Equine Veterinary Curriculum review : what are the strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and redundancies in the Colorado State University Equine Curriculum?

Abstract

A survey was sent to large animal track students of Colorado State University (CSU) that have graduated in the last five years. Questions centered on the American Association of Equine Practitioners Competencies, listed as the Business of veterinary medicine, Client education and Regulatory responsibilities, Anesthesia, Dentistry, Examination, Husbandry, Medical knowledge, Radiology, Reproduction and Surgery techniques. The students were allowed to give responses of free text. The response rate was 31%.

The first main question was: How well did the CSU equine veterinary curriculum address the following areas? Answer options were: too much, just right, not enough. There were 4 of the 11 categories where more than 30% of the respondents felt that there was not enough theoretical information in the curriculum to make them feel confident in practice. Those categories were: Business (49%), Dentistry (32%), Radiology (32%) and Surgery (41%). They felt most prepared in Anesthesia, Physical Examination, Reproduction and Basic Techniques. The second main question was: How well did the CSU equine veterinary curriculum provide practical skills in the following areas? Answer options were: excellent preparation, good preparation, moderately unprepared, severely unprepared. When combining the unprepared categories, 4 categories gave greater than 40% unprepared students: Business (62%), Dentistry (43%), Radiology (41%) and Surgery (59%). They felt most prepared in Client interaction, Anesthesia, Husbandry and Basic Techniques. Based on this, the equine curriculum is currently being evaluated. To improve the curriculum, a two-week clinical rotation, focusing on teaching these skills, was outlined, beginning May 2017. Basic laceration repair is now taught during the normal two-week equine lameness and surgery rotations.