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EPA 2: Diagnostic planning and test interpretation

This EPA covers developing prioritised differential diagnoses, creating effective diagnostic strategies, and interpreting test results across diverse clinical contexts and species.

This competency develops your ability to develop a diagnostic plan and interpret test results.

Description

You’ll learn to:  

  • Integrate patient or herd data with broader context
  • Create prioritised differential diagnoses
  • Obtain informed consent for diagnostic testing  
  • Interpret test results

The process is iterative and reflective – you'll continuously adapt your approach as new information emerges. This helps you avoid common errors of clinical reasoning while building robust diagnostic skills.

Success criteria

To succeed in this competency, you must demonstrate consistent performance across diverse clinical scenarios, including:

  • Multiple animal species
  • Various clinical presentations covering both acute and chronic conditions
  • Different levels of complexity and data ambiguity
  • Varying degrees of client cooperation

You'll need to maintain a consistently high standard across this full range of relevant clinical contexts.

Required competencies

This EPA aligns with the following RCVS Day One Competences:  

  • Veterinary capability
  • Clinical reasoning
  • Reflective relationships
  • Communication
  • Collaboration
  • Professional commitment
  • Self-awareness and self-reflection