VET SC 2500RW - Professional Skills in Veterinary Bioscience II

Roseworthy Campus - Semester 1 - 2020

The course aims to develop two major areas of 'Skills, Knowledge and Attributes' (S.K.As) required of the veterinarian as a professional: 1. Technical S.K.As A. Animal Husbandry Protocols: Students will review animal husbandry protocols across common domestic species. B. Animal Handling Skills: Students will undertake animal handling practicals across the species commonly encountered in veterinary practice to increase and improve upon their skills. 2. Non-technical S.K.As A. Literature Resourcing Skills: Students will develop their basic scientific literature skills B. Professional Skills Experience: Students will develop an appreciation for the professional skills required as a veterinary scientist C. RCVS Day 1 Skills: Students will be introduced to the documented skills expected of a veterinary graduate. D. Business Enterprise Skills: Students will develop simple budgeting skills as they relate to animal production or service business. Students will be expected to have completed a minimum of 1 week (40 hours) of their Animal Husbandry Extra Mural Studies (AHEMS) placement(s) and associated questionnaire by the end of the mid-semester break as they will be required to use information from their placement(s) to deliver an oral presentation.

  • General Course Information
    Course Details
    Course Code VET SC 2500RW
    Course Professional Skills in Veterinary Bioscience II
    Coordinating Unit School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
    Term Semester 1
    Level Undergraduate
    Location/s Roseworthy Campus
    Units 3
    Contact Up to 7 hours per week
    Available for Study Abroad and Exchange Y
    Prerequisites ANIML SC 1017RW & ANIML SC 1018RW
    Corequisites VET SC 2510RW
    Restrictions Available to BSc (Veterinary Bioscience) students only
    Assessment Oral presentations (AHEMS), written assignments, end of semester exam
    Course Staff

    Course Coordinator: Associate Professor Rachel Norris

    Course Timetable

    The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

  • Learning Outcomes
    Course Learning Outcomes
    1 Demonstrate knowledge of the professional skills required as a veterinary scientist and acquire a basic knowledge of the RCVS Day 1 Skills expected of a veterinary graduate.
    2 Source and reference appropriate literature.
    3 Demonstrate basic business enterprise skills applicable to the veterinarian.
    4 Demonstrate a basic knowledge of animal husbandry and disease prevention protocols.
    5 Report on and make evidence-based recommendations relating to animal husbandry.
    6 Provide constructive feedback to peers.
    7 Demonstrate an understanding of basic communication and professional skills in interactions with farmers.
    8 Demonstrate competency in animal handling skills
    9 Apply reflective practice in relation to a work placement experiencework experiences.
    University Graduate Attributes

    This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

    University Graduate Attribute Course Learning Outcome(s)
    Deep discipline knowledge
    • informed and infused by cutting edge research, scaffolded throughout their program of studies
    • acquired from personal interaction with research active educators, from year 1
    • accredited or validated against national or international standards (for relevant programs)
    1,3,4
    Critical thinking and problem solving
    • steeped in research methods and rigor
    • based on empirical evidence and the scientific approach to knowledge development
    • demonstrated through appropriate and relevant assessment
    2,3,4,7
    Teamwork and communication skills
    • developed from, with, and via the SGDE
    • honed through assessment and practice throughout the program of studies
    • encouraged and valued in all aspects of learning
    3,6,7
    Career and leadership readiness
    • technology savvy
    • professional and, where relevant, fully accredited
    • forward thinking and well informed
    • tested and validated by work based experiences
    1,3,4,5,6,7,8
    Self-awareness and emotional intelligence
    • a capacity for self-reflection and a willingness to engage in self-appraisal
    • open to objective and constructive feedback from supervisors and peers
    • able to negotiate difficult social situations, defuse conflict and engage positively in purposeful debate
    3,4,5,6,7,8,9
  • Learning Resources
    Required Resources
    A variety of text books and reading resources will be required and will all be available through the Roseworthy library facilities. Access to on-line instructional material & databases. Clinical and animal resources will be available through the veterinary teaching hospital at Roseworthy. Animal ethics approval will be required.

  • Learning & Teaching Activities
    Learning & Teaching Modes
    3 hours lecture, 3 hours practical and 1 hour of tutorials per week.

    Workload

    The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

    A student enrolled in a 3 unit course, such as this, should  expect to spend, on average 12 hours per week on the studies required. This includes both the formal contact time required to the course (e.g.,
    lectures and practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g., reading and revision).
    Learning Activities Summary
    Lectures / Tutorials: Introduction to veterinary professional skills and RCVS day one skills; Overview of protocols in production animals, equine and companion animals; Introduction to business skills - farm record keeping, financial statements and partial budgets; introduction to basic communication skills; database/literature searches.

    Practicals: professional skills experience (PSE) through introduction to veterinary clinical practice; Students will build on their animal handling skills; They will be introduced to, or reminded of (depending on prior experience) low stress animal handling and animal health and husbandry protocols.

    Specific Course Requirements
    Attendance at all tutorials and practicals is compulsory.
  • Assessment

    The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

    1. Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
    2. Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
    3. Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
    4. Assessment must maintain academic standards.

    Assessment Summary
    Assessment Task Task Type Hurdle Weighting Learning Outcome Approximate Timing of Assessment
    Written Exam Summative Yes 50% 1, 7 End of Semester
    Animal Handling Skills Formative Yes 0% 8 N/A
    Group Animal Enterprise Management Assignment Summative No 15% 2, 3, 5 Weeks 5-8
    Professional Skills Experience and Vet Career Quiz Formative & Summative No 5% 1 Weeks 1-3
    AHEMS Oral presentation Summative No 20% 2, 4, 5, 9 Week 9
    AHEMS Reflective Practice Summative No 10% 9 End of Semester
    An exemption to the hurdle requirements of the Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy has been approved by the Faculty of Sciences for 2020.

    Assessment Related Requirements

     

    Assessment Item with hurdle

    % needed or requirement to meet hurdle

    Is additional assessment available if student does not meet hurdle requirement? Yes or No

    Details of additional assessment, if available

    Written Exam

    50%

    Yes

    Additional assessment will be offered in the form a theory examination.

    Animal handling skills

    Attend all handling classes
    And
    Demonstrate competent performance of all required activities

    Yes

    Additional assessment will be offered to students who have approved absence from a practical class and/or have failed to demonstrate competence in an activity during the class. Additional assessment will be arranged when facilities, examiners and animals are available during the AA period.

     

    Assessment Detail
    Animal Handling Skills (0%): Students will undertake animal handling activities in practicals and receive formative feedback as to their current skill level to identify areas that they should concentrate on in their AHEMS placements and prior to the summative assessment in Professional Skills III. All students must participate in, attempt and demonstrate at least basic competence at the animal handling tasks demonstrated and performed in Professional Skills II classes. Demonstrators will sign-off attendance, participation and completion of required tasks during the class.

    Group Animal Enterprise Management Assignment (15%): Students will work in small groups to create a formal recommendation for a simple change in management supported by a partial budget (for example, for introduction of a simple change in animal husbandry or equipment purchase for an animal health enterprise). This will take the form of a 1,500 word written assignment. Students will be assigned a group mark, which will be modified according to individual involvement as assessed using peer feedback.

    Professional Skills Experience Quiz (5%): Students will complete an online quiz following the PSE practical sessions for each of the four disciplines covered as well as the Veterinary Careers lecture.

    AHEMS Oral Presentation / Report (20%): Students will be given the choice to either prepare a five minute recorded oral presentation or submit a written report on a specific topic related to the student’s AHEMS experience. All students will have completed at least one AHEMS placement and placement record by this time. Students unable to complete 1 week of AHEMS due to covid-19 restrictions will be given an alternative assessment.  

    AHEMS Reflective Practice (10%): Students will write a short reflection (1000 words) on an issue encountered on an AHEMS placement. Small group work placement debriefing session will be held as part of preparation for this assignment.

    End-of-semester written exam (50%) will cover all theoretical aspects of the course in multiple choice and / or short answer format.
    Submission
    Late Submission
    If an extension is not applied for, or not granted then a penalty for late submission will apply. A mark of zero will be allocated to late submitted assessment.
    Course Grading

    Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

    M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
    Grade Mark Description
    FNS   Fail No Submission
    F 1-49 Fail
    P 50-64 Pass
    C 65-74 Credit
    D 75-84 Distinction
    HD 85-100 High Distinction
    CN   Continuing
    NFE   No Formal Examination
    RP   Result Pending

    Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

    Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

    Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

  • Student Feedback

    The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

    SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.

  • Student Support
  • Policies & Guidelines
  • Fraud Awareness

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