Increasing Engagement with Transferable Skills Teaching in the Veterinary Curriculum: Learning From Our Learners

Transferable skills such as teamwork and communication are essential for success in any workplace, including veterinary practice. Veterinary schools are increasingly incorporating transferable skills into their curricula, but there is little in-depth research investigating how students engage with this teaching. Student engagement is a result of the interplay of numerous influences that include not just the teacher/teaching environment, but also the student's background, circumstances, and identity. Two focus groups with 7 students total were conducted to address the question of how students engage with transferable skills in the first year of a veterinary program and how their developing professional identity affects their decisions to engage. Reflexive thematic analysis was used. An overarching theme was developed of "who I am and who I want to be affects my engagement with transferable skills" encompassing the themes of "the unspoken culture of veterinary medicine impacts my decisions" and "recognizing and fostering diversity-transferable skills teaching must have value for me as an individual." Students identified factors that both hindered and promoted engagement with transferable skills, such as instructional methods, expertise and engagement of their instructors, and placement within the curriculum. They demonstrated strategic decision making regarding whether to engage, but also, as neophytes to the profession, sometimes relied on a fledgling professional identity without a full understanding of the possible implications (eg, by prioritizing short term goals or a clinical practice identity). These student insights could help educators design engaging transferable skills sessions that meet the learning goals of both students and the veterinary program.