INTRAMURAL ROTATIONS - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module consists of 7 x 4 week intra-mural rotation blocks and a Transition into the Profession unit of attendance, which is delivered during the introduction and return weeks. The module rotations provide students with opportunities to further develop day one knowledge, competences, attributes and skills through their integration and application in a workplace-based placement providing an authentic, safe and supervised learning environment, facilitating the transition from student to confident, competent and compassionate veterinarians. 

Opportunities are provided in a network of clinical practices or facilities which include:

• Small animal practice


• Equine practice


• Production animal practice


• Referral practice (2 weeks)


• Emergency and Critical Care (2 weeks)


• Veterinary public health and veterinary pathology


• A choice of an additional core rotation elective in Equine, Production Animal or Small Animal practice.

Within these practice settings students will be given opportunities to develop and demonstrate the knowledge, professional skills and attributes, practical skills and clinical competences expected of newly-qualified veterinary surgeons. This will be achieved by facilitation of targeted experiences and engagements during the placements, aligned to the following six domains of clinical practice;

• Veterinary knowledge


• Technical skills


• Clinical Reasoning


• Communication skills


• Patient Care


• Professionalism and professional skills

Module provider

School of Veterinary Medicine

Module Leader

POLLARD Paul (Vet Med)

Number of Credits: 120

ECTS Credits: 60

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes: 

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  Regular attendance at the partner practices under the supervision of the practice partner and the lectures in veterinary clinical practice (LVCPs) 
  


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  Active participation in all aspects of the practice including out of hours and management of emergency cases 
  


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  Regular attendance and active participation throughout the VPPH rotation at the University and for off-site visits 
  


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  Regular attendance at transition to profession workshops including careers fair, CV writing workshops, human factors sessions and seminars with the RCVS and Veterinary Defence Society. 
  

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The nature of the 120 credit module allows for a continuum of extensive feedback and evaluation as students build their skills and competences across the various placements. The student will receive weekly global assessment feedback across the six competency domains, which will feed forward in to the next placement, and contribute to their portfolio.

Formative assessment and feedback

Lecturers in Veterinary Clinical Practice (LVCPs) will have regular meetings with students to monitor feedback and formatively assess their portfolio assets, which includes case-reflections, case reports, audits, objective and competency reflections, and various completion tasks (case logs and skills logs). A marking rubric will be used for each asset of the portfolio.

Summative Assessment

The strategy is designed to use a variety of modalities to assess the full range of knowledge, skills and attributes required for day one competency and demonstrate achievement of programme outcomes. It is made up of two main components.

1) Rotation-specific short answer questions (SAQs) which make up 60% of the final year grade.

2) A portfolio of evidence including written assets and Global Performance Assessment scores which makes up 40% of the final year grade,

 

Rotation-specific short answer questions (SAQs) (60% of final year mark)

The rotation-specific short answer questions (SAQs) are online written questions based on the cases that the students would have encountered during their previous rotations. These will exclude referral, ECC and core rotation electives. These examinations, which occur in the return weeks after every one or two rotations. There are four return weeks in total.

Each of the four examinations are worth 15% of the final year mark. Students will sit an examination in small animal, production animal, equine and veterinary pathology and public health (VPPH)

Students much achieve a cumulative average of >3.0 in each competency domains as well as the 50% pass mark.

 

Portfolio

The student portfolio is made up of different assets which are aligned to different rotations which will be summatively assessed upon completion of the module, based on achieving minimum requirements within each asset.

These include:

1)  Global performance assessments (GPA) scores given by mentors in practice. These scores make up 50% of the portfolio mark. Students must achieve an average of >3.0 in each competency domain.

2) Ten different written assets which make up 50% of the portfolio mark. These include a surgical case report, a non-surgical case report, an equine case report, a herd health report, an isolation report, an abattoir report, a post mortem report, a referral letter, a clinical audit and a reflective essay. Each written asset has equal weighing and a pass mark of 50%

3) The portfolio also included a canine, feline, equine and production animal MiniCEX which are pass fail, as well as summative surgical and anaesthetic Entrustable Professional Activities. 

If a student is deemed not to have engaged sufficiently with the opportunities provided such that a GPA score(s) cannot be awarded based upon the activities observed then  a further period of IMR may be required. At the end of each rotation students must update their case logs, skills logs, a day one competency review and an objective score and reflection. Students will also have the opportunity to undertake formative entrustable professional activities. 

The portfolio is made up of different elements, all of which must be passed to pass the portfolio. Where a student has failed the portolio, the relevant individual asset can be resubmitted and will be marked as a second attempt with a cap of 50%. 

Qualifying Conditions 

This entire module is core whereby every unit of assessment is a barrier assessment.

• Students must attain a pass grade in the Portfolio.


• The pass mark for the online rotation-specific clinical assessment is 50%.


• Each Asset within the portfolio has a pass mark of 50%

Second attempts for the rotation-specific short answer questions will be offered during the summer examination period

Module aims

• This module aims to further develop student day one competences, attributes and skills through their integration and application in a workplace-based placement providing an authentic, safe and supervised learning environment, facilitating the transition from student to confident, competent and compassionate veterinarians
  

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to: 

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  Allow active participation in all aspects of veterinary practice within a relevant context to achieve the RCVS Day One competencies. 
  


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  Promote demonstration of the following six domains of competence;¿ 
  

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  Veterinary knowledge 
  


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  Technical skills 
  


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  Clinical Reasoning 
  


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  Communication skills 
  


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  Patient Care 
  


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  Professionalism 
  

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  Embody a student-centred developmental approach to clinical education by developing your own learning objectives for each clinical placement and reflecting on your achievements. 
  


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  Provide supervision and mentorship in each placement via clinical instruction mentors and lecturers in veterinary clinical practice (LVCPs) 
  


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  The learning and teaching methods include: 
  

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  Supervision of case management and clinical interactions within practice 
  


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  Observation and formative evaluation of technical skills performance 
  


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  Formal and informal case discussions with the clinicians, nurses and support staff 
  


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  Engaging and interacting with all members of the veterinary team 
  


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  Portfolio writing with continual review and feedback from LVCPs 
  


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  Students will be able to track their clinical experience through use of a structured case log and clinical skills log 
  

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  For the pathology and public health rotation: 
  

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  In-house case discussions with the pathologists and technical staff to allow students to embed learning and to challenge student thinking. 
  


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  Abattoir and processing plant site visits and data collection, management 
  


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  Portfolio writing based on cases and reflections about the experiences 
  


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  Mid placement review and feedback of the portfolio by the VPPH tutors 
  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: VMS5001

Other information

The Surrey Framework consists of the attributes: employability, global and cultural capabilities, digital capabilities, sustainability and resourcefulness and resilience. This module includes the following key topics which further develop one or more of the attributes as indicated: 

Employability

The student must demonstrate commercial awareness within a professional context and offer clients a range of treatment options based on their financial circumstances. They will spend 28 weeks working in a realistic workplace environment where they will gain the knowledge skills and attributes to start employment when they graduate.  

During each return week there are transition to the profession workshops, giving the students the skills to transition into their first job. There is also a careers fair in the first semester which runs in conjunction with CV writing and interview techniques. 

The students are assessed on a range of day one competencies as part of their portfolio as well as having global performance assessments throughout final year. 

Global and cultural capabilities

Students are asked to reflect on personal language use and communication within a team context.They are asked to apply cultural knowledge to their professional practice and reflect on any barriers to communication.During their placements they will engage with people from a variety of cultures and beliefs and need to consider these while discussing treatment options for their patients. 

Students are required to demonstrate inclusivity and cultural competence and encourage diverse contributions within the workplace. Students receive human factors training during one of their return weeks. Students are given the opportunity to reflect on their final year, which often involves considering others viewpoints. They are asked to critically analyse their personal experiences and to view events from multiple perspectives. 

Digital capabilities

Students are required to judge whether digital information is trustworthy and relevant and have to demonstrate the ability to distinguish between professional and high-quality scientific information from other digital content. All examinations will be on line and their portfolio will be submitted in a digital format. Students will encounter and need to be familiar with various practice management software packages during their placements. 

Sustainability

Students will be required to identify health issues within a flock or herd. They are required to describe treatments, and to summarise the therapeutic and management approach in a structured and logical manner to improve flock or herd wellbeing with due consideration given to sustainability of the advice. They will be required to reflect on cases and identify clinical and non-clinical factors with reference to their impact on the case. Students have the opportunity to reflect on sustainability as part of their assessments. They must discuss this as part of their clinical audit assessment. 

Resourcefulness and resilience 

Students must demonstrate the ability to work collaboratively with others. They move to various placements at the end of each rotation and plan their travel and accommodation. Then must demonstrate the ability to share informed decisions constructively using evidence and to be open to different opinions and be able to adapt perspectives. Students have the ability to reflect on this throughout the year and must complete a formative reflective piece at the end of each placement and a final summative reflective essay. 

 

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.