Developing advanced communication competences among veterinary doctors Erasmus Project

Project Title

Developing advanced communication competences among veterinary doctors

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

The Project is a response to expressed needs of professional vocationally active group of veterinary medical doctors in the field of advance interpersonal communication, meeting their needs in the key, personal and social, competences development.

The main target of the project is to create innovative e-learning courses for veterinary doctors in the subject of advance interpersonal communication, improving their key social and personal competences necessary at their work and professional performance with usage of e-learning and digital learning tools

The project’s target group are professionally active veterinary doctors. According to the EU and OCED Practicing veterinary doctor (abbreviation: vet) is a persons who have completed studies in veterinary medicine at University level (granted by an adequate diploma) and who is licensed to practice.
The situation on the market in the most of EU countries is dynamically changing and veterinarians face problem of changing attitude of their clients and more demanding approach. Veterinary is considered, in accordance to researches, as one of the most stressful professions with high level of treat of burn-out. Personal and social skills, such like stress management, time-management and connected to that assertiveness, team management, are crucial in avoiding professional burn-out in veterinary profession. Those key competences are vital for veterinarians in job performance and maintaining of their employability, social and personal development. Burn-out is mostly outcome of: work overload, lack of assertiveness (e.g. establishing safe boundaries in relation to time and money for the veterinary service), lack of time-management skills and delegating and cooperating in the veterinary team.

Basing on the international research on educational needs of veterinary doctors carried out in the Exchange of Practise ERASMUS+ Project COMVET=VET FOR VET it was confirmed that over 81 % of veterinary doctors want to be trained in the communication, over 49,2 % needs training in stress management, over 49,8 % in all age groups and more than 79% vets that have more than 20 years of experience, want to be educated in assertiveness. Veterinary doctors perceive the necessity of increasing of key personal communication competences as crucial for their profession. The research confirmed also that veterinary doctors want to be educated in a form of e-learning. The project answers to those needs and will deliver innovative for this group and subject results that will be used by veterinary doctors in their job performance and preventing professional burn-out.
eLearning courses will be complementary to the educational programs delivered by veterinary medicine faculties or post-graduate veterinary medical education and innovation of the project is in the field of the subject (advance communication competences of veterinary doctor, incl. communication with client, stress management in veterinary practise, assertiveness for veterinary doctor, time management, veterinary team management) and its implementation through advanced communication techniques and e-learning platform as well as modern, new digital tools

Veterinary doctors in most of EU Member States have not any mandatory high education in the communication. There were no educational standards or training programs in university veterinary faculties in personal communication at workplace. That means that there are no structured, guided recommendations on how to carry out such a education dedicated to this professional group. There is also no e-learning courses in communication dedicated for veterinary doctors.

In the project new digital, e-learning courses, digital materials and tools in the key communication competences for veterinary doctors will be developed. The project delivers significantly innovative e-learning platform and new, innovative digital educational tools, that were not used before for this professional group. In the project outcomes will be available for target group as Open Educational Resources in the project. The project supports the effective use of digital technologies in training of veterinary doctors.

In the project realization and training program preparation we will develop cooperation with the veterinary medical doctors in their environment. During project realisation there will be space for the exchange of points of view of veterinary medical doctors, specialists in communication, university lectures, specialists in e-learning, methodologies as well as psychologist and trainers

Taking into account the above, required skills and experiences of each partner, only joint transnational cooperation will allow for efficient development of planned outcomes, its validation, achievement of learning outcomes approach, impact reaching and results dissemination.
Participating organisation only through strategic partnership will be able to achieve results that would not be reached by organisation from single country

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 167312 Eur

Project Coordinator

KIKO Educational Solutions Sp. z o. o. & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Synolic ppc
• Charakis Research & Consulting Ltd.