Connection Through Communication A New Point of Emphasis at the CVM

IMPROVING PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS

In human medicine, there is an old expression applied to assess a doctor’s communications skills. Physicians who are comforting, confident and exude professional competence from every pore are said to have a good “bedside manner.” Such doctors are the kind every patient hopes to find. 

Yet the same expression was rarely applied to veterinarians. There has been little formal training available during veterinary school, which concentrated almost exclusively on technical skills. Vets, it was assumed, could learn the ins and outs of good communication on the job once they began practice. 

Happily, that is no longer the case at Auburn. Thanks to a new class — VMED 9020, Professional Communications Skills — current students in the College of Veterinary Medicine are required to sharpen their communications abilities well before they must use them in earnest as they begin their careers.

While it’s the veterinarian’s job to determine which diagnostic and treatment options are appropriate for a patient, the decision of which option to pursue ultimately belongs to the client. That choice is largely based on the information provided by the veterinary team — and it turns out that how we have this conversation matters a lot.”

Trends, March 8, 2023,
Dr. Kate Boatright, VMD

Auburn’s increasing emphasis on improving student — and faculty — communications skills had its early beginnings in an elective course, taught by Dr. Amelia White, Clinical Professor of Dermatology, and Dr. Sara Louise Newcomer, the CVM’s former Coordinator of Student Success. 

But with good communications increasingly becoming a point of emphasis in college veterinary training, Dean Calvin Johnson knew Auburn needed to do more. In 2018, he sent White and Dr. Kathy Gerken, the P.B. Griffin Endowed Assistant Clinical Professor of Clinical Sciences, to Yale University to attend the annual Institute of Healthcare Communications immersive course. They spent their time there learning communication targets in veterinary medicine, as well as how to facilitate teaching these to students and colleagues. 

When they returned, White and Gerken joined in sharing their newly learned tips in the existing elective, but it was obvious the course was insufficient. “At that time, communications training was dispersed across the curriculum as individual lectures in a myriad of courses, competing for time and space in a crowded schedule,” Gerken recalled. “We hoped students interested in expanding their skills would sign up for the elective, but we also knew we were up against a lot of other fantastic elective options.” 

The next step was to improve and expand the course as well as to make it a requirement, rather than an elective. The result is VMED 9020, Professional Communications Skills, a one-hour, required course White and Gerken taught for the first time in spring 2024. The course provides plans for dealing with the kinds of communications scenarios practicing vets face every day, from dealing with angry or distraught clients to conversations about treatment options and costs to nonverbal communication such as body language. 

“As time progressed and development of solid communication skills became more prominent in veterinary education, we worked with Academic Affairs to make this a required experience for all our vet students,” Gerken said. “We redirected our efforts to provide some didactic training on a small scale and then provided the same type of immersive training we were exposed to at Yale for our own students.” 

In addition to developing the expanded course, some upgrades in facilities were also required. Gerken and White said this entailed getting software into appropriate laboratory spaces for simulation events, reaching out to industry partners for materials, restructuring coursework to fit a class of 130 students instead of only 8-10 individuals and providing a safe space for interactions and reflective learning. 

“Dr. Gerken and I met with other colleges on campus that conduct simulated teaching experiences to tour their spaces,” White explained. “Dean Johnson funded the purchasing and installation of new equipment and software in our communications laboratory area. The software captures video and audio interactions between students and clients as well as provides feedback tools. It can be accessed remotely so students can review their interactions and learn from their experiences.” 

As time progressed and development of solid communication skills became more prominent in veterinary education, we worked with Academic Affairs to make this a required experience for all our vet students. We redirected our efforts to provide some didactic training on a small scale and then provided the same type of immersive training we were exposed to at Yale for our
own students.”

Dr. Katherine Gerken
DVM, MS, DACVECC

The result of all these efforts has been a resounding success. “We successfully completed the course for the first time this past spring and invited other members of the faculty to become involved, bringing their expertise and experiences along for the ride,” Gerken said. “Some have had formal training in communications, and some have been informally trained by us. We also reached out to our alumni and the Auburn community to serve as simulated clients to give the students more realistic interactive experiences.” 

“We felt very encouraged because we had many Auburn CVM alumni interested in volunteering as simulated clients in the course,” White added. “We are very thankful for the time and expertise of our alumni as they are instrumental in the ongoing success of this course and our students.” 

From a student perspective, one of the best tools gained by participation in the class was an increased confidence in the ability to deal with difficult situations. “Many of us students believe we know how to communicate effectively, but that perception can change dramatically when faced with situations like delivering difficult news to a client who has suffered a serious loss or is dealing with a cancer diagnosis,” said fourth-year student Starr Hutcherson, who completed the first session of the class last spring. “While we may not always  be fully prepared for every scenario, the skills we developed in the communication course equipped us to adapt to these challenges when they arise. Ultimately, those skills will enable us to provide the best care for our patients and clients.” 

The CVM’s expanded emphasis on improving communications skills doesn’t apply solely to students. “The Dean has committed financial resources to the ongoing professional communication skills training of our faculty as well,” White continued. “Each year, at least two more faculty members complete the professional skills training that Dr. Gerken and I finished in 2018. I think this demonstrates the importance of this training and the commitment the administration has made to seeing improved communications skills become a focus of what it means to become an Auburn veterinarian.” 

Future Auburn students will be entering the profession better equipped with the tools to successfully communicate with all the myriad constituents in the veterinary world, from clients to staff to colleagues. “We are working to refine the coursework for the upcoming spring and every year to follow,” Gerken concluded. “Our goal is to keep expanding the network of individuals who help make Auburn students uniquely Auburn.”