Cross-Sectional Survey of Student and Faculty Experiences with Feedback and Assessment of Clinical Competency on Final Year Rotations at American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Member Institutions

Abstract

The clinical experiences, feedback, and assessment that veterinary students receive during final year rotations have a significant impact on whether they will achieve entry-level competency at the time of graduation. In this study, a cross-sectional survey was administered to American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) member institutions to collect baseline data about current feedback and assessment practices to identify key target areas for future research and educational interventions. Responses were received from 89 faculty and 155 students distributed across 25 universities. The results indicated that there are significant gaps between evidence-based approaches for delivering feedback and assessment and what was being implemented in practice. Most feedback was provided to students in the form of end-of-rotation evaluations sometimes several weeks to months after the rotation finished when faculty were unlikely to remember specific interactions with students and there were limited opportunities for students to demonstrate progress towards addressing identified concerns. Although the most valuable type of feedback identified by students was verbal feedback delivered shortly after clinical experiences, this method was often not used due to factors such as lack of time, poor learning environments within veterinary teaching hospitals, and lack of faculty training in delivering effective feedback. The results also indicated potential challenges with how non-technical domains of competence within the AAVMC Competency-Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) Framework are currently evaluated. Finding avenues to improve feedback and assessment processes in final year clinical settings is essential to ensure that veterinary students are adequately prepared for practice.