The models in the skills lab can be used to train the practical skills and scenarios of future veterinarians.

Clinical and, above all, practical skills play an essential role in the study of Veterinary Medicine. Due to the constantly growing number of students of Veterinary Medicine and at the same time increasing ethical requirements for animal welfare, Veterinary Clinical Skills Laboratories (CSLs) are becoming more and more important internationally in practical training.

To learn practical skills, it is very important to repeat procedures frequently. For ethical reasons, this is only possible to a limited extent on live animals. A CSL offers a student-focused learning space to demonstrate and practise important clinical skills on models and simulators in a stress-free environment. This allows direct monitoring of success and eliminates the potential for danger to humans and animals. In addition, students in the CSL can close existing gaps in their knowledge, repeat learning material as often as necessary and prepare specifically for upcoming practical courses and practical exercises. At the advanced level in particular, practical skills are combined with social skills such as communication, decision-making and teamwork.

Students can benefit from the practical training at the CSL in internships during their studies and prospective veterinarians in everyday clinical practice. The intensive practical training is intended to make it easier for career starters to enter practice and to help them choose the right career path.

We, the staff of the Veterinary Clinic for Reproduction, want to use the Skills Lab initiative to create dynamic teaching concepts for teaching practical clinical skills in the CSL at the School of Veterinary Medicine.

Aims of the Clinical Skills Lab

• Practicing practical skills before a procedure on a live animal

• Integration of practical training right at the beginning of the degree program

• Implementation of communication and social skills in clinical-practical training

Contact person

If you have any questions or suggestions about our skills lab initiative or would like to support us, please send us an e-mail to: samira.schlesinger@fu-berlin.de

Current publications of our working group on the topic can be found here.