"Visual thinking strategies" improves radiographic observational skills but not chart interpretation in third and fourth year veterinary students

Abstract

The ability to observe and interpret images and clinical information is essential for veterinarians in clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to determine the utility of a novel teaching method in veterinary medicine, the incorporation of art interpretation using the Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), on students' observational and clinical interpretation skills when evaluating radiographs and patient charts. Students were asked to observe and interpret a set of radiographs and a patient chart, subsequently involved in art interpretation using VTS, and then asked to observe and interpret a different set of radiographs and a different patient chart. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed, including scoring of observations and interpretations by a radiologist and emergency and critical care resident. For radiographs, observation and interpretation scores increased significantly after VTS. There was no change in patient chart observation or interpretation scores after VTS. Broadly, VTS provided creative thinking and visual literacy exercises that students felt pushed students them to think more openly, notice subtleties, use evidential reasoning, identify thinking processes, and integrate details into a narrative. However, its impact on clinical reasoning, as assessed by chart observation and interpretation scores, was uncertain. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal way to incorporate art interpretation in the veterinary medical curriculum.

Keywords: art; clinical judgment; emergency and critical care; radiograph (X-ray); visual literacy and critical analysis; visual thinking strategies.