners' use and understanding of, and communication with veterinarians about, complementary and alternative veterinary medicine

BACKGROUND

Complementary and alternative veterinary medicine (CAVM) seems to be gaining acceptance by pet owners. Client-veterinarian communication about CAVM is important to explore client perceptions and facilitate open exchange of ideas between owners and veterinarians.

METHODS

This study includes an online, cross-sectional survey of dog owners to evaluate CAVM use and client-veterinarian communication about CAVM. Based on the extended theory of planned behaviour, factors influencing the intention to use CAVM were evaluated.

RESULTS

Past CAVM use was reported by 45.3% clients based on 1000 valid surveys. The attitude towards CAVM was generally positive. Perceived knowledge about CAVM positively predicted perceived behavioural control and attitude towards CAVM. Both were the strongest predictors of future CAVM use. Around 45.7% of clients had already talked to their veterinarian about CAVM. This conversation was mainly initiated by the owner (66.3%). Owners expected the veterinarian to have knowledge about CAVM (91.5%) and offer referral (71.5%).

LIMITATIONS

The limitation is difficulty in classifying and defining CAVM modalities.

CONCLUSIONS

Owners' perceived behavioural control and attitude towards CAVM predict CAVM use. Failure to engage in a conversation about CAVM hampers clients to partner with veterinarians to discuss the treatment approach and maximise patient outcome. The veterinarian plays an essential role in providing objective accurate information about CAVM.

Evaluating Communication Training at AVMA COE-Accredited Institutions and the Need to Consider Diversity within Simulated Client Pools

The push for competency-based veterinary medical education by accrediting bodies has led to the inclusion of non-technical skills within curricula. Communication, self-awareness, and cultural humility are considered essential for post-graduate success. To facilitate skills development, veterinary educators have incorporated a variety of modalities including lecture, group discussions, virtual and peer-assisted learning, role play, video review of consultations, and simulated clients (SCs). The overarching goal is developing students into self-reflective practitioners through exposure to clinical scenarios that enhance and embody diversity. Decision making about case management is subject to stereotypes, bias, and assumptions. Racial and ethnic disparities reported in health care can adversely impact patient outcomes. This study was conducted to evaluate communication training and diversity among SC pools within veterinary colleges. A questionnaire was electronically disseminated to assistant/associate deans and/or directors of curriculum/education at 54 American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education-accredited or provisionally accredited colleges of veterinary medicine. Twenty-one institutions are represented within the data set. Participating institutions summarized their communication curricula: 18 (85.71%) used SCs. Over 55% of these did not track SC demographic data or social identities; among institutions that did track, SCs were primarily monolingual English-speaking (77%), non-disabled (94.2%), white (90.4%), non-Hispanic/Latinx (98.6%) women (57%) over age 56 (64%). Sixteen institutions agreed with the statement "I do not feel that our SC pool is adequately diverse." Respondents shared that lack of time and capacity for recruitment were barriers to diversifying SC pools and proposed strategies to improve outreach.

Integrating Communication Skills, Awareness of Self and Others, and Reflective Feedback into One Inclusive Anatomical Representation of Relationship-Centered Health Care

The American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education mandates in standard 11 that all accredited colleges of veterinary medicine must develop and deliver formal processes by which students are observed and assessed in nine competencies. The eighth competency combines clinical communication and sensitivity toward soliciting and understanding individual narratives across a diverse clientele to facilitate health care delivery. Several frameworks have been designed to structure health care consultations for teaching and coaching purposes. The Calgary-Cambridge guide (CCG) provides an evidence-based approach to outlining the flow of consultations, incorporating foundational communication skills and elements of relationship-centered care into a series of sequential tasks. Although the CCG was intended for use as a flexible tool kit, it lacks visible connections between concrete experiences (e.g., the consultation) and reflective observation (e.g., the feedback). This teaching tip describes the development of a novel anatomical representation of the consultation that integrates process elements of the CCG with other core curricular concepts. By combining knowledge, technical skills, critical thinking, reflection, cultural humility, and self-awareness into a skeletal consultation model, linkages are established between communication and intergroup dialogue skills, diversity and inclusion (D&I). This model has been further adapted as feline, caprine, porcine, equine, avian, and reptilian versions for in-class use as strategic visual aids that highlight key areas of focus for Professional Skills class sessions. Future developments by the authors will explore how to link species-specific consultation models to assessment rubrics to reinforce the connection between content (what) and process (how).

Evaluating third- and fourth-year veterinary students' communication skills knowledge and performance at Colorado State University

OBJECTIVE

To assess the impact of a communication program on a cohort of veterinary students' knowledge and performance of communication skills.

SAMPLE

Class cohort of veterinary students at Colorado State University.

PROCEDURES

Year 3 students' knowledge of communication skills was evaluated using quizzes, administered before and after the fall 2016 and spring 2017 Clinical Communication Skills-I and II junior practicum. In year 4, student performance of 22 Calgary-Cambridge Guide communication skills was assessed by coding video-recordings of student-client interactions collected during their second and fourth weeks of the Community Practice rotation in the summer and fall of 2017 and spring of 2018. The impact of training, association with demographic factors, and correlation between knowledge and performance of communication skills were investigated.

RESULTS

In year 3, 136 students completed both fall and spring quizzes; in year 4, 65 week-2 and 29 week-4 appointments were video-recorded during Community Practice rotation. Students' knowledge assessed via quizzes containing skill spotting and skill demonstrating questions increased significantly after the fall and spring junior practicums; however, knowledge of communication skills was not associated with performance during year 4 Community Practice rotations. Communication skills most frequently demonstrated by students during the fourth year Community Practice rotation were open-ended questions, closed-ended questions, empathy toward the client and patient, providing "chunks" of information, and signposting. Students received high quality scores for non-verbal behaviors and logical clinical interview structure.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Results suggest that experiential learning techniques, including a flipped classroom approach, role-play, and communication laboratories contributed to increased student knowledge of communication skills.

Comparing veterinary students' and practitioners' perceptions of communication in a bilingual context

BACKGROUND

Using veterinary medicine as the clinical context, this case study elicited perspectives of practitioners and students in Hong Kong about the impact of their communication skills on clinical practice.

METHODS

A cross-sectional mixed-method design was adopted. Fifty students from the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine programme were surveyed about their perspectives on expected communication needs as future practitioners and their perceptions of communication skills to be acquired in their programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five veterinary medical practitioners to ask how they themselves feel about communicating in bilingual situations.

RESULTS

The students highlighted that English is the predominant instructional language in their training, although there are evident discrepancies between the curriculum and the clinical setting given the three predominant languages used in Hong Kong. The veterinary medical practitioners also highlighted strategies for clear communication, and the significance of interpersonal skills as effective communication is essential for learners in training to ensure client satisfaction and optimal clinical outcomes.

CONCLUSION

This study can offer insights to educators on ways to bridge veterinary training and the clinical setting in bilingual contexts where communication problems result from language differences used for instruction and in clinical settings. Taking cultural context into consideration, multimodal teaching and learning materials can be developed to accommodate students' needs for both academic and professional purposes.