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News & Reports
News & Reports EMS
No need for urgent action on EMS, says RCVS THE RCVS reports that the results of a survey of recent graduates show that the current arrangements for extramural studies (EMS) are working well and that there is no need for an immediate review or urgent action. The survey was carried out by the RCVS earlier this year as an information-gathering exercise. The College reviewed the system for EMS in 2009 and made a number of changes; the survey was intended to help it build a picture of how the system was now working. In addition, it says, concerns had been expressed about the impact on EMS of increasing student numbers and the development of new veterinary schools; there were also anecdotal comments about the value, or otherwise, of EMS. The survey was circulated to 1543 graduates who graduated from the UK veterinary schools in 2012 and 2013. Two hundred and eightyseven responses were received. The RCVS reports that the vast majority (95.6 per cent) of the graduates responding agreed that EMS was ‘essential’. Responses suggested that EMS placements were beneficial in terms of the variety of clinical skills, professional skills and working practices that they provided. However, one area for which a large number of graduates (42.9 per cent) said that they did not find EMS placements helpful was in gaining experience of out-of-hours and weekend work. Most of the graduates responding to the survey reported that they had identified and booked their EMS placements themselves. Also, the majority found placements in the types of practice or other veterinary workplace that they wanted. Of those who did not, the main problems were that they could not find a placement in the geographical area that they wanted, or providing the mix of species they were looking for. This, the College says, is consistent with the finding that most EMS placements were situated locally to the graduate, either within daily travelling distance of their home or university, or where they could stay with friends or family and not incur additional accommodation costs.
The costs of EMS were frequently commented on by the recent graduates, with some respondents saying that they had been limited in their search to practices close to home as they did not feel that they could afford the costs associated with a placement elsewhere.
Skills gained
Regarding the clinical skills that the graduates felt they gained from EMS that they could not gain from their university studies alone, many reported observing or undertaking medical or surgical procedures that were not covered at university. EMS also provided opportunities to spend more time practising routine procedures that had been learned at university. In terms of professional skills, most respondents agreed that EMS placements allowed them to further develop their communication skills with vets, nurses and owners, and gave them the chance to work as part of a ‘real’ team. The placements also provided an insight into how ethical and legal responsibilities apply in ‘real life’. The RCVS reports that 88.1 per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that all EMS could be replaced by increasing rotations through university clinics, hospitals or other core university placements. However, responses to the suggestion that some EMS could be replaced in such a manner were more evenly split. A suggestion that some EMS could be replaced by increasing the use of clinical skills labs was not supported by the majority of respondents. Also, the College says, just over 60 per cent of respondents felt that the RCVS should continue to specify the number of weeks of EMS that veterinary students are required to undertake. Most respondents also agreed that the specified number of weeks of both preclinical and clinical EMS was ‘about right’. Among the comments made by respondents to the survey were reports of difficulties finding practices that would allow access to farm work or large animal or equine practice. ‘There are a decreasing number of practices and thus an increase in the level of competition for EMS places,’ the RCVS says, noting that some practices are booked
up far in advance. Comments included: ‘The only farm practice booked up two years in advance, so I moved round the country seeing practice elsewhere and staying on friends floors’; and ‘As a vet who knew she wanted to go into farm/mixed (would happily drop the equine) it was incredibly frustrating to have to do more small animal than I would have liked, as there were not enough farm practices with spaces and too many vet students (including those who will never ever touch a cow again in their lives) with too few good placements’. Respondents also commented on the variability in quality of placements and the amount of ‘hands on’ experience some provided. However, the College concludes that most of the aims of EMS are being met by the existing system and that students gain considerable experience from EMS in terms of clinical knowledge and skills, professional skills and working in practice that they could not have gained from their university studies alone. ‘While rising student numbers and reducing numbers of farmed/mixed practices are mentioned as concerns, there is little evidence from these results that these issues are having a major impact on students’ ability to undertake EMS,’ it says. ‘We launched this survey as an information-gathering exercise to see how EMS placements are currently working, following our last review of EMS in 2009 – and the results have certainly been very interesting,’ commented Christine Warman, head of education at the RCVS. ‘What is clear is that the current system is working well and that there is no need for an immediate review or urgent action. Most graduates found the experience gained on placements useful for their studies and find that EMS sets them up well for their first job in practice. ‘However, there are a number of issues that we will keep a watching brief over and we plan to repeat the survey every two years in order to monitor these.’ n The full results of the survey can be downloaded from www.rcvs.org.uk/ emssurvey2014 doi: 10.1136/vr.g3564 May 31, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 539
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 25, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
No need for urgent action on EMS, says RCVS Veterinary Record 2014 174: 539
doi: 10.1136/vr.g3564 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/22/539
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To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports
News & Reports EMS
No need for urgent action on EMS, says RCVS THE RCVS reports that the results of a survey of recent graduates show that the current arrangements for extramural studies (EMS) are working well and that there is no need for an immediate review or urgent action. The survey was carried out by the RCVS earlier this year as an information-gathering exercise. The College reviewed the system for EMS in 2009 and made a number of changes; the survey was intended to help it build a picture of how the system was now working. In addition, it says, concerns had been expressed about the impact on EMS of increasing student numbers and the development of new veterinary schools; there were also anecdotal comments about the value, or otherwise, of EMS. The survey was circulated to 1543 graduates who graduated from the UK veterinary schools in 2012 and 2013. Two hundred and eightyseven responses were received. The RCVS reports that the vast majority (95.6 per cent) of the graduates responding agreed that EMS was ‘essential’. Responses suggested that EMS placements were beneficial in terms of the variety of clinical skills, professional skills and working practices that they provided. However, one area for which a large number of graduates (42.9 per cent) said that they did not find EMS placements helpful was in gaining experience of out-of-hours and weekend work. Most of the graduates responding to the survey reported that they had identified and booked their EMS placements themselves. Also, the majority found placements in the types of practice or other veterinary workplace that they wanted. Of those who did not, the main problems were that they could not find a placement in the geographical area that they wanted, or providing the mix of species they were looking for. This, the College says, is consistent with the finding that most EMS placements were situated locally to the graduate, either within daily travelling distance of their home or university, or where they could stay with friends or family and not incur additional accommodation costs.
The costs of EMS were frequently commented on by the recent graduates, with some respondents saying that they had been limited in their search to practices close to home as they did not feel that they could afford the costs associated with a placement elsewhere.
Skills gained
Regarding the clinical skills that the graduates felt they gained from EMS that they could not gain from their university studies alone, many reported observing or undertaking medical or surgical procedures that were not covered at university. EMS also provided opportunities to spend more time practising routine procedures that had been learned at university. In terms of professional skills, most respondents agreed that EMS placements allowed them to further develop their communication skills with vets, nurses and owners, and gave them the chance to work as part of a ‘real’ team. The placements also provided an insight into how ethical and legal responsibilities apply in ‘real life’. The RCVS reports that 88.1 per cent of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed that all EMS could be replaced by increasing rotations through university clinics, hospitals or other core university placements. However, responses to the suggestion that some EMS could be replaced in such a manner were more evenly split. A suggestion that some EMS could be replaced by increasing the use of clinical skills labs was not supported by the majority of respondents. Also, the College says, just over 60 per cent of respondents felt that the RCVS should continue to specify the number of weeks of EMS that veterinary students are required to undertake. Most respondents also agreed that the specified number of weeks of both preclinical and clinical EMS was ‘about right’. Among the comments made by respondents to the survey were reports of difficulties finding practices that would allow access to farm work or large animal or equine practice. ‘There are a decreasing number of practices and thus an increase in the level of competition for EMS places,’ the RCVS says, noting that some practices are booked
up far in advance. Comments included: ‘The only farm practice booked up two years in advance, so I moved round the country seeing practice elsewhere and staying on friends floors’; and ‘As a vet who knew she wanted to go into farm/mixed (would happily drop the equine) it was incredibly frustrating to have to do more small animal than I would have liked, as there were not enough farm practices with spaces and too many vet students (including those who will never ever touch a cow again in their lives) with too few good placements’. Respondents also commented on the variability in quality of placements and the amount of ‘hands on’ experience some provided. However, the College concludes that most of the aims of EMS are being met by the existing system and that students gain considerable experience from EMS in terms of clinical knowledge and skills, professional skills and working in practice that they could not have gained from their university studies alone. ‘While rising student numbers and reducing numbers of farmed/mixed practices are mentioned as concerns, there is little evidence from these results that these issues are having a major impact on students’ ability to undertake EMS,’ it says. ‘We launched this survey as an information-gathering exercise to see how EMS placements are currently working, following our last review of EMS in 2009 – and the results have certainly been very interesting,’ commented Christine Warman, head of education at the RCVS. ‘What is clear is that the current system is working well and that there is no need for an immediate review or urgent action. Most graduates found the experience gained on placements useful for their studies and find that EMS sets them up well for their first job in practice. ‘However, there are a number of issues that we will keep a watching brief over and we plan to repeat the survey every two years in order to monitor these.’ n The full results of the survey can be downloaded from www.rcvs.org.uk/ emssurvey2014 doi: 10.1136/vr.g3564 May 31, 2014 | Veterinary Record | 539
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on June 25, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
No need for urgent action on EMS, says RCVS Veterinary Record 2014 174: 539
doi: 10.1136/vr.g3564 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/22/539
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
