Published: 17 Feb 2020 | Last Updated: 17 Feb 2020 09:54:17

Veterinary and veterinary nursing students at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) took part in the first ever pilot event at the Hawkshead Campus exploring emotional intelligence within interprofessional teams, known as interPOD (inter-Professional Orientation and Development).

Professional Orientation and Development (POD) programmes at the RVC use experiential learning principles to explore emotional intelligence (EI). The profession-specific PODs primarily explore the first three quadrants of EI (self-awareness, self-management and social awareness) to better understand how to recognise and modify emotions and behaviours in the workplace. interPOD follows on from this with further study of the fourth quadrant: relational competence, including topics such as teamwork, leadership, culture, building trust and hierarchy.

Students took part in interactive talks, led by guest speaker and clinical psychologist Dr Jim Alvarez, and were tasked with small group activities including creating paper chains one-handed, brainstorming topics such as ‘what makes a good leader’, and solving a murder mystery. The final activity of the day brought together what participants had learned in a veterinary scenario. In total, eight veterinary nursing students from their second year and 21 veterinary students from their fourth year attended.

Speaking about the event, a student at the RVC, said: “The interPOD day has been one of my best learning experiences as a vet student. We need more of these sessions!” Dr Tierney Kinnison, Lecturer in Veterinary Education at the RVC, said: “This is a brand-new initiative for us at RVC, and the feedback we’ve had from students so far has been incredibly positive. Hosting days like this is important in helping them to prepare for the next stages of their career. We hope that the results from the pilot will enable us to expand the initiative in future years, making it an integral part of their educational journey at the RVC.”

interPOD was funded by an RVC LIVE Team Development Prize, awarded to Dr Tierney Kinnison, Lecturer in Veterinary Education, Rachel Lumbis, Lecturer in Veterinary Nursing and Course Director, Dr Mandi De Mestre, Reader in Reproductive Immunology and Dr Jackie Cardwell, Associate Professor in Epidemiology.

Notes to Editors

For more information please contact:

• Jasmin De Vivo (Jasmin.DeVivo@plmr.co.uk)
• Press Line: 0800 368 9520

About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London. It was the first in the world to hold full accreditation from AVMA, EAEVE, RCVS and AVBC
• The RVC is ranked as the world’s number one veterinary school in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2019.
• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.
• In 2017, the RVC received a Gold award from the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) – the highest rating a university can receive.
• A research led institution with 79% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2014.
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.