| Unit name | Clinical Skills in Companion Animal Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Unit code | VETS30037 |
| Credit points | 40 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Sue Horseman |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
All year one, two and three units |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
All other year four units |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
N/A |
| School/department | Bristol Veterinary School |
| Faculty | Faculty of Health Sciences |
This unit builds on teaching in year two and within the clinical behaviour rotation, focussing on the development of unwanted behaviours and clinical behaviour work. Aspects of understanding and modifying unwanted animal behaviour are discussed, together with an introduction to psychopharmacological therapy. The unit will prepare students with the basic tools they need to conduct behavioural therapy consultations, providing a sound basis for further clinical training to support certification as a clinical animal behaviourist. This unit also provides students with an understanding of concepts in welfare science and the analysis of ethical and legal issues associated with the use of animals and clinical behaviour work.
The learning outcomes for this unit are numerous and worded to match those required by CCAB Certification, the external accrediting body. The complete learning outcomes will be made available when students enrol on the unit, and fall into five themes:
1) Students should recall and evaluate the factors which contribute to the behaviour of an individual animal including the contribution of learning and training, ethology, health and nutrition.
2) Students must demonstrate that they have the skills required to carry out behaviour consultations. This includes evaluation of the behavioural state of domestic animals, knowledge of common behaviour problems and communication skills needed to gather a history, provide effective, ethical and safe advice to a lay person and to build a relationship with clients, ensuring compliance.
3) Students need to recall the different approaches available to treat common behaviour problems, including behaviour modification and pharmacological interventions, and be able to use and evidence base to evaluate these approaches to come to informed decisions about the most appropriate treatment.
4) Students should be able to evaluate the welfare state of domestic animals, based on a consideration of both physiological and behavioural indicators. Applying this knowledge, they must demonstrate that they can propose means to improving domestic animal welfare and evaluate any ethical issues which emerge as a result from welfare assessments.
5) Students must be able to recall key elements of professional behaviour including knowledge of legislation relevant to behaviour consultancy, safety considerations, interactions between behaviour consultants and other professionals, and appropriate referral practices.
Teaching will include lectures, interactive workshops and practical teaching. A virtual learning environment (Blackboard) will be used to provide resources to students (including further reading) and to submit assignments
Formative assessment:
Summative assessment:
The pass mark for this unit is 40%. Students must obtain a minimum of 40% in assessment A. Assessment B and C will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.
A) Students will complete two case-study forms based on two video case studies (100%)
B) Behaviour first-aid practical exam (must pass)
C) Information-giving video and reflection (must pass)
All components must be passed to pass the unit and all units must be passed in order to graduate
Students may be offered a resit opportunity during the resit period.
The resit opportunity for the VN Programmes is routinely scheduled during the University resit window. Exceptionally, the final year resit period shall be scheduled to dovetail with the Veterinary Science Programme's resit opportunity every July.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. VETS30037).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
