The importance of knowledge, skills, and attitude attributes for veterinarians in clinical and non-clinical fields of practice: a survey of licensed veterinarians in Quebec, Canada.

ABSTRACT

To improve content validity and the pertinence of outcome assessment tools used for the undergraduate Doctor of Veterinary Medicine program at the University of Montreal's Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, a survey of members of the Quebec veterinary association was conducted. This survey aimed to determine the importance of a list of 71 attributes-categorized as knowledge, general skills, specific skills, and attitudes-for clinical and non-clinical types of professional activities. The results indicated that all basic knowledge components, general skills, and attitudes were equally important for all types of veterinary professional activities, while the importance of specific skills was significantly different for clinical practice and non-clinical fields. It was therefore proposed that outcomes assessment surveys of stakeholders, such as alumni and employers, be analyzed separately for each type of career option.