Looking to the Future
As I finalize my master’s I’m excited to concentrate my efforts on some short-term professional goals. Updating and improving learning and advising experiences will always be at the forefront of my job, but when I look to my immediate future there are three goals I first need to accomplish. I considered what needed to be done program-wide and in my individual courses. My first goal, to complete a detailed essential skills list for my students to meet CVTEA requirements, is a program-wide necessity. The last two goals are centered around two of my classes: to create and implement a scenario-based assessment in one course and to rebuild a second course around competency-based assessments.
The Veterinary Nursing Program is an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) accredited program. Like many accredited programs, we have rules and regulations we must meet and abide by to remain compliant. One requirement is that our program must incorporate a list of specific CVTEA essential skills and tasks in our program. Many of these tasks must be completed hands-on using a live patient. While we are confident that the skills are included in our program, we are not currently providing this list to students or listing the steps needed to complete each task. My goal is to be the first instructor to compile the specific skills from this list met in my courses along with the procedural steps needed to complete each skill or task. I'll be using Trajecsys Report System to complete this goal. This goal is two-fold. Not only will this document streamline accreditation requirements, it will also be beneficial to my students. This concise list will help better show the goals and expectations that are to be met in my courses and explain specifically how each skill or task should be completed. Students can also view this skills list throughout their courses to monitor the completion of the skills. This list and corresponding procedural steps will also give me and other instructors a set of guidelines to follow to ensure all students are assessed fairly.
My second goal is to create an impactful and meaningful communication assessment in my hospital procedures and communication course. This assessment will cover the topic of communication as it relates to client communication in the veterinary profession. I have thought about this assessment and considered what this topic’s goal would be. Students need to be confident in their ability to communicate with clients, including the use of client- friendly language, thoughtful open-ended questions, and effective nonverbal communication. Student performance on a midterm does not accurately reflect a student’s ability to deliver this important set of communication skills. I hope to create a meaningful communication assessment that encompasses these goals, replacing the course midterm. Scenario-based or simulation assessments, like ones used during Colorado State University’s Frank Communication Workshop, are learning experiences I aim to simulate.
My last immediate goal is to make a slight change in my companion animal skills course. This course relies heavily on the opportunity to learn, and continue practicing, a handful of technical nursing skills such as physical restraint, phlebotomy, placement of IV peripheral catheters, and administration of fluid therapy to patients. Many of these skills are taught at the beginning of the semester, and students have an opportunity to continue practicing and perfecting them until they are tested on the correct completion of these skills during their final lab practical at the end of the semester. I believe that I can create a better form of student assessment that removes testing anxiety and fear of failure often associated with testing environments. Additionally, my new idea for skill assessment will allow students much earlier in the semester to learn how they are performing and how they can improve. I’d like to create a competency-based assessment in which students can view their specific skills needing to be completed during the course and the accompanying procedural steps. When students are ready, I and other faculty members assess their performance. Students will have up to three attempts to complete each skill using the correct technique, and skills can be completed at any time during the semester. I believe this format of assessment also gives students more of a say on how and when they wish to complete this list. For assistance on how to better create this competency-based assessment format I will explore different models, such as the Competency Outcomes and Performance Assessment (COPA) model created by Carrie B. Lenburg.
As an educator, it is my job to help mold my students into extraordinary vet nurses. But I also believe that it is my job to challenge myself by providing unique learning experiences that help my students grow into vet nurses. These goals will help to ensure I incorporate accreditation requirements using organized, meaningful, and beneficial learning techniques.