Program Overview

Veterinary Business Management Education

Overview

This Learning Enhancement project has been funded through the HEA and the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. The project title is "Implementation of veterinary business management education using blended learning across the veterinary medicine curriculum."

• Project Coordinators: Ms Pamela Kelly
• Collaborators: Dr Nicola Walsh, Dr Emmet Kelly, Ms Lisa Sheeran, Ms Emma Kelly
• Module/Programme: Professional Growth/ Veterinary Medicine
• Student Cohort: Full-time undergraduate Veterinary Medicine, Stages 1-4

Background

Recent evidence indicates that there is a large gap between the business competencies of veterinary graduates and the expectations of their employers. Weaknesses among the business skills identified as particularly relevant to new graduates included their competence in discussing finances with clients and their confidence in charging for veterinary services. Business orientation, employee development, negotiating skills, leadership, and personal finance have also been recognized as deficient.

Accrediting bodies such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) now identify economics of veterinary medical services, personal and business finance, and management skills as mandatory elements of the veterinary medicine curriculum. The implementation of veterinary business management education is therefore of importance not only for our accrediting bodies but also to increase employability of our graduates.

Goals

The main aim of this project was to enhance veterinary business management education within the professional growth strand of the veterinary medicine curriculum using blended learning. Veterinary professional growth is a dynamic teaching strand extending from stage one through to stage four of the current curriculum. This education strand encompasses the teaching of several non-technical professional competencies that are required by members of the veterinary profession.

The core topics required for teaching business management are:

• Human resource management
• Personal and business finance
• Leadership and management skills
• Marketing

The Innovative Approach

An interdisciplinary team was created including a Vet (Pamela Kelly), Veterinary Nurse and Clinic manager (Lisa Sheeran), and an Accountant (Emma Kelly). Throughout the development of the material, other Veterinary related professionals were engaged to assist in either helping to create material or to review material.

The learning outcomes for the business curriculum were created following several meetings and discussion with key stakeholders. After searching the literature and other Veterinary Medicine programmes, a blended approach to include face-to-face and online resources was decided.

The online resources were developed using Storyline, Articulate 360, a programme that allows for the easy development of user-intuitive interactive online courses that can be accessed from any digital device. These resources were then made available to students via the Brightspace platform within their stage professional growth module.

Face-to-face workshops with assessments for learning were also designed and developed.

Results

The online interactive courses were made available to stage one and stage four Professional Growth modules and will be made available to stage three Professional Growth. The new stage two Professional Growth will commence, and the stage two students will have access to the online courses then.

The online interactive course is a resource that the students are using to prepare for class and following class to help with their assessments and to enhance learning. Students, in relation to the business aspect of the Professional Growth modules, have been very interactive and enthusiastic. They have approached the team lead about different aspects of business and management that they would like to cover or expand within their curriculum.

The students that have completed the stage one-four professional growth modules that contain business and management content have yet to graduate. However, students recognize the importance and relevance of business skills for their future careers in Veterinary Medicine.