Practical learning is essential for developing and learning new skills, especially for us as veterinary physiotherapy students. Being a therapist requires us to be able to observe abnormalities such as abnormal gait pattern, body language and feel differences in tone, temperature, texture and tenderness in the musculature of many different animals. Therefore it is essential that we have practical lectures and exams to learn, test and improve our abilities out in the field. In addition to this, another reason for being able to handle an animals properly is for the safety of ourselves whilst we work and of others such handlers or owners.
As part of our practical work we have an OSPE exam. This exam tests both our canine and equine practical handling skills. The equine handling portion involved activities such as fitting a bridle and head collar as well as trotting up and picking out a horses hoof. In the canine OSPE there were a lot more factors to consider such as checking all windows and doors were shut properly, so there would be no way for the dog to get out into the open if they were to slip the lead, fitting a collar, choosing an appropriate lead, walking and trotting up. In order to prepare us for the final exam we were allowed many practices and a mock OSPE for each canine and equine section.It is said that practice reduces nervousness and increases overall performance on the day of the exam (Macnamara, B.N., 2014). Being able to do the practices allowed us to be given valuable feedback on elements that needed further development, for example, I kept forgetting to check my surroundings and how to hold the cage door securely whilst fitting the collar.
I was most nervous about the canine OSPE as I have only been working with dogs professionally in the past year compared to my experience with horses which I have been working with for the past ten years. In correlation to my slight inexperience I had to work on my body language in my exam as animals are able to pick up emotions such as worry and they will reflect that in their own behaviour, they will therefore be easier to handle if my body language is calm. The practices and mocks enabled me to overcome my nerves when it came to the real exam, this means that the animals mirrored my clam body language, staying cooperative for the entire duration.
From practicing the order of tasks I was able to remember everything, therefore complete both the canine and equine OSPE practical exams and finish with two passes, which I was very pleased with.
Overall the OSPE allowed me to solidify my basic canine and equine handling skills, which has prepared me for the practical palpation lectures later on in semester two. As therapists is it essential that we know how to handle animals safely and effectively in order for them to allow us to fully assess them comfortably.
References
Macnamara, B.N., Hambrick, D.Z., Oswald, F.L., (2014). Deliberate practice and performance in music, games, sports education and professions: a meta-analysis, pp. 1-9.
asvetphysiotherapy.home.blog 