J Vet Med Educ. 2021 Aug;48(4):441-450. doi: 10.3138/jvme.2019-0068. Epub 2021 Jan 25.
Communication skills are a core competence in veterinary medicine. These skills play a pivotal role in professional success in the animal health professions. Over the last few decades, there has been an increased focus on communication skills in veterinary curricula. Conversely, we know less about the knowledge and motivation behind the communication skills of those veterinarians in different work domains who are acting as mentors outside the university. In 2016, semi-structured interviews ( = 16) were conducted with German practitioners in workplaces ranging from companion to farm animal practice, and throughout the veterinary industry, veterinary research, and government service. We combined two qualitative methods: a thematic analysis approach and the generation of types to identify characteristics associated with the acquisition of communication skills. In the current study, three main themes were developed: "Motivation," "Experiences with the acquisition of communication skills," and "Communication skills training during formal education." Within the identified themes, we recognized three types of communicators: "self-experienced," "extrinsic-experienced," and "unexperienced." We found that acquisition of communication skills was closely linked to motivation; therefore, motivation must be considered when developing communication skills curricula for learners and educators. By extrapolating the findings of this explorative study, we determined that intrinsically motivated mentors from the field should be a main source of veterinary education to promote further development in communication training. This qualitative study also determined that most non-university veterinary mentors had only a basic knowledge of teaching and learning communication skills, leading us to recommend formal training. Interchange between practicing veterinarians and veterinary educators and curriculum coordinators can foster relevant curricular modifications.
沟通技巧是兽医医学的核心能力。这些技能在动物保健专业的职业成功中起着关键作用。在过去的几十年中，兽医课程越来越注重沟通技巧。相反，我们对那些在大学之外担任导师的兽医在不同工作领域的沟通技巧的知识和动机了解较少。2016 年，在伴侣动物到农场动物实践以及整个兽医行业、兽医研究和政府服务的工作场所中，对德国从业者进行了半结构化访谈（= 16）。我们结合了两种定性方法：主题分析方法和类型生成方法，以确定与沟通技能获取相关的特征。在当前的研究中，开发了三个主要主题：“动机”，“获取沟通技能的经验”和“正规教育中的沟通技能培训”。在确定的主题中，我们识别出三种沟通者类型：“自我经验”，“外在经验”和“无经验”。我们发现，沟通技能的获取与动机密切相关；因此，在为学习者和教育者制定沟通技能课程时，必须考虑动机。通过推断这项探索性研究的结果，我们确定具有内在动机的实地导师应该成为兽医教育的主要来源，以促进沟通培训的进一步发展。这项定性研究还确定，大多数非大学兽医导师只对教学和学习沟通技巧有基本的了解，因此我们建议进行正式培训。实践兽医和兽医教育者以及课程协调员之间的交流可以促进相关课程的修改。
