International Conference on Enhancement and Innovation in Higher Education Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow 9-11 June 2015 Welcome

Kirsty Hughes Transition points in professional degree programmes: monitoring the student experience to identify enhancement opportunities

Introducing the veterinary curriculum Evaluating the veterinary student experience The DREEM survey DREEM results Key transition points highlighted Areas for enhancement Conclusion Overview

Introducing the veterinary curriculum Dog & Cat (ICC) Clinical Foundation Course (CFC) The Animal Body Veterinary Pathology Food Animal ICC Equine ICC Animal Health, Welfare & Food Safety Final Year Rotations Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Professional & Clinical Skills Preparing for Final Year The Animal Body Year 1 Exotics ICC ExternshipElective SSC1 SSC2

Evaluating the veterinary student experience NSS only covers final year (FY) University of Edinburgh recently started doing similar survey for earlier years Neither specific enough for veterinary teaching context Not able to monitor transitions

The DREEM survey Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM) 1 Designed for and well validated in medical education Has been adapted for veterinary education before 2 1.Roff S., McAleer S., Harden R.M. et al, (1997). Medical Teacher. 1997;19(4): Pelzer J.M., Hodgson J.L. and Werre S.R., (2014). BMC Research Notes, 7:170

Using the DREEM survey 50 Likert-scale questions Score for 5 themes summed for overall score (total possible 200) Gave DREEM to veterinary students in all years on paper in April 2014 Response rate of 452 out of 750 (60%)

Perceptions of learning

Perceptions of teachers

Academic self-perceptions

Key transition points highlighted

Areas for enhancement Pre-entry support project in progress Discussing ways to support pre-clinical to clinical transition Changes to final year prep to aid transition into FY Will use DREEM again in future to monitor success of these initiatives

Conclusion Surveys like DREEM can be useful for highlighting key transition points and areas for enhancement Can be used pre and post interventions to monitor success Can be used to gauge student experience longitudinally and react accordingly

Questions? ?