The Perception of Veterinary Students and Faculty on the Use of a Novel Bandage Limb Model for the Purpose of Training

Abstract

In small animal practice, ailments of the extremities are common. Limb bandages are often indicated for degloving injuries, fracture support, and many other orthopedic conditions. Consequently, veterinarians frequently perform bandage placement on their small animal patients. Bandages such as the Modified Robert Jones, Robert Jones, Ehmer sling, and Velpeau sling are some of the commonly applied bandages in practice. Small animal bandaging is an essential component of veterinary skills training. However, many veterinary curricula offer very little if any practical bandage training during the student’s pre-clinical veterinary education. At Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM), through collaboration with Veterinary Simulators Industries Ltda a bandage limb model was developed to address the lack of practical training and to help minimize live animal use for bandage training. In 2014 a questionnaire was conducted with RUSVM faculty and second year veterinary students to determine their perception of the use of the bandage limb model for the purpose of teaching small animal bandaging techniques. Participants included eight faculty who were selected based on their experience with bandaging and 110 students enrolled in the Surgery One Laboratory course. The questionnaire utilized a five-point Likert scale. The median of overall perception scores of the bandage limb model were 33 (out of 40) for students and 46.5 (out of 50) for faculty. These results suggest that veterinary students and faculty perceive the bandage limb model as an acceptable alternative that would be useful in teaching veterinary students small animal bandaging techniques. Further studies are required to evaluate the effectiveness of the model in teaching bandaging skills in comparison to the use of a live animal.