OLIVER

Background

Veterinary students begin their core clinical rotations in the middle of their fourth year and continue throughout their final year. This transition into full time clinical training can be considered to be exciting for some and agonising for others. Recent research undertaken within the Enhancing Clinical Learning in the Workplace project found that students perceived themselves to be anxious, stressed and underprepared for their transition into full time clinical rotations (Magnier et al. 2012). Most veterinary students did not read documentation relating to their rotations prior to entering the workplace. Talking with their peers, who have previously been in the workplace, constituted the bulk of their ‘preparation’. An idea was then formed to develop an Online Induction Video Educational Resource (OLIVER) to help students understand their role and responsibilities within the workplace to help better prepare them and the OLIVER project was born.

What was the aim of the project?

To involve veterinary and veterinary nursing students in the production of an online video resource in order to:

Better prepare veterinary and veterinary nursing students for the clinical workplace (specifically intra-mural rotations and nursing placements)
Engage students in the production of an online learning resource
Use technology to harness learning
Promote interprofessional working

How did the web resource develop?

A number of videos were collected, these were then edited into 500 short videos, producing four different types:

Video diaries from the perspective of former students of what it was like to be on rotations.
Staff interviews (clinicians and nurses) detailing their role and expectations of the students on rotations and nursing placements.
The ‘process of a consultation’ in the varying learning environments (QMH, Equine, Farm and Beaumont).
Student tour of small animal and equine hospitals explaining important elements of each of the hospitals.

The OLIVER web resource went live on October 31st 2011 and has been going from strength to strength. Marketing of the resource internally to the students in compulsory large group lectures, messaging boards and through word of mouth has worked well with a gradual increase in the number of students visiting the site not once but returning again to see other videos.

Sponsorship

This project has been jointly funded by the subject centres in Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine and Health Sciences and Practice. This website has been developed by LIVE.

Visit OLIVER at https://oliver.live.ac.uk/

Project Team: Kirsty Fox, Peter Nunn, Jeff Bullock