Self-Directed Learning Objectives Prior to Workplace-Based Placements: Insights from Final-Year Veterinary Students on Intramural Rotations.

Abstract

Distributed teaching models replace traditional on-campus veterinary hospitals with networks of partner practices, enabling authentic workplace-based learning supported by clinical preceptors. Within this model, final-year veterinary students at the University of Surrey generate up to five personalized SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound) Learning Objectives (LOs) prior to each clinical placement to guide their self-directed development. This study aimed to investigate the nature and focus of these self-directed LOs to identify whether student priorities align with the competences required for successful transition to professional practice. This study analyzed 336 student-generated LOs from 68 final-year students to explore how learners conceptualize their goals as they transition into workplace-based education. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis conducted independently by two researchers to enhance rigor and credibility. Emerging themes were compared, discussed, and refined through consensus. LOs were subsequently classified using Biggs' Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy to assess levels of cognitive complexity. Four dominant themes were identified: application of knowledge, clinical competence development, professional identity formation, and communication and interpersonal skills. Most LOs were categorized as multistructural (61%, n = 209) or relational (36%, n = 122), indicating moderate to high cognitive complexity, with very few categorized at unistructural (3%, n = 9) or extended abstract levels (0.003%, n = 1). Although students strongly prioritized clinical competence development and professional identity formation, relatively few objectives explicitly addressed communication skills, despite their recognized importance in professional satisfaction, client relationships, and workforce retention. These findings provide insight into students' developmental priorities at a critical transition point in veterinary education. Supporting students to construct higher-order, integrative LOs and to foreground communication alongside technical competence may enhance deeper learning and better align workplace preparation with the realities of contemporary veterinary practice.