What support do veterinary medicine and dentistry students need most?
Students on veterinary medicine and dentistry programmes need predictable timetabling, transparent assessment, and responsive support that resolves issues quickly, with staff who communicate decisions and close the loop. In the National Student Survey (NSS), the student support theme records 68.6% Positive (index 32.9), yet by subject Medicine and dentistry sentiment sits lower at 25.4, so providers have ground to make up. Across veterinary medicine and dentistry, aggregated comments are mixed—57.0% Positive, 40.3% Negative, 2.7% Neutral—while Scheduling/timetabling scores −44.5 and Teaching Staff scores +56.0. These patterns shape the priorities below for staff, environment and welfare.
How should staff support operate in veterinary and dentistry programmes?
Students value quick, human responses and visible resolution. Staff should provide named case ownership, next‑business‑day triage, and a single front door for queries. Liaison roles embedded in the school can co‑design support touchpoints and run short “you said, we did” updates to show action on feedback. Prioritise consistent communications and follow‑through, and track time‑to‑resolution so programme leaders can intervene where delays persist. Close gaps for disabled students with accessible communications and proactive follow‑ups until resolution.
What kind of learning environment sustains both theory and practice?
Predictable scheduling underpins clinical learning. Publish timetables early, set a clear change window, and keep a single source of truth for updates with a named owner. A short weekly “what changed and why” digest reduces uncertainty and supports placement planning. Use digital tools and simulations to complement, not replace, hands‑on experience, and pace new content so practical skill development progresses alongside theory.
How should institutions organise student welfare for intensive professional courses?
Make the personal tutor the anchor point who can triage swiftly and signpost without hand‑offs. Equip tutors with training on wellbeing, reasonable adjustments and referral routes, and give them visibility of case status across services. Offer extended hours and multiple contact routes during peak assessment periods, and build short onboarding refreshers when cohorts face new clinical responsibilities.
How can providers mitigate financial pressures without diluting standards?
Stabilise bursary and scholarship disbursements, expand emergency funds, and simplify claims for essential equipment and travel. Partner with advisors to run practical budgeting sessions and integrate basic financial literacy into induction. Explore equipment pools and negotiated discounts so students can meet professional standards without excessive personal outlay.
Where does gender bias surface and how do we address it?
Bias can appear in clinical recognition, award nominations and informal task allocation. Audit criteria for recognition and leadership opportunities, anonymise where feasible, and monitor patterns over time. Provide staff development on gender‑inclusive practice and spotlight role models across specialties so students of all genders see viable progression routes.
How do transport barriers affect access to practical learning?
Travel to dispersed clinical settings can be costly and time‑consuming. Use block timetabling to cluster on‑site and off‑site days, coordinate placement locations to minimise transit, and offer subsidised travel or negotiated passes. Invite student representatives into planning so provision reflects actual commuting patterns.
What is a fair approach to unpaid shifts?
Practical experience matters, but policies must protect student welfare. Where night or extended shifts are unavoidable, offer stipends or academic credit, cap hours, and schedule recovery time. Monitor impact through pulse surveys and consult students routinely to adjust expectations and support.
How does course difficulty interact with mental health, and what should change?
A “too hard, don’t try” message can suppress engagement. Set ambitious standards while providing transparent assessment briefs, annotated exemplars and realistic feedback timelines. Normalise discussion of wellbeing, provide easy access to mental health services, and timetable short resilience workshops ahead of known stress peaks. Strong teaching sentiment can be leveraged: staff who coach, encourage and explain decisions help students sustain performance across demanding modules.
How Student Voice Analytics helps you
Our platform tracks this topic’s volume and sentiment over time, with drill‑downs from provider to school and course, so you can see whether changes lift the right areas in veterinary medicine and dentistry. It enables like‑for‑like comparisons across student demographics and cohorts, and highlights where scheduling, organisation, assessment or support are driving sentiment. You get concise, anonymised summaries and export‑ready tables to brief programme teams and professional services, without additional analysis overhead.
Book a Student Voice Analytics demo
See all-comment coverage, sector benchmarks, and governance packs designed for OfS quality and standards and NSS requirements.
More posts on student support:
- What support do adult nursing students need to succeed?
- What student support most improves business and management education?
- Do business studies students feel supported by their university?
- What support do anatomy, physiology and pathology students need most?