Practical Strategies for Engaging Dissonance in Veterinary Medical Education

This chapter will review teaching approaches used to develop students’ professional skills in preparation for their future role as veterinary practitioners. These approaches support student development beyond the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS, 2014) Day One Competences expected of graduates, and emphasize the key importance of life-long skills and resilience in a rapidly changing world.
As veterinary leaders, they will be expected to demonstrate skills in multidisciplinary group facilitation and community engagement. From a global perspective, students are encouraged to reflect on their learning in light of the impact on their local communities and the wider impact on the global ecosystem. This chapter provides an overview of how professional skills are developed over the course of the undergraduate program. Such approaches guide students as they learn to confront and engage with cognitive dissonance (CD) inherent to the role of the veterinary surgeon in practice. Areas where CD is clearly evident in practice will be considered, followed by a review of the teaching approaches to prepare students.
The teaching methods described will include the benefits and challenges of work-based placements, opportunities for self-development and reflection within a tightly-packed curriculum, and the importance of facilitating student-led activities to build skills in leadership.