Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (MC-DVETMED) // Attributes, outcomes and skills

Intended learning outcomes

Graduates of the DVM course will:

• Demonstrate the professional behaviour expected of a veterinarian including prioritisation of ethics, animal health and welfare, public health, and the well-being and safety of patients, clients, team members and themselves
• Safely collect and appropriately interpret information, use knowledge of biological processes, and apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to recommend effective solutions, taking into account animal welfare, legal, ethical, prognostic, economic and public health considerations
• Safely perform preventative, diagnostic, medical and surgical procedures for the health, wellness and treatment of animals, appropriate to the context and life stage
• Prioritise and respond effectively to emergencies, including those related to biosecurity and infectious diseases, in order to protect the needs of people, animals and the environment
• Apply population management principles in compliance with legal regulations and taking into consideration economics and determinants of profitability, productivity and sustainability
• Critically evaluate the scientific literature in order to practise evidence-based veterinary medicine, to ask and answer research questions, and to advance knowledge in the profession
• Demonstrate adaptive and professional communication skills appropriate for the intended audience
• Practise reflection and self-directed learning, recognise personal and resource-related limitations, seek assistance as needed, and be aware of the breadth of non-clinical professional opportunities available
• Utilise business acumen to manage professional and personal decisions

Generic skills

The primary aim of the Melbourne DVM curriculum is to graduate highly capable veterinary scientists whose abilities to solve problems, to draw on the substantial body of veterinary knowledge, to interpret evidence, and to make decisions and act upon them within a clear ethical and professional framework embody all of the graduate attributes to which the Faculty aspires.

The DVM curriculum has been developed around five learning domains that describe the student’s progressive acquisition of the graduate attributes of a veterinary scientist. These domains or strands, that traverse all subjects of the DVM program, are:

• The scientific basis of clinical practice
• Ethics and animal welfare
• Biosecurity and population health
• Clinical skills, and
• Personal and professional development

The DVM program encourages students to achieve the attributes of all graduates of the University of Melbourne in terms of academic excellence, knowledge acquisition, community leadership and responsibility, cultural sensitivity, and international awareness.

As a Masters level course, the DVM assumes and builds on the prior knowledge and experience in scientific thinking of students entering the course. From the first year of study, an integrated and interdisciplinary approach is adopted. Students are expected to appraise data critically, to integrate concepts acquired in different disciplines, and to apply their understanding to authentic cases. They will be provided with opportunities to practise evidence-based decision-making, to solve clinical problems and to acquire clinical competencies in an ordered and sequential way.

Graduate attributes