Professional Development in the Veterinary School
Reflection support repeat/resit students to successfully progress in their degrees.
Summary
Students who need to resit or repeat a year in the Veterinary School have to take the Professional Development course.
In this course students reflect on the development of their study and professional skills in monthly sessions, as well as writing small reflective responses to the sessions.
The students find the course extremely valuable and feel they benefit from their reflections and the feedback from the course organiser.
Takeaways may include
- Reflection can be a successful tool in supporting repeating or resitting students towards successful progression.
- Providing students with formative feedback and question prompts can be an effective way of supporting reflection.
- Reflection is an excellent way of supporting skills development.
| Location of practice: |
Professional Development is a 0-credit course in the Veterinary Medicine (Clinical) Programme. |
| Reflectors: |
Veterinary students throughout Years 1-4, who are resitting or repeating a year. There are usually around 10 students on the course each year. |
| Facilitators: |
Course Organiser. |
| Context: |
Students write a 250-350 word reflection in response to each monthly 1hr class. |
| Time commitment: |
The Course Organiser hosts one discussion-based class every month and provides detailed feedback on students’ reflections. Students partake in classes and spend on average up to an hour per reflective diary entry. |
Context overview
In the Veterinary School, as in all schools, there are a number of students who do not progress into the next year of study. The Professional Development course pulls together these students from all year groups. Students must pass this course as well as the course they are resitting in order to progress into their next year of study. The course aims to provide support in personal and professional development and builds on the skills students learn in Professional and Clinical Skills courses (see that case study linked below for more information). Students are also informed about what opportunities they have for support within and around the school.
The learning outcomes of the course highlight the importance of engaging with reflection during the course:
- Accept the personal attributes and behaviours required of a professional
- Engage in reflective activity in terms of self-appraisal
- Recognise the importance of good communication
- Recognise sources of stress and methods for mitigating it
- Develop effective time management, independent learning and study skills
- Appreciating the value of giving and receiving constructive feedback
Professional and Clinical Skills courses (within the Facilitators’ toolkit)
Introducing and implementing reflection in the context
It is clear from the learning outcomes that reflection is important to succeeding in the course.
Students are required to produce a 250-350 word response to each monthly one-hour class or group discussion. To complete these, students should use information from the course and reflect on their own development.
Students are expected to highlight how some of the opportunities the course offers will benefit them; such as seeking support from staff within the school to help with specific aspects of professional development. For the reflections to be successful students must reflect on their progress, what has gone well and not so well. Students receive feedback from the Course Organiser on their reflections and there is peer-support in the group discussions.
Response to reflection:
Students respond well to the reflective element of the course and are very positive about the opportunity to develop their skills to increase their successes.
Assessing reflection
There is no formal assessments in the course and students pass by completion of the reflective responses. However, the Course Organiser provides students with detailed individual feedback on their reflections. The feedback can be both on structure and question prompts highlighting unexplored aspects of the reflection. This type of feedback appears particularly beneficial to the students.
A good reflective piece will include evidence of development through experiences and thoughts, and include an action plan for how the student can continue to develop with their professional and study skills.
Conclusion
The Professional Development course provides repeating and resitting students a great support network and an opportunity for personal and professional development. By supporting students to reflect on their weaknesses and strengths, the course helps students make sense of their situation and helps them to plan action steps towards successful progression in their degree.
Further information:
Professional Development course description (University of Edinburgh DRPS 2018-19)
Key contacts:
Dr Jessie Paterson (Veterinary School)