Bridging the Gap between Undergraduate Veterinary Training and Veterinary Practice with Entrustable Professional Activities

Abstract

The transition from being a veterinary student to becoming a member of the veterinary profession is known to be challenging. Despite being licensed directly after graduation, many veterinarians do not feel fully equipped to practice unsupervised when they graduate. The increasing rate of attrition from veterinary practice, and a relatively high percentage of burnout during the first years in practice, has been suggested to be related to a lack of early career support. Over the past decade, medical education has adopted the concept of entrustable professional activities (EPAs). Recently, EPAs have been proposed to restructure veterinary education to help support the transition from veterinary student to practicing veterinarian. Implementing an EPA-based approach could help to bridge the gap between school and clinical practice, potentially preventing veterinary graduates from dropping out early on from what could have been a promising and exciting professional career.

Alignment of Selected Veterinary Education Competencies With the Interprofessional Professionalism Assessment

“…It has been proposed by veterinary educators and researchers to restructure veterinary education with EPAs (24). There is evidence that students are able to gradually gain experience in EPAs with various members of the clinical team (25). Using EPAs in the clinical workplace is a viable way to recognize student work and guide the development and progression of learners across the continuum of the various principles underlying them (26).…”

A personal view on basic education in reproduction: Where are we now and where are we going?

“…In the author's opinion, CBE, PA, and EPAs are important parts of the total Master's education programme. They provide meaningful feedback to the student during their study progress and are crucial to monitor and assess learning progress and steer self‐directed learning (Favier, ten Cate, Duijn, & Bok, 2020 ). Given that CBE, PA, and EPAs are more monitoring and steering instruments, they will not be further addressed in this paper.…”

Development and Formative Evaluation of a Low-Fidelity Equine Castration Model for Veterinary Education

“…While the curriculum at many veterinary schools does allow students to observe and even practice live-horse castration, the number of times students perform this surgery can vary and the student stress-level can present a barrier to learning. Therefore, there is a need for alternative educational approaches for teaching and assessing this Entrustable Professional Activity ( 7 ).…”