Clinical Competencies

The USU DVM curriculum ensures that in years one through three of the program, students will gain foundational knowledge and have pre-clinical experiences to prepare them to master clinical skills. To prepare veterinary students for the clinical year, the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has aligned 45 clinical competencies with the CVM learning outcomes. Mastery of these competencies paired with clinical experience will provide the students with necessary tools to be day-one ready veterinarians.

45 clinical competencies

PLOs USU CVM Clinical Competencies
1. Gather history, handle or restrain an animal, perform an examination, and create a prioritized differential diagnosis list
  1. Gather appropriate history
  2. Perform physical exam
  3. Develop differential diagnosis
2. Develop a diagnostic plan, conduct diagnostic procedures, and interpret results
  1. Prioritize and perform (or order) appropriate diagnostics
  2. Interpret diagnostic results (not imaging)
  3. Interpret diagnostic imaging results
  4. Perform a complete necropsy, appropriately collect and submit samples for histopathology
  5. Update the differential diagnosis list as new information develops
3. Develop and implement a management/treatment plan (including pain management, emergency, and intensive care management)
  1. Appraise available clinical information and act accordingly despite potential uncertainty
  2. Prioritize management/treatment plans based on contextual factors and available evidence
  3. Evaluate results of treatment/management plan and adjust as needed
4. Recognize a patient requiring urgent or emergent care and initiate evaluation and management
  1. Triage cases to address most urgent and important problems first
  2. Recognize emergent situation and direct action
  3. Recognize limitations, seek consultation, or offer specialty care where appropriate
5. Formulate relevant questions, critically analyze new information, and retrieve reliable evidence to advance care
  1. Use critical thinking to determine appropriate action when unexpected outcomes occur (e.g., complications, changed diagnosis)
  2. Adjust existing protocol or procedure when standard measures are unavailable or based on agreed upon spectrum of care
  3. Extrapolate knowledge to novel species or situations
  4. Apply literature to solve clinical problems
6. Perform a common skill, procedure, or surgical procedure including pre-operative and post-operative management
  1. Perform elective procedures (e.g., castration)
  2. Perform routine therapeutic procedures (e.g., administer fluids)
  3. Perform comprehensive oral health assessments and treatments
  4. Perform emergency procedures (e.g., CPR)
7. Perform local and general anesthesia and recovery, including monitoring and support
  1. Provide analgesia and postoperative care
  2. Select appropriate anesthetic protocols, anesthetize, monitor, and recover patients
  3. Manage patient comfort
8. Formulate recommendations for preventative healthcare (animal health and well-being promotion, disease prevention, biosecurity, zoonoses, food safety and environmental health)
  1. Provide veterinary care to animals under field service/ambulatory conditions
  2. Recommend disease prevention measures
  3. Provide nutritional counseling appropriate to life stage and health status of animal or population
  4. Advise clients regarding routine dental care
  5. Educate clients on prevention of common behavioral problems
  6. Advise clients about husbandry and welfare needs, including transport
  7. Educate clients about zoonotic disease including reporting, quarantine, isolation, and appropriate disinfection
  8. Practice responsible use of antimicrobial agents
9. Communicate and collaborate effectively
  1. Adapt communication techniques for diverse audiences (clients, colleagues) or different settings (i.e. emergency, euthanasia)
  2. Identify and apply principles of relationship-centered care. Actively explore other (clients, colleagues, team members) perspectives, including goals, expectations, beliefs, and constraints while considering the human-animal bond and spectrum of care
  3. Identify and employ strategies for engaging in difficult conversations with team members and clients (examples: euthanasia, financial discussions, delivering bad news, etc.)
  4. Communicate diagnosis, test results and treatment options so client and/or team member can understand. Show adaptability when contextual care is needed, collaborating with client to formulate a treatment plan. Create and communicate discharge instructions
10. Demonstrate practice management and leadership skills
  1. Document care and communication using professional terminology
  2. Ensure documentation fulfills professional and legal requirements
  3. Advocate for the health and safety of patients, clients, and the team
  4. Demonstrate time management strategies; prioritize tasks and delegate when needed. Understand roles and responsibilities
  5. Apply financial principles to professional decisions (treatment plans, procedures, cost-benefit analysis)
11. Demonstrate a strong professional identity and behaviors expected of a veterinarian
  1. Act within the bounds of the veterinary-client-patient-relationship and apply an ethical approach to professional decision-making
  2. Compare career paths and weigh professional interests and personal goals. Engage in lifelong learning
  3. Demonstrate clearly defined professional behaviors such as honesty and integrity; respect for others; confidentiality; and recognize autonomy of owners, self, and colleagues