As part of a new lecturer course, I have been looking into the training opportunities for junior clinical training scholar (interns) in a busy small animal hospital. Lots of information is available in human medicine about how the internship affects the training. In a focus group discussion it became evident that most Interns were highly motivated at the start of the internship and keen to learn. The impact of night shifts was immense and lead in some of the interns to reduced interest in learning as they were mostly recovering from the night shifts and thus did not find the time to study adaequately for the discipline they were rotating in. There was a significant difference between new graduates starting the internship and graduates with previous experience in private practice starting the internship. New graduates expected much more guidance and hands-on learning whereas 'older' graduates were keener to improve or adjust their current knowledge and expected less hands-on work. In addition new graduates were more often uncertain about their future career choice and used the internship in choosing their future e.g. either a specialty or private practice. 'Older' graduates usually had a pre-set idea of further specialisation and the internship was the first requirement to be fulfilled for applying to a residency in the field of their interest. One of the results of the focus group was that the interns were of the opinion that it is beneficial to have some previous experience as a vet to be able to cope with the expectations at night at a busy small veterinary hospital. I am keen to hear what other people experienced regarding this matter. The teaching for the interns involves once weekly a seminar for the interns and this is highly valued and they appreciate the time spent by resident or staff for training the interns. Other teaching opportunities include journal clubs in the rotating discipline or resident seminars. Most interns had difficulties to find time to organise research or a case report although all were aware about the importance. I am keen to hear about the training of interns in other small animal hospitals, the problems they are facing and what supported the interns during their internship to make the most out of their experience.

As part of a new lecturer course, I have been looking into the development of computer simulated cases in veterinary anaesthesia. With the increase in student numbers at Glasgow Veterinary School, it has become increasingly difficult to teach students 'hands-on' veterinary anaesthesia. Also, with the caseload type that a referral hospital receives, these animals are not suited to student teaching. However, a common complaint amongst final year undergraduate veterinary students completing the anaesthesia rotation, is that they would like to hae more practical access to critical cases. Obviously, from the point of view of the animal, this is not ideal, and therefore I have been considering the development of computer models which feature critical incidents, occurring under general anaesthesia. This type of model would recognise correct institution of treatment by the student and therefore proovide a means of assessment, and give continuous, visual feedback on the status of the patient. In addition, the simulations would record the completion of the module by each student, allowing this to be a compulsory feature of the rotation, allowing rotation co-ordinators to assess each student more thoroughly on their anaesthetic practice, which would be directly related to their anaesthetic knowledge.
This type of teaching facility would also enable the student to experience anaesthesia in other species (other than dogs and cats) to which their current exposure is limited.
I would be interested if anyone has any experience of this type of veterinary teaching, not necessarily within anaesthesia. Obviously, this type of simulation wouldn't lend itself to the technology of such models as the haptic cow, but may have a place within veterinary education and have positive ethical benefits.

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