Abstract
BackgroundSpecialization in veterinary medicine in Europe is organized through the Colleges of the European Board of Veterinary Specialization. To inform updating of the curriculum for residents of the European College of Veterinary Neurology (ECVN) job analysis was used. Defining job competencies of diploma holders in veterinary neurology can be used as references for curriculum design of resident training. With the support of the diplomates of the ECVN and the members of the European Society of Veterinary Neurology (ESVN) a mixed-method research, including a qualitative search of objectives and quantitative ranking with 149 Likert scale questions and 48 free text questions in 9 categories in a survey was conducted. In addition, opinions of different groups were subjected to statistical analysis and the result compared.ResultsA return rate of 62% (n = 213/341) was achieved. Of the competencies identified by the Delphi process, 75% objectives were expected to attain expert level; 24% attain advanced level; 1% entry level. In addition, the exercise described the 11 highly ranked competencies, the 3 most frequently seen diseases of the central and peripheral nervous systems and the most frequently used immunosuppressive, antiepileptic and chemotherapeutic drugs.ConclusionThe outcomes of this “Delphi job analysis” provide a powerful tool to align the curriculum for ECVN resident training and can be adapted to the required job competencies, based on expectations. The expectation is that for majority of these competencies diplomates should attain an expert level. Besides knowledge and clinical skills, residents and diplomates are expected to demonstrate high standards in teaching and communication. The results of this study will help to create a European curriculum for postgraduate education in veterinary neurology.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-014-0314-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Specialization in veterinary medicine in Europe is organized through the Colleges of the European Board of Veterinary Specialization
The specialization in veterinary medicine was developed in the late 1980s; 26 veterinarians met at the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) congress in Harrogate, England in 1989 and discussed the specialization of veterinarians
Under the hypothesis of high standards of knowledge and skills reached by diplomates in veterinary neurology, the aim of this study was to create a catalogue of learning objectives for postgraduate training of veterinary neurology in Europe
Summary
To inform updating of the curriculum for residents of the European College of Veterinary Neurology (ECVN) job analysis was used. Defining job competencies of diploma holders in veterinary neurology can be used as references for curriculum design of resident training. For the curricula of training programs for veterinary specialists to remain relevant the educational process must reflect the societies expectations of the professional attributes of veterinary specialists. Competency based process have been used for the design of human medical training programs from the 1990s [6,7] and in 2005, a European core curriculum for human neurology was presented [8] and a questionnaire-based survey on human neurology curricula was conducted from 2006 to 2009 to improve patient care in human neurology in Europe [9]
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