Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on January 10, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports
Feature education
The winding path to a PhD in veterinary education Masters and PhD degrees specific to veterinary education are relatively novel, but the number of students in this area is growing. As two current students, Tierney Kinnison and Sylvain Dernat, explain, those undertaking these degrees have vastly different backgrounds and are researching a variety of topics. By sharing the experiences of those involved, they hope to encourage the next generation of veterinary educators to begin their research careers at the Veterinary Education (VetEd) symposium held in Bristol in July last year, education was described by Trudie Roberts (director of the Leeds Institute of Medical Education) as the way to have the biggest possible impact in your career, as you reach the greatest number of people, through those you educate, who then educate others, whether they be patients, clients or students. This inspiring, though somewhat daunting, thought was echoed by the other keynote speaker at the conference, Susan Rhind (director of veterinary teaching at the Royal [Dick] School of Veterinary Studies). Both speakers declared no specific training in education and welcomed the new generation of students who are undertaking Masters or PhDs in education. After all, given that such students appreciate the importance of education, they must also appreciate the scholarship of teaching. The idea for this article came from a workshop held immediately before the symposium. This allowed PhD students from different universities and countries to come together and share their experiences of undertaking a PhD in this specialist area. This article highlights some of the topics considered during the workshop. Also, we subsequently contacted the workshop participants and other relevant individuals (those who have done or are doing a PhD in veterinary education or some aspect of the veterinary profession that might have implications for undergraduate
Tierney Kinnison, BSc, MSc, Royal Veterinary College, e-mail: [email protected] Sylvain Dernat, BSc, MSc, University of Lyon, e-mail: [email protected] 8 | Veterinary Record | January 3, 2015
Some of the things a PhD student might have to think about on the path to a PhD in veterinary education or on the veterinary profession
curriculum change) and asked for their collaboration in this article. Summary information on the PhD students who participated in the workshop, or helped with this article, can be found in the table on p 9. While there are undoubtedly other students working in this area, they were either not found, or did not respond to our requests for collaboration.
Backgrounds
It can be seen from the summary information in the table that not everyone has a veterinary background, with the undergraduate degrees of the nonveterinarians including animal behaviour, archaeology, education science, engineering, equine science, legal science, molecular biology, pharmacology and social science.
About the authors Both authors are PhD students who are about to enter their third year of study. Tierney Kinnison is from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London, and is researching interprofessional working and learning in the veterinary field. Previously, she studied animal behaviour and has worked at the RVC as a research assistant in the Lifelong Independent Veterinary Education (LIVE) Centre. Sylvain Dernat is studying at the veterinary school of Lyon in France and is investigating specialisation choices of vet students with a focus on rural work. He has worked as a learning engineer
in a public research institute and completed a Masters in education on the modelling of social representations of the veterinary profession in the veterinary curriculum. They started sharing their PhD experiences via e-mail as both felt somewhat isolated in the veterinary education PhD field. Tierney knew a few other PhD students within the LIVE Centre, but Sylvain didn’t know anyone else doing similar studies within his own university, or in France. They decided it would be beneficial to bring other PhD students together via a face-to-face workshop and an online community.
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on January 10, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports Who, what, where and when? Veterinary education/profession PhD students and their subjects Student and institution
Title (provisional or final)
Funding
Year completed Previous degree(s)
Katherine Adam, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
The future of farm animal practice in a changing veterinary business landscape
Norbrook Pharmaceuticals
Ongoing
Sarah Baillie, University of Glasgow (e-mail: [email protected])
Validation of the haptic cow: a simulator for training veterinary students
Biomedical & Comparative 2006 Medicine Research Scholarship
Harold Bok, Utrecht University, the Netherlands Competency-based veterinary education: an (e-mail: [email protected]) integrative approach to learning and assessment in the clinical workplace
BVM&S, MSc aquatic medicine BSc, BVSc, CertCHP
2014
DVM
Kate Cobb, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
The impact of assessment on constructive alignment in a modern veterinary curriculum
School funded
Ongoing (part time)
BVetMed, PGCE, MMedSci
Vicki H. M. Dale, University of Glasgow (e-mail: [email protected])
Educational methods and technologies in undergraduate veterinary medicine: a case study of veterinary teaching and learning at Glasgow, 1949-2006
Fee waiver awarded by fulltime employer (University of Glasgow)
2008
BSc (Hons) archaeology, MSc archaeological (computing)
Sally Everitt, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
Clinical decision making in veterinary practice
University of Nottingham
2011
BVSc, MSc(VetGP)
Esther de Groot, Utrecht University, the Netherlands (e-mail: [email protected])
Learning of veterinary professionals in communities. Using the theory of critically reflective work behaviour with regard to evidence based practice
Grant from Utrecht University
2012
Molecular biology
Sylvain Dernat, University of Lyon (e-mail: [email protected])
Attractiveness of rural areas and specialization choices of vet students
National Institute for Agricultural Ongoing Research/Estive
BSc social sciences, MSc education science
Andrew Gardiner, University of Manchester (e-mail: [email protected])
Small animal practice in British veterinary medicine, 1920-56
Wellcome Trust
2010
BVM&S, MSc
Erica Gummery, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
The impact of anatomy teaching in the veterinary curriculum
University of Nottingham
Ongoing
Jennifer Hammond, University of Glasgow (e-mail: [email protected])
Learning to cope with uncertainty: the role of uncertainty and ambiguity in undergraduate veterinary education
Professional doctorate
Ongoing (part time)
VetMB, MA
Debbie Jaarsma, Utrecht University (e-mail: [email protected])
Developments in veterinary medical education – intentions, perceptions, learning processes and outcomes
Utrecht University
2008
DVM
Tierney Kinnison, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
Insights from veterinary interprofessional interactions: Bloomsbury Consortium implications for interprofessional education
Ongoing
BSc animal behaviour, MSc
Liz Mossop, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
Defining and teaching veterinary professionalism
University of Nottingham
2012
BVM&S, MMedSci (Clin Ed)
Hannah Perrin, University of Kent (e-mail: [email protected])
The last vocation? Developing a professional identity in veterinary medicine
Economic and Social Research Council
Ongoing
BSc pharmacology, MA health services research
Alison Pyatt, Harper Adams University (e-mail: [email protected])
Service management in the veterinary sector
Harper Adams University
Ongoing (part time)
BSc equine science, PgD, PGCE
2011
BPh, MSc, MEd
Stephan Ramaekers, Utrecht University, the On the development of competence in solving Netherlands (e-mail: [email protected]) clinical problems; Can it be taught? Or can it only be learned? Carrie Roder, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
The hidden curriculum of veterinary education
Economic and Social Research Council
2014
BEng, MEd
Annemarie Spruijt, Utrecht University (e-mail: [email protected])
Exploring seminar learning in relation to students, teachers and context
Utrecht University
2014
DVM
Lorna Treanor, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
Gender, industry sector and self-employment: women in the UK veterinary profession
Self (formerly Norbrook Laboratories via the RVC)
Ongoing
BSc information management, BLegalScience, PgDip management practice
Claire Vinten, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
The progression to expertise: clinical reasoning development in veterinary undergraduates
Horserace Betting Levy Board
Ongoing
BVM, BVS
Martin Whiting, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
Towards an understanding of justice in relation to Royal Veterinary College animal protectionism and the veterinary profession (internal funding)
Submitted
BSc philosophy, BVetMed, MA medical law and ethics
Routes to a PhD
The route to a veterinary education PhD varies from student to student. The majority of projects, however, arose from a personal interest developed during the course of previous work. In such cases, individuals tended to have to find their own funding for their research. The following quotes show why the students decided to dedicate more than three years to research in a particular area of interest. ‘My background is in small animal first opinion
practice and my interest in education has developed over the period of several years working as a clinical teacher with students at the PDSA in Glasgow.’ – Jennifer Hammond, University of Glasgow ‘As an educational technologist, the catalyst for undertaking my PhD was a recognition that e-learning was only part of the range of resources and teaching methods that students depended on for learning.’ –Vicki H. M. Dale, University of Glasgow January 3, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 9
t
The first PhD projects were completed between 2006 and 2008 and 10 of the 11 students who have completed their studies are still working specifically within veterinary or medical education. These individuals include Debbie Jaarsma, who is professor in medical education at the University Medical Centre Groningen, the Netherlands; Liz Mossop, associate professor of veterinary education at the University of Nottingham; and Sarah Baillie, professor of veterinary education at the University of Bristol.
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on January 10, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports curve and many challenges in trying to incorporate and meet the requirements of two such different academic disciplines.’ – Sally Everitt, University of Nottingham
‘As a veterinary practice manager, I first became interested in veterinary education through our EMS programme. Eventually I reached the stage of wanting to examine the processes involved in more detail.’ – Hannah Perrin, University of Kent
Another challenge is timekeeping. This is sometimes due to the studies being heavily reliant on the participation of volunteers for practice visits or questionnaire responses. Timekeeping can be especially difficult for those students conducting their research alongside their job; four of the workshop’s participants were studying part time.
‘I had taken a year out from practice to do the interdisciplinary Masters at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester. I was then offered a Wellcome PhD grant to stay and write a history of British veterinary practice focusing on small animals.’ – Andrew Gardiner, University of Edinburgh ‘My lectureship involves the provision of a range of paraprofessional (veterinary) undergraduate and postgraduate courses. This, in combination with a personal interest in veterinary service delivery for companion animals, equine and farm clients, gave rise to the initial project idea.’ – Alison Pyatt, Harper Adams University Other PhD projects were advertised and individuals applied for them like a normal job, having made a decision to further their studies. ‘I moved into epidemiological research from practice and have worked on endemic diseases of rainbow trout and cattle. I gradually realised how much human behaviour affects animal health and productivity and developed an interest in the human side of veterinary medicine.’ – Katherine Adam, Royal Veterinary College ‘While still in the early days of my secondary school teaching career, I began to re-evaluate what was happening in my classroom. I stopped seeing teaching as simply information transfer and started to understand the wider implications of all my actions. I became aware of the hidden curriculum and my role within it. So I welcomed the opportunity to study the hidden curriculum at the RVC.’ – Carrie Roder, Royal Veterinary College
Start of a new community – the PhD students hard at work during the workshop held before the VetEd symposium in Bristol in July last year
Challenges and benefits
Due to the nature of the topics being studied, and the fact that the PhD students undertaking them are often located within veterinary schools among other students carrying out very different work (for example, in laboratories), the opportunity offered by the VetEd preconference workshop to meet others in similar situations proved very engaging. The workshop highlighted that, aside from feelings of isolation, there are other challenges to being a PhD student in the area of veterinary education. For the majority of the students, their background is not within social science. Many of the projects they are involved in, however, make use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Therefore, undertaking projects that use methods and theories related to questionnaires, case studies, and so on, can be challenging. As one former student explained: ‘The fact that my PhD was jointly supervised by the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and the School of Sociology, led to a very steep learning
A new student network An online group has been set up to allow continuation of the new PhD student community within NOVICE (Network Of Veterinarians In Continuing Education – www.noviceproject.eu). Anyone who is, or has been, a PhD student in this area is welcome to join the group. NOVICE is a free network open to all veterinarians, veterinary students and veterinary educationalists. The online network allows students to keep in contact across time and distance boundaries. Discussion boards, wikis and blogs are all available. An example is a wiki of ‘Golden tips’ for new PhD students, which includes 10 | Veterinary Record | January 3, 2015
advice such as ‘[It would be a nice] idea to write something every day, but if I manage to write something once a week I am reasonably happy – I do try to read something every day though’ and ‘Do not be too hard on yourself. At some point you will wish you had never started – that’s normal!’ If anyone would like to contact one of the students to find out more about their work, they can use NOVICE or the contact details in the table on p 9. Those who contributed to this article are keen for the veterinary field to understand the work they are doing and to share their results to improve veterinary education worldwide.
‘Studying part time alongside my existing role has been challenging but I have finally reached the writing up stage.’ – Kate Cobb, University of Nottingham While finances were not specifically mentioned as a challenge during the workshop, this may be because it was taken as a given within this group. As well as the part-time students, many of the full-time students did some teaching within their colleges to supplement their stipend. Other means of finding funding, for example, for conferences, were considered necessary, but could be difficult to achieve. Despite the challenges, students were grateful for the opportunities that had led them to this stage. Those who had completed their studies related that ‘doing a PhD has been an inspiring experience’ (Esther de Groot, Utrecht University) and that the knowledge and skills they developed had assisted with their future work. The current careers of those who have completed their studies make an impressive list and demonstrate the advantages that a PhD in this niche area can provide. There are many advantages of doing an education- or profession-based PhD, which include future job prospects, becoming a well-rounded researcher, and even enjoyment on occasion! However, it is challenging, especially because of the relatively isolated situation many students find themselves in, while dealing with time and financial challenges. There are many topics within this area yet to be fully explored and we would like to encourage others to turn their winding paths in the direction of a veterinary education/ profession PhD.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following for their contributions to this article: Katherine Adam, Sarah Baillie, Harold Bok, Kate Cobb, Vicki H. M. Dale, Sally Everitt, Esther de Groot, Andrew Gardiner, Erica Gummery, Jennifer Hammond, Debbie Jaarsma, Liz Mossop, Hannah Perrin, Alison Pyatt, Stephan Ramaekers, Carrie Roder, Annemarie Spruijt, Lorna Treanor, Claire Vinten and Martin Whiting. doi: 10.1136/vr.g7631
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on January 10, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
The winding path to a PhD in veterinary education Tierney Kinnison and Sylvain Dernat Veterinary Record 2015 176: 8-10
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7631 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/1/8
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports
Feature education
The winding path to a PhD in veterinary education Masters and PhD degrees specific to veterinary education are relatively novel, but the number of students in this area is growing. As two current students, Tierney Kinnison and Sylvain Dernat, explain, those undertaking these degrees have vastly different backgrounds and are researching a variety of topics. By sharing the experiences of those involved, they hope to encourage the next generation of veterinary educators to begin their research careers at the Veterinary Education (VetEd) symposium held in Bristol in July last year, education was described by Trudie Roberts (director of the Leeds Institute of Medical Education) as the way to have the biggest possible impact in your career, as you reach the greatest number of people, through those you educate, who then educate others, whether they be patients, clients or students. This inspiring, though somewhat daunting, thought was echoed by the other keynote speaker at the conference, Susan Rhind (director of veterinary teaching at the Royal [Dick] School of Veterinary Studies). Both speakers declared no specific training in education and welcomed the new generation of students who are undertaking Masters or PhDs in education. After all, given that such students appreciate the importance of education, they must also appreciate the scholarship of teaching. The idea for this article came from a workshop held immediately before the symposium. This allowed PhD students from different universities and countries to come together and share their experiences of undertaking a PhD in this specialist area. This article highlights some of the topics considered during the workshop. Also, we subsequently contacted the workshop participants and other relevant individuals (those who have done or are doing a PhD in veterinary education or some aspect of the veterinary profession that might have implications for undergraduate
Tierney Kinnison, BSc, MSc, Royal Veterinary College, e-mail: [email protected] Sylvain Dernat, BSc, MSc, University of Lyon, e-mail: [email protected] 8 | Veterinary Record | January 3, 2015
Some of the things a PhD student might have to think about on the path to a PhD in veterinary education or on the veterinary profession
curriculum change) and asked for their collaboration in this article. Summary information on the PhD students who participated in the workshop, or helped with this article, can be found in the table on p 9. While there are undoubtedly other students working in this area, they were either not found, or did not respond to our requests for collaboration.
Backgrounds
It can be seen from the summary information in the table that not everyone has a veterinary background, with the undergraduate degrees of the nonveterinarians including animal behaviour, archaeology, education science, engineering, equine science, legal science, molecular biology, pharmacology and social science.
About the authors Both authors are PhD students who are about to enter their third year of study. Tierney Kinnison is from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), University of London, and is researching interprofessional working and learning in the veterinary field. Previously, she studied animal behaviour and has worked at the RVC as a research assistant in the Lifelong Independent Veterinary Education (LIVE) Centre. Sylvain Dernat is studying at the veterinary school of Lyon in France and is investigating specialisation choices of vet students with a focus on rural work. He has worked as a learning engineer
in a public research institute and completed a Masters in education on the modelling of social representations of the veterinary profession in the veterinary curriculum. They started sharing their PhD experiences via e-mail as both felt somewhat isolated in the veterinary education PhD field. Tierney knew a few other PhD students within the LIVE Centre, but Sylvain didn’t know anyone else doing similar studies within his own university, or in France. They decided it would be beneficial to bring other PhD students together via a face-to-face workshop and an online community.
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on January 10, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports Who, what, where and when? Veterinary education/profession PhD students and their subjects Student and institution
Title (provisional or final)
Funding
Year completed Previous degree(s)
Katherine Adam, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
The future of farm animal practice in a changing veterinary business landscape
Norbrook Pharmaceuticals
Ongoing
Sarah Baillie, University of Glasgow (e-mail: [email protected])
Validation of the haptic cow: a simulator for training veterinary students
Biomedical & Comparative 2006 Medicine Research Scholarship
Harold Bok, Utrecht University, the Netherlands Competency-based veterinary education: an (e-mail: [email protected]) integrative approach to learning and assessment in the clinical workplace
BVM&S, MSc aquatic medicine BSc, BVSc, CertCHP
2014
DVM
Kate Cobb, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
The impact of assessment on constructive alignment in a modern veterinary curriculum
School funded
Ongoing (part time)
BVetMed, PGCE, MMedSci
Vicki H. M. Dale, University of Glasgow (e-mail: [email protected])
Educational methods and technologies in undergraduate veterinary medicine: a case study of veterinary teaching and learning at Glasgow, 1949-2006
Fee waiver awarded by fulltime employer (University of Glasgow)
2008
BSc (Hons) archaeology, MSc archaeological (computing)
Sally Everitt, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
Clinical decision making in veterinary practice
University of Nottingham
2011
BVSc, MSc(VetGP)
Esther de Groot, Utrecht University, the Netherlands (e-mail: [email protected])
Learning of veterinary professionals in communities. Using the theory of critically reflective work behaviour with regard to evidence based practice
Grant from Utrecht University
2012
Molecular biology
Sylvain Dernat, University of Lyon (e-mail: [email protected])
Attractiveness of rural areas and specialization choices of vet students
National Institute for Agricultural Ongoing Research/Estive
BSc social sciences, MSc education science
Andrew Gardiner, University of Manchester (e-mail: [email protected])
Small animal practice in British veterinary medicine, 1920-56
Wellcome Trust
2010
BVM&S, MSc
Erica Gummery, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
The impact of anatomy teaching in the veterinary curriculum
University of Nottingham
Ongoing
Jennifer Hammond, University of Glasgow (e-mail: [email protected])
Learning to cope with uncertainty: the role of uncertainty and ambiguity in undergraduate veterinary education
Professional doctorate
Ongoing (part time)
VetMB, MA
Debbie Jaarsma, Utrecht University (e-mail: [email protected])
Developments in veterinary medical education – intentions, perceptions, learning processes and outcomes
Utrecht University
2008
DVM
Tierney Kinnison, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
Insights from veterinary interprofessional interactions: Bloomsbury Consortium implications for interprofessional education
Ongoing
BSc animal behaviour, MSc
Liz Mossop, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
Defining and teaching veterinary professionalism
University of Nottingham
2012
BVM&S, MMedSci (Clin Ed)
Hannah Perrin, University of Kent (e-mail: [email protected])
The last vocation? Developing a professional identity in veterinary medicine
Economic and Social Research Council
Ongoing
BSc pharmacology, MA health services research
Alison Pyatt, Harper Adams University (e-mail: [email protected])
Service management in the veterinary sector
Harper Adams University
Ongoing (part time)
BSc equine science, PgD, PGCE
2011
BPh, MSc, MEd
Stephan Ramaekers, Utrecht University, the On the development of competence in solving Netherlands (e-mail: [email protected]) clinical problems; Can it be taught? Or can it only be learned? Carrie Roder, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
The hidden curriculum of veterinary education
Economic and Social Research Council
2014
BEng, MEd
Annemarie Spruijt, Utrecht University (e-mail: [email protected])
Exploring seminar learning in relation to students, teachers and context
Utrecht University
2014
DVM
Lorna Treanor, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
Gender, industry sector and self-employment: women in the UK veterinary profession
Self (formerly Norbrook Laboratories via the RVC)
Ongoing
BSc information management, BLegalScience, PgDip management practice
Claire Vinten, University of Nottingham (e-mail: [email protected])
The progression to expertise: clinical reasoning development in veterinary undergraduates
Horserace Betting Levy Board
Ongoing
BVM, BVS
Martin Whiting, Royal Veterinary College (e-mail: [email protected])
Towards an understanding of justice in relation to Royal Veterinary College animal protectionism and the veterinary profession (internal funding)
Submitted
BSc philosophy, BVetMed, MA medical law and ethics
Routes to a PhD
The route to a veterinary education PhD varies from student to student. The majority of projects, however, arose from a personal interest developed during the course of previous work. In such cases, individuals tended to have to find their own funding for their research. The following quotes show why the students decided to dedicate more than three years to research in a particular area of interest. ‘My background is in small animal first opinion
practice and my interest in education has developed over the period of several years working as a clinical teacher with students at the PDSA in Glasgow.’ – Jennifer Hammond, University of Glasgow ‘As an educational technologist, the catalyst for undertaking my PhD was a recognition that e-learning was only part of the range of resources and teaching methods that students depended on for learning.’ –Vicki H. M. Dale, University of Glasgow January 3, 2015 | Veterinary Record | 9
t
The first PhD projects were completed between 2006 and 2008 and 10 of the 11 students who have completed their studies are still working specifically within veterinary or medical education. These individuals include Debbie Jaarsma, who is professor in medical education at the University Medical Centre Groningen, the Netherlands; Liz Mossop, associate professor of veterinary education at the University of Nottingham; and Sarah Baillie, professor of veterinary education at the University of Bristol.
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on January 10, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports curve and many challenges in trying to incorporate and meet the requirements of two such different academic disciplines.’ – Sally Everitt, University of Nottingham
‘As a veterinary practice manager, I first became interested in veterinary education through our EMS programme. Eventually I reached the stage of wanting to examine the processes involved in more detail.’ – Hannah Perrin, University of Kent
Another challenge is timekeeping. This is sometimes due to the studies being heavily reliant on the participation of volunteers for practice visits or questionnaire responses. Timekeeping can be especially difficult for those students conducting their research alongside their job; four of the workshop’s participants were studying part time.
‘I had taken a year out from practice to do the interdisciplinary Masters at the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Manchester. I was then offered a Wellcome PhD grant to stay and write a history of British veterinary practice focusing on small animals.’ – Andrew Gardiner, University of Edinburgh ‘My lectureship involves the provision of a range of paraprofessional (veterinary) undergraduate and postgraduate courses. This, in combination with a personal interest in veterinary service delivery for companion animals, equine and farm clients, gave rise to the initial project idea.’ – Alison Pyatt, Harper Adams University Other PhD projects were advertised and individuals applied for them like a normal job, having made a decision to further their studies. ‘I moved into epidemiological research from practice and have worked on endemic diseases of rainbow trout and cattle. I gradually realised how much human behaviour affects animal health and productivity and developed an interest in the human side of veterinary medicine.’ – Katherine Adam, Royal Veterinary College ‘While still in the early days of my secondary school teaching career, I began to re-evaluate what was happening in my classroom. I stopped seeing teaching as simply information transfer and started to understand the wider implications of all my actions. I became aware of the hidden curriculum and my role within it. So I welcomed the opportunity to study the hidden curriculum at the RVC.’ – Carrie Roder, Royal Veterinary College
Start of a new community – the PhD students hard at work during the workshop held before the VetEd symposium in Bristol in July last year
Challenges and benefits
Due to the nature of the topics being studied, and the fact that the PhD students undertaking them are often located within veterinary schools among other students carrying out very different work (for example, in laboratories), the opportunity offered by the VetEd preconference workshop to meet others in similar situations proved very engaging. The workshop highlighted that, aside from feelings of isolation, there are other challenges to being a PhD student in the area of veterinary education. For the majority of the students, their background is not within social science. Many of the projects they are involved in, however, make use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Therefore, undertaking projects that use methods and theories related to questionnaires, case studies, and so on, can be challenging. As one former student explained: ‘The fact that my PhD was jointly supervised by the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science and the School of Sociology, led to a very steep learning
A new student network An online group has been set up to allow continuation of the new PhD student community within NOVICE (Network Of Veterinarians In Continuing Education – www.noviceproject.eu). Anyone who is, or has been, a PhD student in this area is welcome to join the group. NOVICE is a free network open to all veterinarians, veterinary students and veterinary educationalists. The online network allows students to keep in contact across time and distance boundaries. Discussion boards, wikis and blogs are all available. An example is a wiki of ‘Golden tips’ for new PhD students, which includes 10 | Veterinary Record | January 3, 2015
advice such as ‘[It would be a nice] idea to write something every day, but if I manage to write something once a week I am reasonably happy – I do try to read something every day though’ and ‘Do not be too hard on yourself. At some point you will wish you had never started – that’s normal!’ If anyone would like to contact one of the students to find out more about their work, they can use NOVICE or the contact details in the table on p 9. Those who contributed to this article are keen for the veterinary field to understand the work they are doing and to share their results to improve veterinary education worldwide.
‘Studying part time alongside my existing role has been challenging but I have finally reached the writing up stage.’ – Kate Cobb, University of Nottingham While finances were not specifically mentioned as a challenge during the workshop, this may be because it was taken as a given within this group. As well as the part-time students, many of the full-time students did some teaching within their colleges to supplement their stipend. Other means of finding funding, for example, for conferences, were considered necessary, but could be difficult to achieve. Despite the challenges, students were grateful for the opportunities that had led them to this stage. Those who had completed their studies related that ‘doing a PhD has been an inspiring experience’ (Esther de Groot, Utrecht University) and that the knowledge and skills they developed had assisted with their future work. The current careers of those who have completed their studies make an impressive list and demonstrate the advantages that a PhD in this niche area can provide. There are many advantages of doing an education- or profession-based PhD, which include future job prospects, becoming a well-rounded researcher, and even enjoyment on occasion! However, it is challenging, especially because of the relatively isolated situation many students find themselves in, while dealing with time and financial challenges. There are many topics within this area yet to be fully explored and we would like to encourage others to turn their winding paths in the direction of a veterinary education/ profession PhD.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following for their contributions to this article: Katherine Adam, Sarah Baillie, Harold Bok, Kate Cobb, Vicki H. M. Dale, Sally Everitt, Esther de Groot, Andrew Gardiner, Erica Gummery, Jennifer Hammond, Debbie Jaarsma, Liz Mossop, Hannah Perrin, Alison Pyatt, Stephan Ramaekers, Carrie Roder, Annemarie Spruijt, Lorna Treanor, Claire Vinten and Martin Whiting. doi: 10.1136/vr.g7631
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on January 10, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
The winding path to a PhD in veterinary education Tierney Kinnison and Sylvain Dernat Veterinary Record 2015 176: 8-10
doi: 10.1136/vr.g7631 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/1/8
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
