Bridging the Gap between Undergraduate Veterinary Training and Veterinary Practice with Entrustable Professional...

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Medical Education
• Professional Development

Background:

• The transition from veterinary student to practicing veterinarian is challenging.
• Graduating veterinarians often lack confidence for unsupervised practice, contributing to attrition and burnout.
• A lack of early career support is linked to high rates of veterinary professional dropout.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the potential of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in veterinary education.
• To assess how EPAs can support the transition from veterinary school to clinical practice.
• To propose EPAs as a solution to improve early career support and retention in the veterinary profession.

Main Methods:

• Review of current veterinary education and professional transition challenges.
• Analysis of the adoption and impact of EPAs in medical education.
• Proposal for restructuring veterinary curricula using an EPA-based framework.

Main Results:

• EPAs offer a structured approach to defining and assessing clinical competencies.
• Implementing EPAs can provide a clearer pathway for skill development and confidence building.
• EPA-based veterinary education may enhance preparedness for independent practice.

Conclusions:

• Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) show promise for improving veterinary graduate preparedness.
• Adopting EPAs can mitigate early career challenges, reduce burnout, and decrease attrition rates.
• EPA implementation is a viable strategy to support the veterinary profession's future.