Fostering a supportive clinical learning environment for neurodivergent veterinary students
Publication Date
December 10, 2025
Creator
Abstract
The lack of research surrounding the experiences of neurodivergent veterinary students and the support available to them in clinical learning environments (CLEs) impacts the understanding of how they navigate their studies in these environments and what support would be most beneficial to them. This research focused on investigating the experiences and opinions of clinical rotation staff and neurodivergent veterinary students from years 3-5 from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science (SVMS) at the University of Nottingham to suggest implementable strategies to foster more supportive CLEs for neurodivergent veterinary students. The study aimed to fill the gap of research regarding neurodivergent veterinary students in CLEs and introduce findings and recommendations which could be applied in further studies and used to improve the accessibility of veterinary education. Following a scoping review, surveys were conducted with neurodivergent veterinary students (n=41) and clinical rotation staff (n=32), followed by semi-structured interviews with clinical rotation staff (n=12). A trifecta was identified between a student's level of psychological safety, their disclosure confidence, and the availability of support in a CLE which impacted their experiences and the support provided to them. The findings demonstrate the importance of improving awareness and visibility of neurodiversity, enhancing the clarity of support structures and guidelines in CLEs, encouraging and supporting student disclosure, providing neurodiversity related training to staff in CLEs, further investigating the accessibility of CLEs and undertaking additional research relating to neurodiversity within veterinary education. This research will contribute towards developing additional resources regarding supporting neurodivergent veterinary students in CLEs and encourage further research in this area. The findings establish a foundation for developing our further understanding of fostering more supportive CLEs and combat the lack of knowledge in this area which can be detrimental to the learning experiences of neurodivergent veterinary students and impact attrition from the veterinary course and profession.
Item Type
ethesis
Thesis Type
MRes
Supervisors
Subjects (LC)
Associated Schools / Departments
School of Veterinary Medicine and Science
eprints ID
78486
UoN Repository URI
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Ivey,Helena-20135720-Thesis-Resub.pdf
Type
Full-text
Description
Reader. Re-submission
Size
2.54 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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