Page 5 - eclipse - Autumn 2018

GENERAL NEWS
Preparing students for working in veterinary teams
As our alumni will know,
the majority of veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses will work together in interprofessional teams in practice. It is the expertise that both professions bring to this shared working which allows modern day practices to offer such personalised, and often complex, care to their patients and clients.
The way in which the professions
work together (and with other colleagues such as practice managers, receptionists, animal behaviourists, farriers etc) also has a significant impact on the working environment in the profession’s experience, and can either mitigate or exacerbate stress.
The RVC is committed to producing graduates who are ready to step straight into their day-one roles in
a veterinary practice, or whatever job they may choose. This includes not only the clinical and technical skills they will need, but also the personal and professional skills that will be vital for their work with colleagues and clients.
Individuals at the RVC have encouraged the inclusion of interprofessional education (IPE)
within the curricula for several years, and have succeeded in embedding one session in the BSc Veterinary Nursing curricula. Over the last year, however, these individuals have joined together to form the ‘interprofessional education team’, or iPET. The iPET is interprofessional itself, consisting of two registered veterinary nurses, Alison Langridge and Rachel Lumbis, one veterinary surgeon, Ruth Serlin, and Tierney Kinnison, who completed her PhD on interprofessional interactions in practice and the implications for IPE.
It is especially exciting that through iPET’s work, a student-led initiative, the ‘interprofessional education club’, or iPEC (also known as ‘vets and nurses’!) has developed. iPEC is currently run by one veterinary student, Rachel Garty and two veterinary nursing students, Tia Barlow and Rosie Brown. iPEC and iPET have worked together in creating new IPE opportunities. The first was an event on parasitology, a common topic to both veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons. Around 40 students from both groups attended and provided excellent informal feedback.
iPEC and iPET are now organising their next events which include
sessions on weight management
and bandaging. Further events
are planned, including nutritional management and anaesthesia. They will conduct research evaluations
to explore the success of the interventions. Presentations regarding iPEC have already been given at
the VetEd International Symposium
of the Veterinary Schools Council
in the Netherlands in July and the British Veterinary Nursing Association Congress in October.
We hope that through our IPE initiatives we can bring down the barriers, overcome the stereotypes, improve the communication and generally remove the silos in which the veterinary-related professions and occupations are currently taught.
The iPEC (Tia Barlow, Rachel Garty [missing Rosie Brown]) and iPET (Tierney Kinnison, Alison Langridge, Rachel Lumbis [missing Ruth Serlin])
‘Liver fluke cycle’ – An example of a parasite life cycle, created by an interprofessional team during the first iPEC event
‘iPEC Parasitology Group Pic’ – One group of students who attended the first iPEC event on parasitology, with staff helpers
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