Mucous membrane color assessment variability of veterinary students using either colorimetric or word-based scales

Abstract

A colorimetric scale has the potential to be very useful as a training tool for students in veterinary training programs. The authors of this report hypothesized that clinically active, graduate level veterinary students would assess mucous membrane color with greater consistency using an image-based system than with traditional word-based techniques. Third- and fourth-year veterinary students were asked to evaluate 10 canine gingival mucosa images and rate them with either an image-based scale designed by the authors or a word-based system. Although the mean absolute deviations from the median values were greater for the word scale (0.22) than for the image scale (0.20) indicating increased variation, mixed model analysis did not demonstrate these differences were significant (p = .120). Based on this data it is possible that prior image and word-based instruction made it easier for the students to differentiate mucous membrane colors, or that the majority of the students were multimodal learners rather than single-type learners, making previous instruction techniques effective regardless of whether they were visual or read/write based. The authors recommend that future investigators both evaluate previous student instruction and consider administering visual, auditory, read/write, kinesthetic (VARK) tests when investigating potential learning aids in veterinary medicine.