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Background In competency-based medical education emphasis has shifted towards outcomes, capabilities, and learner-centeredness. Together with a focus on sustained evidence of professional competence this calls for new methods of teaching and assessment. Recently, medical educators advocated the use of a holistic, programmatic approach towards assessment. Besides maximum facilitation of learning it should improve the validity and reliability of measurements and documentation of competence development. We explored how, in a competency-based curriculum, current theories on programmatic assessment interacted with educational practice. Methods In a development study including evaluation, we investigated the implementation of a theory-based programme of assessment. Between April 2011 and May 2012 quantitative evaluation data were collected and used to guide group interviews that explored the experiences of students and clinical supervisors with the assessment programme. We coded the transcripts and emerging topics were organised into a list of lessons learned. Results The programme mainly focuses on the integration of learning and assessment by motivating and supporting students to seek and accumulate feedback. The assessment instruments were aligned to cover predefined competencies to enable aggregation of information in a structured and meaningful way. Assessments that were designed as formative learning experiences were increasingly perceived as summative by students. Peer feedback was experienced as a valuable method for formative feedback. Social interaction and external guidance seemed to be of crucial importance to scaffold self-directed learning. Aggregating data from individual assessments into a holistic portfolio judgement required expertise and extensive training and supervision of judges. Conclusions A programme of assessment with low-stakes assessments providing simultaneously formative feedback and input for summative decisions proved not easy to implement. Careful preparation and guidance of the implementation process was crucial. Assessment for learning requires meaningful feedback with each assessment. Special attention should be paid to the quality of feedback at individual assessment moments. Comprehensive attention for faculty development and training for students is essential for the successful implementation of an assessment programme.

According to the report most (93 per cent of those interviewed) believed the head to be ‘highly skilled in his profession’ but that he had ‘poor people management skills when dealing with staff’. Staff have been filing complaints to the university’s leadership for several years Staff have been filing complaints to the university’s leadership – in particular Moira Whyte (head of the college of medicine and veterinary medicine at the University of Edinburgh and Argyle’s boss) – for several years but have been disappointed and frustrated by the lack of action to improve the workplace culture. [...]of this exercise, which two dozen colleagues contributed to, we have well-developed plans for staff development at the Easter Bush campus. Since Professor Argyle’s appointment as head of school in 2011, this work has gone from strength to strength.

There are various claims of unfair treatment, discrimination and abuse of HR systems chronicled in our coverage (pp 294–297) We report that an investigation by Intersol Global, commissioned by the University of Edinburgh (UoE), found evidence of ‘shocking levels of harassment’ and an ‘intolerable breach of basic health and safety’. According to allegations made by several current and former employees, he has created a fiefdom that recognises people he favours and who will do his bidding, and others who get inferior treatment, who will be passed over for promotion, for example, or professionally undermined and who may find themselves on a ‘hit list’ to go. [...]the university has not disputed the findings of the Intersol investigation and, in response, it says it will be rolling out some staff training.

Veterinary ethics is recognised as a relevant topic in the undergraduate veterinary curriculum. However, there appears to be no widely agreed view on which contents are best suited for veterinary ethics teaching and there is limited information on the teaching approaches adopted by veterinary schools. This paper provides an inside perspective on the diversity of veterinary ethics teaching topics, based on an in-depth analysis of three European veterinary schools: Copenhagen, Lisbon and Nottingham. The case study approach integrated information from the analysis of syllabi contents and interviews with educators (curricular year 2010–2011). These results show that the curriculum of veterinary ethics is multidimensional and can combine a wide range of scientific, regulatory, professional and philosophical subjects, some of which may not be explicitly set out in the course descriptors. A conceptual model for veterinary ethics teaching is proposed comprising prominent topics included within four overarching concepts: animal welfare science, laws/regulations, professionalism, and theories/concepts. It is intended that this work should inform future curriculum development of veterinary ethics in European schools and assist ethical deliberation in veterinary practice.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on communication skills training in UK veterinary curricula, with changes and advances in teaching approaches and the assessment of skills. Here, Liz Mossop and colleagues describe how the different UK schools approach communication skills training and assessment, and consider how this teaching will continue to evolve to meet the needs of the profession and ensure students graduate ‘fit to practise’ in an ever more demanding environment.

Disruptive innovation will transform veterinary education in the next 10 years, predicts Andrew Maccabe.Disruptive innovation will transform veterinary education in the next 10 years, predicts Andrew Maccabe.

Objective: To practice evidence-based medicine, clinicians must be competent in information literacy (IL). Few studies acknowledge the critical role that reading strategies play in IL instruction and assessment of health professional students. The purpose of this study was to understand the information-seeking and evaluation behaviors of doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) students in regard to scientific papers.Methods: The authors studied DVM student behaviors across eight programs in North America using a web-based survey of closed- and open-ended questions about finding and evaluating scientific papers, including a task to read a linked scientific paper and answer questions about it.Results: A total of 226 individuals responded to the survey. The sections of a scientific paper that were most commonly read were the abstract, introduction, and conclusions. Students who reported reading a higher proportion of scientific papers were more likely to feel confident in their abilities to interpret them. A third of respondents answered open-ended questions after the paper reading task. Respondents felt the least amount of confidence with one of the final steps of evidence-based medicine, that of interpreting the significance of the paper to apply it in veterinary medicine.Conclusions: DVM students may lack the skills needed to evaluate scientific literature and need more practice and feedback in evaluating and interpreting scientific papers. Librarians who support DVM students can (1) help DVM students to efficiently evaluate scientific literature, (2) seek training opportunities in alternative modes of teaching and learning IL skills, and (3) partner with veterinary faculty and clinicians to provide students with practice and feedback in information evaluation.

Vet Record presents testimonies below from several members of staff (current and former) at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. All have given their stories under the condition that their identities will be protected. The allegations are unproven, and some of them have already been investigated by the school and dismissed. These accounts appear in full here but shortened versions ran in the print issue (17/24 October 2020)

At least once a year we meet with GVS and VPHA representatives to share experiences on theoretical and practical veterinary public health teaching, including EMS opportunities provided by government agencies. Perhaps the most important benefit is the early exposure of students to the profession's tremendous contribution to wider society and how, by working together, both clinical and non-clinical veterinarians actually protect animals, humans and the environment that they share.