Drug Administration CAL
Category: Archive
What is this CAL?
This package is aimed at Veterinary and Veterinary Nursing students, to teach drug calculation and administration skills. Using the classic veterinary scenario of a bitch spey or lacerated horse. The programme addresses the clinical procedures and relevant underpinning theory associated with providing the premedication, anaesthetic induction and post-operative analgesia to the patient. Students are guided throughout the scenario with a range of instructional tutorials, practical activities and active learning tasks. By taking advantage of various media types including: video, diagrams, photographic images, animation, voice-over, and text, students are exposed to various learning stimuli to enhance their learning experience.
Aim of the project
The aim of this project was to develop a tool which integrated the teaching of crucial day one clinical skills with opportunities to practice the practical aspects of the skill in the ‘safe’ environment of the Clinical Skills Centre (CSC). In addition, we wanted to start to promote an element of clinical reasoning to help students in the transition from student to professional practitioner, by introducing them to best practice and making them aware of alternative methods.
Why we chose this activity to develop
Following a day one skills mapping exercise carried out by LIVE, it was identified that many of the skills associated with calculating and administering drugs to patients were not taught formally within the existing curriculum and undergraduate veterinary and veterinary nursing students relied on their clinical rotations to practice and develop these skills.
Anecdotal reports from nursing and veterinary clinical staff within the University’s teaching hospital revealed that students were weak in these skills which raised the question of the suitability and effectiveness of existing learning strategy for these skills .
The Drug Administration programme addresses a previous gap in the teaching of an essential day one skill, by utilising a guided computer learning package alongside the opportunity to practice the psychomotor parts of the skill within the CSC.
CAL Delivery
By making this CAL package available online, students have flexible access to the learning materials in a non-threatening environment, whether via the internet or directly in the CSC. Students are able to practice as many times as they like, away from the potentially stressful clinical environment, without any detrimental effects on the animal, owners, themselves or colleagues.
Although delivered online, we highly encourage students to access the programme in the CSC because they have the additional access to the associated manikins, drug administration equipment and clinical skills tutors.
Links are provided to other associated learning materials, developed within the RVC or provided by other external resources e.g. the Noah Compendium.
The drug administration package has been available to students since March 2008 with initial feedback being positive. A full evaluation of the suitability and effectiveness of the programme is being planned and will be carried out in the near future.
