Veterinary medicine programmes require students to learn in formal educational settings and through workplace experiences. Previous studies have indicated that learning in the clinical workplace can be informal as students participate in daily activities of service provision by veterinary teams. It can be complex however for students to transition from a traditional formal educational setting to learning in the workplace and students must be able to self-regulate their learning. This requires students to set their own learning goals, consider available learning opportunities and to evaluate if intended learning outcomes have been attained. There is a need to identify strategies students undertake to self-regulate their learning in the workplace to design supports to enhance their learning. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of how final year veterinary medicine students plan, learn and reflect on their learning in the workplace context of clinical extramural studies (CEMS) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. An observational repeated cross-sectional design study was conducted with two groups of final year veterinary medicine students in University College Dublin. Data was collected in two stages by analysing student activity records and surveying students in 2017 and 2018. Participants were asked to describe how they planned their CEMS, to describe the types of learning activities they participated in, and describe their reflections of CEMS. The results are interpreted through the lens of self-regulated learning theory. Analyses of student CEMS activity records indicate that students from both groups primarily participated in small animal / production animal or mixed practice work placements. The majority of respondents of the survey indicated that CEMS was a valuable learning opportunity and they were motivated by placements that would support their future career goals. Financing CEMS placements was a key obstacle to their planning. The majority of respondents indicated varying frequencies of engaging in different types of learning activities and noted that finding suitable placements that facilitated practical skill development and active student learning was a challenge. Implications for veterinary education are discussed. Student perspectives on planning and learning in the CEMS workplace context yielded important insights into the factors that influence their self-regulatory activities which can help inform future educational interventions to support student learning.

中文翻译：

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通过临床校外研究学习：一项观察性研究

兽医学课程要求学生在正规教育环境中和通过工作场所经验进行学习。以前的研究表明，在临床工作场所学习可能是非正式的，因为学生会参与兽医团队提供服务的日常活动。然而，对于学生来说，从传统的正规教育环境过渡到在工作场所学习可能很复杂，学生必须能够自我调节他们的学习。这要求学生设定自己的学习目标，考虑可用的学习机会，并评估是否达到了预期的学习成果。有必要确定学生在工作场所自我调节学习的策略，以设计支持以增强他们的学习。本研究的目的是详细描述最后一年的兽医学生如何在 COVID-19 大流行之前计划、学习和反思他们在临床校外研究 (CEMS) 的工作环境中的学习。一项观察性重复横断面设计研究对都柏林大学学院的两组最后一年的兽医学生进行了研究。通过分析 2017 年和 2018 年的学生活动记录和调查学生，分两个阶段收集数据。参与者被要求描述他们如何规划他们的 CEMS，描述他们参与的学习活动的类型，并描述他们对 CEMS 的反思。结果是通过自我调节学习理论的视角来解释的。对学生 CEMS 活动记录的分析表明，两组学生主要参加了小动物/生产动物或混合实践工作实习。大多数调查受访者表示 CEMS 是一个宝贵的学习机会，他们受到支持他们未来职业目标的实习机会的激励。为 CEMS 安置提供资金是他们规划的主要障碍。大多数受访者表示参与不同类型的学习活动的频率不同，并指出找到合适的位置以促进实践技能发展和学生积极学习是一项挑战。讨论了对兽医教育的影响。