Teaching in practice
Time, enthusiasm, resources and skills are all challenges to teaching provision.
Teaching in practice. Do we want to do it? Have we the skills? What's in it for us? Those were some of the questions posed by Nottingham vet Dr Liz Mossop at BSAVA Congress this morning (5 April).
We are all teachers in our practices. Whether we are helping to train veterinary nurses, participating in lunchtime training sessions or discussing cases with colleagues. Teaching and developing skills is a rewarding process, but there are many challenges to providing good teaching in practice.
Time, enthusiasm, resources and skills are all challenges to teaching provision, but the greatest of these is time. This is why it is essential that specific time is put aside for training purposes.
Some of the traits that make a good teacher are patience, enthusiasm, inspiration and support. However, a good teacher must also be approachable and understanding.
We are all teachers in our own way and we are carrying out a variety of activities. We are being a role model, we are developing resources, we are assessing, planning, giving information and acting as a facilitator. It is likely that over time we will act as teacher, mentor and coach (i.e. teaching new techniques, mentoring when issues need to be fixed and coaching for new roles and responsibilities).
Teaching in practice means teaching adults who are usually self-motivated and learn better by experience. Your teaching needs to reflect this, so it is important that the lessons are structured. The acronym LATER is useful in this context:
L - learning, define the desired learning outcomes
A - activate any prior knowledge ie. what do the learners already know?
T - teach, deliver the skills and knowledge required
E - evaluate both the learner's skills and your own skills in giving information throughout
R - reflect and refine all the time.
Dr Mossap's top tips for teaching in practice are: always think about how you learnt your skill, always ask the learners how well they are learning and always give feedback.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
