Clinical-year veterinary students are most likely to be confident and competent in calving procedures after blending simulator practicals with videos.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Veterinary students require safer practice of calving scenarios; however, the effects of a high-fidelity calving simulator (SIM) practical and/or videos (computer-assisted learning [CAL]) on student calving confidence (CONF) and competence (COMP) are unknown.

Methods

Fourth-year veterinary students received no teaching beyond previous lectures (LEC, n = 60), CAL (n = 59), SIM (n = 96) or CAL&SIM (n = 85). Students scored their CONF in 13 individual calving tasks before and after teaching delivery and were subsequently skill tested by internal (faculty) or external/peer/technical OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examination) assessors (non-faculty).

Results

Higher cumulative CONF scores required practical exposure (SIM 42.3 [95% confidence interval, CI 40

SUBMITTER: Orr J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12758265 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature