Continuing Educational (CE)

Facilitator Credit

RACE Credit

Facilitators are critical for the Diagnostic Challenge’s mission and bring real-world experience and clinical reasoning skills for the students. We want to provide value and benefits for our DC facilitator who participate in the program. To achieve this, we designed a mechanism to provide CE credits for taking part in the DC. We hope this will continue and strengthen our tradition of strong collaboration with alumni and other DVM facilitators.


Overview of the CE Credits:

Teaching & Learning (5 Credits)

  • Time Frame: During the DC Week
  • Activities:
    • Throughout the DC, guide and instruct your clinic team(s) through a simulated case, applying clinical reasoning skills throughout the process.
    • Reflective Practice – engage the students/simulated clients in a debriefing and reflective exercises throughout the week.

Clinical (3 Credits)

  • Time Frame: Prior and following DC; & DC Week
  • Activities:
    • Become familiar with assigned case and case material. Give feedback for further development and completeness of the case material.
    • Reflection page (topic: how will working through this case impact your clinical approach in the future)


Details & Assignments:

Part 1: Narrowing the gap between didactic learning and real-world experiences

  • CE Outcome: Diagnostic Challenge Facilitators will guide students in a simulated case based activity, where they will apply clinical reasoning skills throughout the process for either DC1 OR DC2.
  • Student Learning Goal: The experience and knowledge the clinical facilitator brings to the program is influential in creating and sustaining a supportive clinical environment, which is fundamental in the enrichment of student learning. Thus reinforcing the importance of evidence-based practice environment.
  • Required Activity: Throughout the Diagnostic Challenge, each facilitator will guide and instruct their two clinic teams (5-6 students) on various aspects of their assigned case throughout the week. These will include, but are not limited to:
    • These will include, but are not limited to: Diagnostic Plan, Therapeutic Plan, and Functional Medical Record (Academic SOAPs, Diagnostic Differential lists, Master Problem List, etc), Case Presentation, Pathophysiology, Approach – evidence based medicine, and Client Communication/Education.

Part 2: Reflection Practice

  • CE Outcome: DC Facilitators will provide both formative and summative evaluations for the students and the simulated clients. This will be done through observations, guided reflective practice, and summative evaluations.
  • Student Learning Goal: Facilitators will engage the students in a debriefing and reflective exercises throughout the week.
  • Required Activity: During the DC week, facilitators will engage the students in reflective practice by asking more open-ended questions, aiming to discover learner’s perspectives, and probing for supportive evidence. At the end of the week, facilitators will lead session focused on the importance of reflection and debriefing. 

Each Facilitator will be assigned a Diagnostic Challenge (DC) case, in which they will need to be prepared to lead students through the case during the program.  At the conclusion of the DC, the case needs to be evaluated for completeness and prepared for future use.

Activities required to prepared:

  • Become familiar with the condition assigned:
    • Read journal articles accompanying the case
    • Further background research on the case
  • Examine the DC case for completeness
    • Diagnostics correct and all are accounted prior to starting
    • Progression of case seems reasonable for the 2.5 day DC time period
    • Treatment plan
    • Assigned scripts are correct and ready to be distributed.
  • Communicate with client and other consulting parties (if pertains to case)

Concluding Assignment:

  1. Complete and submit the “Note for Next Time” document for your case
  2. Submit a 1 Page Reflection Paper (Covering the following aspects – further reflection is encouraged):
    1. How would you apply what you learned in your practice or academic setting?
    2. After working this case, would you change the way you approach this in practice? Why? Or Why not?
    3. What new references have you found for the case? Are these references you may use in the future?
    4. Overall, how has this case or DC experience influenced your current practice/academic position?
    5. Looking at your current interactions with clients, staff, colleagues, etc has the DC had any influence on your behavior? If so, please describe how your interactions have changed.
      1. For example: the way you approach owner education, staff/colleague communications, case approaches…etc